Caleb's Dedication

"I prayed for this child, and the Lord has granted me what I asked of him. So now I give him to the Lord. For his whole life he will be given over to the Lord." 1 Samuel 1:27-28

 Most churches {well, most Baptist churches} have baby dedication ceremonies during church service at the member's church, however, The Village Church does things a little different. {I'm not saying it's better, it's just different.} The Village takes Biblical community serious, and therefore a lot of church "things" {including baby dedications} are done within our home groups {our small Biblical community, Acts 2:42-47, Hebrews 3:12-13, 1 Corinthians 12:12-31}. It makes our massive church seem small and intimate. We know each other well, love each other, and walk with God together. It's beautiful.

What's a baby dedication? This is how our church explains it:

"Your child's dedication to the Lord is a celebration with your community of a commitment made before the Lord. This is a commitment by the parents to raise the child in the ways of the Lord, but this is NOT in any way a statement of salvation for your child. Just as in other areas of life, walking in this commitment can not be done alone. It requires the help of others. For this reason you are to call upon the community of believers around you to help and hold you accountable to this dedication."

So, we met in a home as the Church body with our home group/Biblical community, where each family made a public promise to raise their children in a gospel-centered home.

My parents came in town at the last minute and were able to watch our public commitment!

We had a worship service led by some talented folks {and host home}...

...our home group leaders led the dedication...

...and one by one, we made these promises: 

{Dads}:

Do you promise to love the Lord deeply and teach your child Truth that leads to awe, worship and praise?

Do you promise to not provoke your child to anger, but bring them up in the discipline and instruction of the Lord?

{Dads}:

Do you promise to be the spiritual leader for your family, teaching them how a Godly man treats his wife, children and community and to daily pray for and with them?

{Moms}:

Do you promise to not underestimate your child’s ability to understand Scripture and their ability to worship?

 

{Moms}:

Do you promise to love and cherish your child as an example of the way Christ loves and cherishes us?

Do you promise to be the spiritual encourager for your family, teaching them how a Godly woman treats her husband, child and community and to daily pray for and with them?

{Parents}:

Do you promise to daily acknowledge that your child belongs first and foremost to the Lord?

Do you promise to daily give your child back to the Lord and acknowledge His sovereignty over their lives?

{Parents}:

Do you promise to not expect perfection but to encourage them to always do their best?

{Parents}:

Do you promise to daily be engaged and not just present in your home and in your child’s life?

{Parents}:

Do you promise to never give up on your role as mom and dad?

{Community}:

As a community of believers, do you promise to consistently pray for these parents to be the moms and dads that God created them to be?

{Community}:

Do you promise to hold them accountable to the commitments they made today and to challenge them when they are falling short?

{Community}:

Do you promise to consistently encourage them in their roles as parents and to celebrate victories together?

{Community}:

Do you promise to consistently pray for these children, that they will know Jesus and be doers of the Word and not just hearers?

I loved officially saying these promises, and I'm so glad my family made a quick trip to be there. It was a very special day in the Big K Fam!