A children's message or children's sermon is a part of a church service dedicated to communicating an abbreviated Christian

Christian

A Christian is a person who adheres to Christianity, an Abrahamic, monotheistic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus of Nazareth as recorded in the Canonical gospels and the letters of the New Testament...

 message that is palatable to small children. It might be thought of as a mini-sermon

Sermon

A sermon is an oration by a prophet or member of the clergy. Sermons address a Biblical, theological, religious, or moral topic, usually expounding on a type of belief, law or behavior within both past and present contexts...

 for children.

Children's messages are common part of the liturgy

Liturgy

Liturgy is either the customary public worship done by a specific religious group, according to its particular traditions or a more precise term that distinguishes between those religious groups who believe their ritual requires the "people" to do the "work" of responding to the priest, and those...

 in Reformed Protestant and other churches prior to the children being dismissed to go to Sunday School

Sunday school

Sunday school is the generic name for many different types of religious education pursued on Sundays by various denominations.-England:The first Sunday school may have been opened in 1751 in St. Mary's Church, Nottingham. Another early start was made by Hannah Ball, a native of High Wycombe in...

 (or Children's church). The message may be given by the pastor

Pastor

The word pastor usually refers to an ordained leader of a Christian congregation. When used as an ecclesiastical styling or title, this role may be abbreviated to "Pr." or often "Ps"....

 or a lay leader

Lay leader

A lay leader is a member of the laity in any congregation who has been chosen as a leader. Since lay leadership is not an ordained clerical office, the lay leader's responsibilities vary according to the particular tradition to which he or she belongs...

 (such as the superintendent

Superintendent (education)

In education in the United States, a superintendent is an individual who has executive oversight and administration rights, usually within an educational entity or organization....

 of Christian education). For a typical message, the children are asked to gather at the chancel

Chancel

In church architecture, the chancel is the space around the altar in the sanctuary at the liturgical east end of a traditional Christian church building...

 steps and face the pew

Pew

A pew is a long bench seat or enclosed box used for seating members of a congregation or choir in a church, or sometimes in a courtroom.-Overview:Churches were not commonly furnished with permanent pews before the Protestant Reformation...

s. The pastor may have some sort of object or tactile teaching aid to focus the children's attention on the topic. The sermon typically lasts two to three minutes and may end in a brief prayer

Prayer

Prayer is a form of religious practice that seeks to activate a volitional rapport to a deity through deliberate practice. Prayer may be either individual or communal and take place in public or in private. It may involve the use of words or song. When language is used, prayer may take the form of...

.

Children's messages are often related to the main sermon and may prepare the congregation for it.

Sources

• http://www.butlerumc.org/Childrens%20Message.htm
• http://talkingdonkey.worldmagblog.com/talkingdonkey/archives/015547.html