Child dedication is the first milestone that you should celebrate with the families in your ministry.
It is one of 5 important milestones that happen from birth to 5th or 6th grade.
Here are the 5.
1. Child dedication
2. Entering school
3. Salvation
4. Baptism
5. Elementary graduation / move into middle school / student ministry.
I have milestone kits / programs for each of these. You can see them at this link.
It all starts with child dedication. Most churches have a child dedication. But what if you could take your child dedication to the next level with a few minor tweaks? Check out these 10 tweaks that will make your child dedication even better.
1. Don't just call it "child" or "baby" dedication. Call it "Parent and Child" dedication. The dedication is just as much about the parents as it is their children. Let your title and teaching reflect this. This is such a great time to connect with young parents and speak into their life. It is one of the times when they will open their hearts and invite you in to help them navigate this early stage of their parenting journey.
2. Have a class that parents must go through before the dedication. No exceptions.
3. In your class, spend as much (or even more) time teaching parents about making God a priority in their family's life. This is a key time in the family's life. You have a unique opportunity to help them set their family priorities with God being the center of their home.
4. Provide ways for parents to invite their family, friends, co-workers, neighbors, etc. to the dedication. One idea is to provide invite cards that they can mail out to the people they want to invite.
5. Have a reception after the dedication for the families and those they have invited to come. This gives you a great opportunity to get to know the people they invited.
6. Give each family a child's Bible / devo book. Encourage parents to read it and talk about it each night with their child.
7. Give parents the opportunity to speak and pray a blessing over their child. Let them know ahead of time so they can prepare what they are going to say or pray. This is best done before or after the dedication.
8. Have parents write a blessing in their child's Bible. Encourage parents to keep the Bible long-term and show it to their child when their child is older and can understand what they wrote and why they wrote it.
9. Include the church congregation in the dedication. During the dedication, ask the church if they will love, support, and invest in the children. Ask them to commit to pray for the young families, help teach and mentor the children, and invest in the family.
10. Share the Gospel. If the families invite people to come celebrate with them, there is a good chance that some of the guests will not know Jesus. Take a few minutes to share the Good News with them in a group setting.
If you are looking for a dedication class, then check out the one I wrote. It comes from real time ministry and is very effective.
What are some other tips you have for child dedication? Share them with us in the comment below.
