Baby Dedications
Being a parent is one of the greatest joys in life, but it’s no easy task. Often, you feel that nagging feeling in your gut that makes you wonder, “Am I doing this whole parenting thing right?” But, there’s good news! You don’t have to parent alone. That’s where baby dedication comes in. You get to stand in front of your church family and commit to raising your child alongside your church family.
At Fellowship Church, Baby Dedication looks like this:
Our Baby Dedication services happen about 3 times per year and are scheduled inside a worship set within a Sunday service. You can register for any upcoming Baby Dedication on the Church Center app. On the morning of the event, you will meet one of our staff members or prayer counselors up front in our Worship Center. Once there, the staff member will lead the family through the dedication ceremony. Please invite as many friends and family as you would like to celebrate this occasion. Bring a camera too, because pictures are always encouraged for our child dedication services. Before and after service, you and your family will have the opportunity to take a photo with a Fellowship Church photographer, and have a photo to commemorate this special day.
Why Baby Dedication?
We know that, as a parent, you’re the most important influence in your child’s life. But you’re not the only influence your child needs. That’s where your church family comes in. Baby Dedication is an opportunity to invite others to develop and influence your child as they grow in their faith. It can relieve a lot of parenting pressure because you get to partner with people who will love and lead your child well.
Your kids didn’t begin following Jesus by accident. When you dedicate your child, you’re deciding that you’ll raise your kids knowing who Jesus is. Check out what Deuteronomy 6:4-7 NIV says about this:
Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the lord is one. Love the lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength. These commandments that I give you today are to be on your hearts. Impress them on your children. Talk about them when you sit at home and when you walk along the road, when you lie down and when you get up.
We love God with everything in us, and we model that for our kids because we know that our example is far more powerful than our words. We teach our kids what it looks like to follow Jesus, and we talk about it and think about it often. Leading kids to live like Jesus isn’t a checkbox on a parenting to-do list. It’s an intentional, ongoing conversation that shapes who they are now and who they’re becoming.
2 Common Questions about Baby Dedication
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Baby Dedication is a great step for your family, but it’s certainly not the same thing as salvation. Salvation is what happens when your child decides to start a relationship with Jesus, and baptism is when they decide to go public with their faith. Baby Dedication is less about your child’s choice now and more about setting them up for those choices later. When you dedicate your child, you as the parent are committing to raising them in an environment where they hear about Jesus and have an opportunity to accept Him. It’s a great practice, but it is optional.
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Baby Dedications are a spiritually significant milestone for your whole family. When you dedicate your child, you’re choosing to make parenting decisions that honor God, like modeling what it looks like to be planted in the church through serving, finding trusted relationships through a LifeGroup, and bringing your children to church every week. While it sounds like you’ve got more things to do, you’re actually lightening the load because you’re committing to do these things in partnership with the church.
Parenting doesn’t have to feel overwhelming. Let’s parent together—trusting that with multiple voices and collective influence, our kids will be trained up in the right ways they should go.