Baby Dedication
Baby Dedication is a great celebration where we lift a little child and their family up to God, seeking His blessing. It is the celebration ceremony for our first Milestone. It is a time for parents to pause and make a public declaration, before God and before this church, about their intent to pursue God’s design for them as shepherds for their children. It also gives the local body of Christ an opportunity to join and support the exciting things God is doing in our church.
Preparing
We recommend the following steps to prepare for baby dedication:
Read the two chapters on baby dedication in our Parenting II book (pages 51-56) and do the “talk together” sections at the end.
Choose the pastor you would like to do your baby dedication and call the church office to meet with him or her personally.
Helpful Articles
These articles are for you to read alone or as a couple to consider before you meet with a pastor to prepare for baby dedication.
“For Tim and me, baby dedication is an issue of stewardship. We recognize that we are responsible to care for, love and train a child who doesn’t belong to us. He belongs to God. This is not a natural way to think about being a parent and requires us to change our mindset. It is also our belief that as the pastor prays a prayer of blessing, our child receives something that they wouldn’t have without this prayer. The act of dedication is also a way to symbolically set our child apart for God’s purposes and plan.”
-Alicia Vaughn
“For this child I prayed, and the LORD has granted me my petition that I made to him. Therefore I have lent him to the LORD. As long as he lives, he is lent to the LORD.”
-1 Samuel 1:27-28