Baby Dedications

“You shall love the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your might. And these words that I command you today shall be on your heart. You shall teach them diligently to your children, and shall talk of them when you sit in your house, and when you walk by the way, and when you lie down, and when you rise.” Deuteronomy 6:5-7 
What is a baby dedication?
A baby dedication is an opportunity to celebrate, commit and commission.

Celebration: The precious gift of life and addition to the church community gives us great reason to celebrate. Psalm 127:3 tells us “Children are a heritage from the Lord, offspring a reward from him.” We take an opportunity to rejoice in the sovereign and kind work of God as he entrusts a child into the believing family.
Commitment: The responsibility of raising children is huge. A commitment is made by the parents to love, serve and obey the Lord, while relying upon his grace, wisdom and power to carry out their role as parents. As the parents commit to raise their children in the Lord and within gospel community, the church likewise makes a commitment to the family to love, serve and encourage them in the process.
Commission: The call to parent children is nothing short of a call to discipleship. The home is ripe for gospel ministry. Parents are commissioned to disciple their children in the Lord and prepare them for their call to make disciples too.
Why does Reality perform baby dedications?

While the Bible doesn’t explicitly instruct parents to have their children dedicated before the church, it is however clear about the importance of parenting in a way that is dedicated to God and his covenant people. As children are brought before the church body, it is a step of faith and dependence in dedicating their child to God. The Gospel of Luke tells us “People were also bringing babies to Jesus for him to place his hands on them. When the disciples saw this, they rebuked them. But Jesus called the children to him and said, “Let the little children come to me, and do not hinder them, for the kingdom of God belongs to such as these. Truly I tell you, anyone who will not receive the kingdom of God like a little child will never enter it.”(Luke 18:15-17). Through the dedication, the child is brought before Christ, the parents make a faith-filled commitment, and the church is edified in the process.

What should I expect?
Baby dedications generally occur Sunday morning, around the time of announcements, prior to the sermon. We ask that you and your family would arrive 30 minutes before the service, in order to coordinate and discuss last minute details with the church office administrator.

During the time of the dedication, an elder will welcome your family to the stage, where he will proceed to explain the commitments and commission the parents. As a church community, it is our joyful responsibility to uphold families as they take the lead in discipling their children. A way of representing this is by giving opportunity to the parents to pray for their child before the body of Christ. This prayer does not need to be eloquent (1 Cor. 1:17) nor lengthy (Matt. 6:7), but rather an authentic prayer of faith and dependence. If you’re unable to pray publicly, please notify the church prior in order to coordinate for one of the elders to pray.

If you would like to sign up for a baby dedication, please out our form by clicking on the button below.