Jesus Café Ministries - Scripture Squad - When should children first take communion?

From: Yolanda
At what age should a child receive holy communion (drinking of the wine and eating the bread)? Also, where can that particular scripture be found in the bible?

The short answer is that after the child has accepted Jesus in his/her heart and has been baptized, he may accept the sacrament.
There is no Scripture that I know of that addresses this issue per se. We know that Jesus does not want children kept away from Him.

Matthew 19:14 Jesus said, "Let the little children come to me, and do not hinder them, for the kingdom of heaven belongs to such as these."

We know that we all must become like little children in our attitude.

Matthew 18:3,4 : "And He said: 'I tell you the truth, unless you change and become like little children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven. Therefore, whoever humbles himself like this child is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven.'"

Jesus, of course, established the Lord's Supper and it is recorded in the three Synoptic Gospels. The Apostle Paul spoke about it to the Christians in Corinth, 1 Corinthians 11:23-29.

If you hold to the position of Believer's Baptism, meaning baptism is done after one is born again, we suggest that the child is ready to accept holy communion after he has been baptized. Baptism is the initial rite into the Christian Church, (community of believers), while the Lord's Supper is the
continuing rite in the church.

We suggest that when you think the child is ready that you pray about it and discuss it with your pastor who may want to talk with him. Some pastors serve the elements personally the first time to the child. He does this before the congregation partakes of the elements. This is a special event for the child and parents.

- The Scripture Squad :
TCCaleb, TCCaff, RuthCCC & DawnCCC