Child Dedication

On Sunday, May 10th, during the second morning service, we will close our time together by taking a moment for parents who wish to dedicate their children.  If that is you...  Please register.

Why do we do child dedications?  What is it?
Child dedication is an opportunity for you to dedicate your child to the Lord publicly and to do so in a community with trusted leaders who will join you in the parenting trenches. As a parent, you are the most critical influence in your child’s life. But you’re not the only influence your child needs. That can relieve much of the parenting pressure, because at NLCC we want to partner with you to love and lead your child well.

When you dedicate your child, you decide to raise your kids, knowing who Jesus is. And this matters because your kids won’t become fully devoted followers of Christ by accident. We’ve got to lead our kids on purpose. Check out what Deuteronomy 6:4-7 NIV says about this:

"Hear, O Israel: The Lᴏʀᴅ our God, the Lᴏʀᴅ is one. Love the Lᴏʀᴅ 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 become fully devoted followers of Christ 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 become later.

Still, I have some questions about what child dedication is all about. Here are some answers to common questions about what it means to dedicate your child:

1. It’s not baptism / a sign of salvation. Child dedication is a great step for your family, but it’s not the same as salvation/baptism. Salvation happens when your child decides to start a relationship with God.  Child 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’re committing to raising them in an environment where they hear about Jesus and have an opportunity to accept Him.

2. What’s the big deal about child dedication? Child dedications are a spiritually significant milestone for your whole family. When you dedicate your child, you’re choosing to make some parenting decisions that honor God, like choosing to personally pursue Him daily, choosing to actively engage in the life of the church through worship and in service, and lastly, choosing to partner with NLCC and its children’s ministry to partner together to raise your child to be a Jesus follower. And while it sounds like you’ve got more things to do, you’re lightening the load because you’re committing to do these things in partnership with NLCC.

3. When can you dedicate your child? That’s your decision. You can dedicate your child, whether they’re three days old or 13 years old. The age doesn’t matter as much as the principle. Child dedication is an essential step in your family’s faith life because it sets a foundation for your family to be known for following Christ. 
Parenting doesn’t have to feel overwhelming.  

Let’s work together—trusting that with multiple voices and collective influence, our kids will be trained up in the right ways they should go.