Baby/Child Dedication

Child dedication is a symbolic ceremony undertaken by Christian parents (usually) soon after the birth of a child.

This act is intended to be a public statement by the parents that they will train their children in the Christian faith.   The parents who make this vow of commitment are instructed to raise the child in the ways of God and not according to their own ways.  Some responsibilities include teaching and training the child in God's Word, demonstrating an example of godliness, disciplining according to God's ways, and praying earnestly for the child.

The congregation also affirms that they, as a church family, will also seek to encourage the parents to bring up the child in the faith. There is no implied salvation in the ceremony.

The idea of dedicating a child to the Lord can certainly be found in the Bible. Hannah was a barren wife who promised to dedicate her child to God if He would give her a son (1 Sam 1:11ff).  Luke shares the account of Mary and Joseph taking Jesus to the temple after forty days in order to dedicate Him to the Lord (Luke 2:22-40).

Child/baby dedication is not one of the two ordinances of the church—baptism and the Lord’s Supper (Communion)—required of Christians in the New Testament.  

*** Child/baby dedication is not infant baptism.  Baptism has to do with belief in Christ and repentance of sin and public confession of faith and commitment to Jesus.   We believe that when people are old enough to understand what it means to put their faith and trust in Jesus Christ as their personal Savior, they should have the opportunity to make the choice for themselves to be baptized.   An infant is unable to understand sin, forgiveness, the sacrifice our Savior made for us, and what it means to have a personal relationship with Jesus Christ.  Ultimately, infant baptism is nowhere found in the Bible, and neither is confirmation.  

In the New Testament, no babies were ever baptized. Parents were never commanded to baptize their infants. In the New Testament, baptism is not taught as a NT equivalent of the OT circumcision. (NT equivalent is what God does in our hearts - the circumcision of the heart.)

Infant baptism came out of systematic theology and not Biblical exposition.