Baby Dedication

The next Baptism will be:
August 25

Family Ministries Resource Page | We live in a complex world. Raising the next generation to own their faith has never been more challenging—or more necessary. Yet, in the Scriptures, we see three institutions that God created: The Family, The Church, and the Nation—but the family is the foundation of society.

At MBC, one of our core values is building strong families. One of the ways we do this is by equipping parents and their children to navigate the difficult issues of the day. This page is for you. Below you will find some suggested resources to help you answer the most pressing issues of the day. Don’t see something? Ask us a question below!

MBC Kids Philosophy of Discipleship | We are passionate about discipleship. This resource was written to explain how we aim to lay the foundation for kids to grow in God’s Word while they are a part of our MBC Kids ministry. Download this document for more on our philosophy.

Don’t see something? Ask us a question below!

Websites

The Colson Center for Christian Worldview
Breakpoint
What Would You Say?
AXIS
The Center for Parent & Youth Understanding
The Barna Group
Fuller Youth Institute
Impact 360 Institute
Summit Ministries
Stand to Reason
Reasons to Believe

Video

Raising The Next Generation in Turbulent Time by Voddie Bauchum
Helping The Next Generation Navigate Today’s World by John Stonestreet and Brett Kunkle
How to Raise and Alien Child by Jen Wilkin
The Storm Tossed Family: How The Cross Reshapes the Home by Russell Moore
The Strange New World of the Modern Self by Carl Trueman

Books

Parenting: 14 Gospel Principals That Can Radically Change Your Family by Paul David Tripp
The Tech Wise Family: Everyday Steps to Putting Technology in Its Proper Place by Andy Crouch
Running With Horses: A Parenting Guide for Raising Children to be Servant Leaders for Christ by Larry Taylor
A Practical Guide to Culture by John Stonestreet & Brett Kunkle
Strange New World by Carl Trueman
How Children Raise Parents by Dan Allender
The Intentional Father by Jon Tyson
Faithfull Different by Natasha Crain
Another Gospel by Alisa Childers

Podcast

The Think Biblically Podcast
The Upstream

Seminars

Several times a year we offer seminars for MBC families and those in our community. We run these events to equip families to navigate the difficult cultural terrain we are living in. Here are examples of past seminar topics:

The Tech-Wise Family
Raising Generation Z
Families in an Age of Anxiety

Questions?

Bob Erbig

Lead Pastor: Preaching,
Family Life & Mission

Contact Bob with any questions

Questions?

Bob Erbig

Lead Pastor: Preaching,
Family Life & Mission

Contact Bob with any questions

I charge you in the presence of God and of Christ Jesus, who is to judge the living and the dead, and by his appearing and his kingdom: preach the word; be ready in season and out of season; reprove, rebuke, and exhort, with complete patience and teaching. For the time is coming when people will not endure sound teaching, but having itching ears they will accumulate for themselves teachers to suit their own passions, and will turn away from listening to the truth and wander off into myths. As for you, always be sober-minded, endure suffering, do the work of an evangelist, fulfill your ministry.

-2 Timothy 4:1-5, ESV-

MBC Digital Ministries: Podcasts, YouTube and Pastor blogs

The next Baptism will be:
August 25

Let the little Children Come | At MBC we believe in the importance of building strong families. A key component of this value is raising children to know and love Jesus Christ. In light of this, we encourage parents to take make a public commitment to raise their children in the Lord—this is called a “baby dedication ceremony.”

A baby dedication is a ceremony in which Christians parents make a commitment before the Lord to raise that child according to God’s Word and God’s ways.

This practice may be new to you depending on your church background. Baby dedication is NOT the same as infant baptism. We believe baptism is an individual decision a person makes when they are older and have made a commitment to follow Jesus Christ. For more information, see the BAPTISM page. By contrast, a baby dedication is a commitment by the parents, and an invitation to the larger church family, to help raise their child to follow Jesus. There are several good reasons for this practice.

3 reasons to Dedicate your children

First

It models the concern and love Jesus had for little children.

As a church, we are people who love babies! We want to care and invest in the littlest and most vulnerable among us. Jesus said this in Matthew 19: “Then children were brought to him that he might lay his hands on them and pray. The disciples rebuked the people, but Jesus said, “Let the little children come to me and do not hinder them, for to such belongs the kingdom of heaven.”” (Matthew 19:13-14). Baby dedication reflects the love Jesus had for children.

Second

It reminds the church of its calling to be an extended family.

Scripture teaches that the church is our spiritual family and following Jesus is costly (Ephesians 3:14-19; Mark 10:29-30). Parenting is hard work and God gives us an extended spiritual family who can help carry the Load. The church should love and support families in this good work of raising the next generation.

Third

It is an opportunity to share the Gospel with unbelievers.

During a baby dedication, families will often invite relatives to watch this important ceremony. Baby dedication offers an opportunity to share the Gospel message with those who might not yet believe. When asked—why are we dedicating this child? Because we want them to believe the Gospel—Jesus died for our sins, Jesus rose from the dead, and Jesus is coming back. That is the hope for our children!

How does the process work?

If you are interested in taking this important step as a family, the process will work like this:

First, contact one of the pastors about your interest and fill out the baby dedication WORKSHEET.
Second, you then meet with one of the pastors so they can get to know your family and organize a time to have the ceremony.
Third, you will create a video of your family sharing why you want to dedicate your child. You can see an example video below.
Finally, your video will be played during a service on a Sunday morning and you will take part in a short ceremony when you recite vows before the congregation—this is a public commitment to raise your child to know Jesus!

Questions?

Bob Erbig

Lead Pastor: Preaching,
Family Life & Mission

Contact Pastor Bob with any questions

Questions?

Bob Erbig

Lead Pastor: Preaching,
Family Life & Mission

Contact Bob with any questions

“Listen, O Israel! The LORD is our God, the LORD alone. And you must love the LORD your God with all your heart, all your soul, and all your strength. And you must commit yourselves wholeheartedly to these commands that I am giving you today. Repeat them again and again to your children. Talk about them when you are at home and when you are on the road, when you are going to bed and when you are getting up.

-Deuteronomy 6:4-7, NLT-