Baby Dedications at Open Life

 

 

“Sons are a heritage from the Lord, children a reward from him.”

Psalm 127:3 (NIV)

We practice Baby Dedications.

Jesus’ parents “took him to the temple to present him to the Lord” as mentioned in Luke 2:22.  We are to follow the example set in scripture to experience the best in life both for us and our families.  We see this presentation to the Lord as a model we have followed at Open Life as we give families the opportunity to dedicate their children to the Lord during a service.

It involves all of us.

We believe that dedication is a two way moment for the church.  It is the parents and family dedicating their child or children to the Lord and it is our committing as a church to come alongside you as a family and help you through the crazy thing called parenting.  There are some clear instructions in scripture that should challenge us as parents:

Deuteronomy 6:4–7 (NLT)
4 “Listen, O Israel! The Lord is our God, the Lord alone. 5 And you must love the Lord your God with all your heart, all your soul, and all your strength. 6 And you must commit yourselves wholeheartedly to these commands that I am giving you today. 7 Repeat them again and again to your children. Talk about them when you are at home and when you are on the road, when you are going to bed and when you are getting up.

And how about this promise that so many families pray over their children.

Proverbs 22:6 (NLT)
6 Direct your children onto the right path, and when they are older, they will not leave it.

We will read these, pray for your child and then present you with a child’s first bible so they can begin their road to learning all that God has promised us about life and love.

Read through the FAQ here and then complete the form below to help us plan your baby dedication.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Do you practice infant water baptisms?

No, we do not.  We believe the scriptures show that water baptism is an event for a person to celebrate when they comprehend the purpose of identifying oneself with being a follow of Jesus and going public with their faith.  Babies obviously don’t have the ability to make this choice yet, so we practice dedications which we see as being the closest practice the the modeling of Jesus family and the teachings in scripture.

 

Do I have to dress up?

This is totally up to you, but we have seen some handsome little boys and beautiful little girls all spiffed up coming on stage to celebrate this moment with the church and their friends and family they have invited.  If you join in on the dress up fun it’s totally up to you!

Do we have to come on stage?

Maybe you should look at it as you get to come on stage! We do have the direct family come up on stage as we dedicate children.  So husband, wife and all siblings are welcome, but your extended family can be your paparazzi.

 

Who should I invite?

Baby dedications are a cool time to get family and friends to join you at church. Anyone who will share the responsibility of parenting and being a role model in your child’s life should be invited.  We will collectively make a commitment to help lead your child in the way of Jesus.

 

Do I have to talk?

No, but we will give you the opportunity to share a passage you are believing for your child.  You can read it or have the pastor read it.  We would love to allow you to customize the moment this way.

When in the service do you do the dedication?

We like to do the baby dedications between the worship time and the message at about 10:18 am.  Make sure your family is aware of this time so they don’t miss it, but if they do we will have the whole thing on video for you.  And yes, we will share the video with you.

 

How do I sign us up?

Just fill out the form below and you will be added to the list of those interested.  We will find out from you the weekends that would work best for you within the form so we can look at the content of our talks and pick the most fitting match and then invite you to join us for a baby dedication that day.