It's important to have a clear pathway and strategy for maximizing the opportunity. Here's our pathway.
Parents fill out an application.
Here is the link to our application.
We review the application and invite them to a parent child dedication class.
Parents attend the class.
In the class, we cover what the dedication is about and how to raise your child to love Jesus. The dedication is primarily about the parents committing to raise their children according to God's ways.
This is a key time when parents are open and welcome spiritual advice. We will be making our class materials available beginning sometime this summer if you'd like to see them.
Parents sign-up for a dedication time.
We meet with parents 30 minutes before the service they are dedicating their child.
In this meeting, we go back over logistics for the dedication, give them a dedication certificate, a Bible for their child, and a gift from the church.
We also have a professional photographer on hand who takes their picture. We email the picture to them the following week.
The dedication takes place during the service.
The dedication involves making a verbal commitment to raise their child according to God's ways and a time of individual prayer for each child.
We send parents a link to a video of the service so they can download it and share it with others.
What is your process for child dedication?
What are some special things you do as part of the dedication process or event?
We'd love to hear your ideas and insight. You can share in the comment section below.