Dedicating Children

by Melissa J | More from this Blogger

04 Sep 2006 10:58 PM

Within the Christian denominations, there are some churches that believe in baptizing a baby and others that provide an opportunity for dedication. Perhaps there are churches that do both, but I've never attended one.

When I was told of my own dedication, I was under the impression the purpose of it was to give the baby to God by recognizing them as His child. Though I think that is part of it, I realized when it was time to dedicate my own sons, it was so much more.

With my first son, my husband, me, my mom and aunt all went forward with other families (it was a larger church). The pastor identified the names of the kids to the congregation. He led us in a prayer where we vowed before the Lord and, in doing so, making a promise to our child that we will raise them up in a Godly way. We prayed for their lives that they would come to accept the Lord at the earliest age possible. The prayer continued to include the congregation's support as a church family to help us in this. The associate pastors went around to the individual families. The assistant pastor anointed our son's head with oil and prayed with us.

Our younger son's dedication was a bit different. We were the only ones dedicating that day. The pastor shared with the congregation, with our permission, a little about my son's life. We had a very emotional journey trying to adopt our youngest. Getting to be surrounded by the support of our church in dedicating our son was such a blessing! The pastor laid his hand on my son and prayed a similar prayer as the previous pastor did. As well, he too included the congregation in the support.

With both boys, we were given a beautiful certificate. With my older son, we were given a bible for him, with our younger we were given a letter. At first I thought the pastor made an error in my son's age as it said "Happy 12th Birthday." I read it and it was beautiful. It basically stated that 10 years prior, we dedicated him before the Lord. He explains what dedicating him meant. It went on to talk about Christ's love for him and that the Church vowed that night to help him with his walk and would be there if he needed.

When my husband and I brought our boys for dedication, we took it very seriously. We were well aware of what precious gifts God entrusted in our care. We understood that our boys could be anywhere but God allowed for them to be with us to grow in Him.

Please check out my other Christian parenting blogs from this series:

Parenting Series: Intro

What to Pray For Our Children

We Are Our Kids' Role Models

Getting into Your Kid's Business

Discipline for Children

Honoring Your Mother and Father

Courting vs. Dating

To My Parents

Teaching Our Children Modesty

Teaching Our Children Self-Respect

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cgeorge_esq (59) 07 Sep 2006 05:02 PM

It was very interesting to read your blog on your sons' dedication. I had attended many baptisms, as they are performed during our regular church services, but never dedications. We had our two children baptized very early in their lives--Chandler was 20 days old, and Keanan was 5 days old. It was very important to my husband and I that our children were baptized as soon as possible after birth, so that the Holy Spirit could begin His work within their hearts to make them aware of who they belonged to. They each received a baptism banner, reminding them that they have been called by God to be His, a candle to light on their baptism anniversary (Christmas Eve for both of them) to remind us of Jesus' light in the world, and their baptism certificate. Also the quilting ladies in our church give each baby and child a quilt they have made. It's very lovely to have those. It's been wonderful to see how those seeds, planted in their hearts on their baptism days, have grown and begun to bear fruit. Chandler has always loved to sing Jesus songs and pray, and reads the Bible voraciously. She also had taken the step of being saved, when she was about 6. Keanan talks about Jesus in his heart, and loves to hear Bible stories, as well. And they BOTH love going to church and Sunday school. :) Thank you for sharing your story.

Melissa J (13710) 10 Sep 2006 10:41 AM

Thank you too for sharing yours. I know some denominations believe in baptisim then confirmation, some denominations believe baptisim has to be full submersion, some believe that it's not nessisary at all, and some believe there is an age of accountability and that baptism should be recieved once the person has made the choice. We, of course had hands laid on our children praying over them. My older son who's now 5 asked Jesus to come into his heart and be his Lord and Savior at 4 1/2. He too sings praises to God which is awesome. My younger son is still barely talking and is not quite 3 yet. It is neat to hear how other denominations cover their children. Thanks for sharing your wonderful story.