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 Christian 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.
“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.
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?
Questions?
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