Child Dedication Service Program

It was a pleasure to have Mhel come by to ask for some tips on Child Dedication. So, here is the actual program flow and the details of my son ZT's Dedication Service and other suggestions, sort of a Part 2 of my earlier post, PROJECT: CHILD DEDICATION.

I. Meditation / Preparation (on a program leaf)

“Sons are a heritage from the LORD, children a reward from him. Like arrows in the hands of a warrior are sons born in one's youth. Blessed is the man whose quiver is full of them. They will not be put to shame when they contend with their enemies in the gate.” (Psalm 127:3-5)

A Renewal of a Godly Tradition

The arrival of a new baby is a time of rejoicing for any family. The newness of life brings a special freshness towards all of life. Often, during this time, parents want to do something in the church to celebrate their joy with others and to present their child to God for blessing.

Bringing Babies to the Lord
The joy of Jesus' birth was shared with the people in the house of God. Like most Jewish parents in that day, Joseph and Mary brought Jesus to the temple to be presented to God. Long before this time, godly parents presented their children to God. And to this day, the practice is still done also to ask God's blessing.

Some Christian churches baptize infants by sprinkling them with water. In those churches, the covenant of baptism is seen as being similar to the Old Testament covenant of circumcision. Other Christians don't baptize infants. Instead they dedicate babies to God. There are several reasons for this.

First, there are no clear incidents of infant baptism in Scripture. Baptism seems instead to be an evidence of Christian faith. Furthermore, while some groups suggest that baptism imparts a special grace to children, there is no real scriptural support for this. Finally, in our society, often adults who were baptized as children desire to be baptized again as an expression of their decision to receive Christ as their Savior and Lord.

For these reasons, Christian parents like [father's name] and [mother's name] are encouraged to dedicate their children to God. During this Christian Child Dedication service, a beautiful and solemn promise is made before God and the Church to care for this child as unto God. Let us join them this afternoon in giving back [baby's name] to God, the Giver of Life.

II. Praise and Worship Singing (led by a Song Leader)

Lord We Welcome You (Album : Rivers of Joy by Don Moen )
Welcome To The Family (Psalty Kid's Praise Album)
Great is Thy Faithfulness (Hymn)
Jesus Loves The Little Children (Sunday School song)
Jesus Loves Me, 'Tis I Know (Sunday School song)

III. Video Presentation: God's Little Prince/ Princess

Can be done with pictures of the baby from birth to present
and background music from Christian children's albums
or
Let the husband or a member of your family talk about the blessings on having your baby in the family, unique character of your baby, trivia on his/her name, prayers or wishes, etc.

IV. Special number (song or poetry)

Suggested songs:
Bless My Son - for baby boy
(Bless My Little Boy sung by Rita Baloche)
Bless My Daughter - for baby girl
(Bless My Little Girl sung by Kelly Willard)


V. Exhortation to & Commitment of Parents, god-parents and congregation

Done by the Minister, in our case, ZT's grandfather who happens to be a Minister. Here, the Minister talks about Mary and Joseph dedicating Jesus, the role of the Christian parents in nurturing the child as unto the Lord for His future use, the role of the god-parents as second parents of the child, and the role of the church/congregation/family members in making a community of love to which the baby now belongs. Everybody will be asked to stand as a sign of their commitment to the Lord.

VII. Dedicatory prayer

Can be done by the Minister or parents.
In our case, I sang a dedicatory prayer song from the album
Bless My Little Son entitled Dedication Song.

VIII. Benediction & Closing Song

Done by the Minister
Suggested songs:
Now Unto Him (Tom Fettke)
Great Is Thy Faithfulness (chorus)

XIII. Reception

We chose blue color theme and Fiesta ambiance.

Invitation


















Tarpaulin





















Certificate of Dedication (signed by parents and godparents)

We, Papa _________ and Mama __________

Commit ourselves to the loving, Christian nurture of

________________________

Entering into this commitment at

Capitol City Baptist Church

As members and bondservants of the Lord Jesus Christ.

Committed this day, August 10, 2008.

All our printables were done by just a little magic and tons of patience using Word, Paint & Nova Development Photo Explosion. There are a lot of high-end softwares for photo editing which you can choose for your projects. I was just feeling frugal, and did not have the leisure to look around when I started preparing a week before the event. A full-pledged crammer am I.

So, there. Thanks for the visit Mhel. Hope this helps you. My last word would be, let your family and friends join in putting up this event. Having them around will not just make things easier. It will guarantee fun!

For give-aways and cake ideas, visit my son's godmother Mrs. V.V.Palarca of Memoirs of a New Missus. Her generosity made wonders on our blue, blue day! God bless you!