In our Statement of Convictions as a church, it says this regarding child dedications:

We believe the Scriptures teach that children are of great value and God has a special concern for their well-being. Indeed, Jesus indicated their significance by tenderly taking them into his arms. The Scriptures relate instances where children were publicly dedicated. Therefore, we encourage Christian parents to dedicate their children to the Lord publicly in prayer. The dedication does not imply the child’s salvation, but rather is a public time for parents to dedicate themselves to discipling their child and for the church to commit to pray for and support the family. Deuteronomy 6:4-9; 1 Samuel 1:24-28; Proverbs 22:6; Matthew 19:14; Mark 10:16; Luke 2:21-24

A child dedication is NOT…

• It is not a guarantee of a child’s immediate or future salvation.  Salvation belongs to the Lord.  It is a work of the Lord, not man.  And it is through faith and not through the ‘work’ of a dedication ceremony.  
• It is not an infant baptism.  Baptisms in the Scriptures followed the conversion of the believer, and we’re seeking to follow in that New Testament pattern.  
• It is not an explicit command from the Scriptures.  If you have grown children, and you didn’t walk through a child dedication with them, you have not been disobedient to the Lord’s Word.
• Nor is a child dedication, a meaningless religious routine that you go through when you have a child(ren) through birth or adoption.  

So what IS a child dedication…

It occurs in the midst of one of our Sunday morning gatherings.  Typically we have these 1-2 times a year.  It is a part of the service, but not the whole service.  We invite the parent/parents of the child(ren) to come to the platform.  They introduce themselves, and then we give a charge to the parents, and then a charge to the church family.  And then we pray for the households on the platform.  The time of corporate prayer is meaningful and sweet and a good visible picture of the godly community that surrounds the family. *It is not limited to infants. We’ve had parents come to know Jesus, and bring their toddlers or young ones on the platform.

What are the encouragements we give to the parents and to the church?

To the parents…we want to remind them of these Biblical realities:

• Your child is a gift from God.  They have been entrusted to your care all by His grace and in accordance with His will.  They have been fearfully and wonderfully made by Him, and as parents, we are seeking to steward, care for, and shepherd these gifts (children) in the way of Jesus.  We want to reflect the fullness of Jesus and His grace and truth at home.    
• You are prayerfully committed to actively raise your child in the ways of God.  Parents are charged to prayerfully and intentionally make disciples of Jesus at home, and the Word of God serves as the foundation of our lives, and how we raise our children.  We want to pass on the gospel of first importance (1 Corinthians 15) to our children.  
• And the first step of leading your child in the way of Jesus, is to ensure that you as the parent are being led by Jesus.  We can’t lead our child to a place of worshipful trust in the Lord Jesus, if we are unwilling to go first.  Our children will follow us, and so we need to seek to live out the apostle Paul’s words in 1 Corinthians 11, follow me, as I follow Christ.  
• Finally, we remind you that godly parenting is not done in isolation.  That we need the help, prayer, love and encouragement of the church family that surrounds us in our local church.  

To the gathered church…we want to remind them of this Biblical reality:

• Making disciples of Jesus, and reaching and preparing the next generation, is not just lived out by mom and dad at home, but lived out in community with one another in the church, and in partnership with the church family.  Parents have the first responsibility to their children, but parents also need the love and encouragement of the church family that surrounds them.  

Child dedications are sweet, prayerful times in our gathering.  If you have any further questions, don’t hesitate to reach out to a pastor.