Baby Dedication or Infant Baptism Target Age of Children Newborns

Goal of Take It Home Event To establish the partnership between parents and the church in passing on the faith to our children and children’s children. Infant dedication or baptism, whichever your church observes, can either be simply a ritual we perform or it can be treated as the beginning of a lifelong partnership.

Preparing for the Event • Depending on the size of your church, determine if you desire to meet individually with parents who wish to have their child dedicated or baptized or you may want to meet as a group. This material can work in either context. • Send the Dedication or Infant Baptism Take It Home Event Letter (p. 56) 7 to 10 days in advance of your meeting or class to prepare people for this Take It Home Event. Customize the letter to fit the type of service your church performs for young children. • Make copies (at least two per family) of the Will You Be My Child’s Godparent? letter (p. 57). Explain at the event the history and purpose of godparents and allow parents the choice of whether to ask someone to be the godparents of their child. • Collect the following: Bible, a picture of your parents and/or grandparents.

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Baby Dedication or Infant Baptism

Event Outline Explain It

that you, your children and their children after them may fear the LORD your God as long as you live by keeping all his decrees and commands that I give you.”

After everyone has arrived, begin by showing a picture of your parents and/or grandparents. Ask the group to guess who you most look like. Then share who you most act like.

Moses’ intent was that God’s people would know what is right and wrong and live with a proper respect, sometimes driven out of fear, for what is right and wrong.

Ask others to share their pictures and who they look and act like. If you have a large group, let them share in smaller groups.

Ask parents to think about this question: “How did your parents teach you right from wrong?”

Ask parents to talk among their group about who, at this early age, their babies most look like. Mention that even at this early age, we are already passing things on to our children.

Answer #2—Deuteronomy 6:2: “So that you may enjoy long life.” God wants us, and our families to enjoy long life! He wants us to enjoy life here and enjoy life beyond that which we will have here on earth.

Ask, “What is one thing you hope to pass on to your child?” “What do you not want to pass on to your child?”

Ask, “Is there anything more you could want for you and your child? What does the Bible say that will allow us to enjoy long life?”

Explain that in the book of Deuteronomy God gave some very specific instructions in raising children. The word “Deuteronomy” means “repetition of the law.” Throughout Deuteronomy Moses is “repeating” the basic will and commands of God to the Israelites. If you were to read the entire book it would sound like a broken record.

• Deuteronomy 6:4-7—Love the Lord • Deuteronomy 6:10-12—Don’t forget the Lord. • Deuteronomy 6:13-19—Follow and serve the Lord, not other gods. • Deuteronomy 6:20-25—Obey the Lord

Ask, “Why did Moses record this information in this way?” Answer #1—Deuteronomy 6:2: “So

What does the Bible say is the key to making this happen in your home? In Deuteronomy 6:6 it says this commitment has to be on YOUR HEART!

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Baby Dedication or Infant Baptism

If you want your child to love the Lord, follow the Lord, make godly decisions and obey the Lord, then YOU need to love the Lord, follow the Lord and obey the Lord! Deuteronomy 6:7 says that faith needs to be lived out at home! It doesn’t say, “Bring your kids to church and let the church impress it on their hearts.” That doesn’t work. Faith is caught as much as it’s taught. The Significant Religious Influences Survey1 states that over 250,000 Christian teens who had a strong faith were asked what were the things that influenced them to have the life impacting faith they have. The answers were quite revealing: • Number 1 reason why kids have faith? Mom • Number 2 reason why kids have faith? Dad Mom and dad are two to three times more influential than any church program! What, then, is the role of the church? • To equip you, the parents, to pass on the faith to their children and, • To reestablish the home as the primary place where faith is nurtured and, • To be a lifelong partner for you and your family. Thanks for the opportunity to partner with you!

Inspire Them As you can see, dedication/baptism is just the beginning of a journey we are going to take together with you, your child and even your child’s child. Here’s something you can do now that can help you on this long-term journey. A tradition that has existed for centuries, yet is on the decline in America, is making yourself available to godly people, called godparents. Here are some of the characteristics of godparents: • People who have gone before you and lived a godly life, especially in the way they raised their children to know and follow Jesus; • Lifelong spiritual mentors for you and your family to whom you would feel comfortable turning to for advice and support; • Accountability partners holding you true to your commitment to love, follow, and obey the ways of God; • Another spiritual voice and example in the life of your child. You were asked to think of two people or couples who, in your perspective, did a good job raising their children to know and follow Jesus. Ask, “Have you considered inviting them to be at the dedication or baptism and fulfill the role of godparents?” In preparation for your child’s dedication or baptism we would like to encourage you to identify and ask two people or couples to serve as your child’s godparents and attend the service if at all possible. Distribute and read through the letter, “Will You

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Baby Dedication or Infant Baptism

Be My Child’s Godparent?” Have several extras available for parents to give to prospective godparents.

Model It Some churches offer a baby dedication or baptism service a couple of times a year and include many babies at one time. Other churches have services throughout the year as requested by the families. At this time, go through specific instructions for the dedication or baptism service your church performs. Explain that this service is a public declaration and commitment for families and the church. A proposed format for a dedication/baptism service, with a great FaithChest® gift idea, has been provided on page 58, if you choose to use it.

Practice It Provide all the details for the date and time of the dedication or baptism so that families can invite extended family and friends.

Take It Home Prepare a special gift for families after the dedication or baptism service. Some churches provide certificates and baby Bibles. Other churches give handmade baby quilts or keepsake photo albums, or a FaithChest® (see the sample service for more information).

Suggested Resources Holmen, Mark. Faith Begins at Home. Ventura, CA: Regal Books, 2005.

Find additional resources at www.faithbeginsathome.com.

Ongoing Tradition Idea Send a card or gift on the one-year anniversary of the dedication or baptism. At one church I served, the women’s ministry decided to personally deliver a gift on the one-year anniversary of each child’s dedication/baptism. The women’s ministry director asked for a list of all the dedications/baptisms that were done the previous year. She was provided a list of the names of the children along with the parent names and household addresses. She then assigned two women to personally deliver a gift on the one-year anniversary date of the child’s dedication/baptism. The gift was a nighttime devotional CD that the parents could play as their child would go to sleep at night. The family also received a card with the gift that read, “Happy Dedication/Baptism Anniversary! Thank you for the opportunity to partner with you to pass on the faith to (name of child). May the Lord continue to bless you and your family.”

Note 1. Search Institute is a nonprofit, nonsectarian research and educational organization that advances the well being and positive development of children and youth through applied research, evaluation, consultation, training and the development of publications and practical resources for educators, youth-serving professionals, parents, community leaders and policy makers. Phone: 1-800-888-7828. Website: www.search-institute.org.

I Love to Look! Bible Story Pictures. Ventura, CA: Gospel Light, 1997.

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Dedication or Infant Baptism Take It Home Event Letter

Date Dear (name) Greetings in the name of Christ! We are so excited that you have come to (name of your church) seeking to have your child dedicated or baptized. This is a significant first step in you and your child’s faith journey and I can’t wait to meet with you on (date) at (time) in (location). To help prepare for our time together, I would appreciate if you would do the following: • Bring your child! This event is all about (name of child) so be sure to bring him or her along. I can’t wait to meet him or her! • Bring pictures of your parents and if possible, grandparents. If you adopted your child, bring pictures of his or her biological parents if possible. • Read Deuteronomy 6. We will be discussing it when we get together. • Bring the names of two Christian individuals and or couples who, from your perspective, have done a good job of raising their children to know Jesus. Thank you again for the opportunity to (dedicate or baptize) your child. I am looking forward to getting together with you. In Christ’s Service,

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Will You Be My Child’s Godparent?

Congratulations! You are being asked to be a godparent and this is a huge honor. You have displayed, through the way you have lived your life and passed on the faith to your children, that God is in the center of your life and your family. Another family is desiring to do the same thing with their newborn child and they are making the commitment to be an “as for me and my household we will serve the Lord” family (see Joshua 24:15) by having their child dedicated/baptized at (name of church) on (date). You are receiving this letter because they are desiring to surround themselves, and their child, with a few spiritual mentors who will encourage, support and hold them accountable to this commitment. The tradition of godparenting has existed for centuries, yet is seemingly on the decline in America due to the fact that many people do not understand the role and responsibilities that go with being a godparent. Here is what is being asked of you as a godparent. • The Role of Godparents—Godparents are meant to be people who have done their best to live a godly life, learning from their mistakes and raising their children to know, love and follow Jesus. Godparents will serve as lifelong spiritual mentors who will be openly available to be sought out for advice and support. Godparents also serve as accountability partners holding the parents and godchild true to their commitment to love, follow and obey the ways of Christ. And finally, godparents serve as another spiritual voice and example in the life of the child. • The Responsibilities of Godparents—Godparents should pray for their godchild and family daily. The godparent should also play an active role in helping pass on the faith to the godchild through regular and repeated interaction with him or her. One suggestion is that the godparent sends a card and faith building gift to his or her godchild on the anniversary of the dedication/baptism date every year. Everyone else will remember the child’s birthday; it’s your responsibility to make sure your godchild remembers his or her dedication or baptism birthday! And finally, if at all possible, the godparent should attend the dedication/baptism service standing with the family and making the same commitment with them to help raise this child to know the love and saving grace of God! Being asked to be a godparent is a great thing! May the Lord bless you as you consider this wonderful opportunity.

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Sample Dedication or Baptism Service

Begin by introducing the family, other children and their godparents to the congregation.

Affirmation Questions Question to the Family—Do you desire to be an “As for me and my household, we will serve the Lord” family? If so please say, “We do!” Question to the Parents—As we discussed when we met together, you, the parents, are the biggest influence in the faith development of your child. In Joshua 24 it says, “As for me” before it says “and my household.” In Deuteronomy 6 it says, “These commandments that I give you are to be upon YOUR HEARTS” before it says “Impress them on your children.” The Bible is clear: you the parents are the ones with the primary responsibility for passing on the faith to this precious child that God has blessed you with. Therefore I ask you, as parents, will you love, serve and obey the Lord will all your heart, soul and strength, setting the example your child needs in speech and in life, training your child in the way they should go so when he/she is older he/she will not turn from it? If so, please say “We will with the help of God.” Question to the Godparents—You have been asked by this family to serve as a godparent to (child’s name) because of the way you have lived your life for God and raised your children to know and love the Lord. Will you accept the role of godparent and pray for this child and family daily? Will you also serve as a lifelong spiritual mentor and accountability partner holding the parents and godchild true to their commitment to love, follow, and obey the ways of Christ? If so please reply, “By the grace of God I/we will.” Question to the Congregation—We are called the family of God and therefore we are extended members of this family and they need us as well. Therefore I ask you as a body, will you encourage, support and sustain this family as they raise this child to know the love of Jesus Christ? If so, please reply, “We will!”

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Perform the Dedication/Baptism Baptize or dedicate your child according to your tradition.

Presentation of a FaithChest® A FaithChest® is a small, hope chest that has been made by the members of the congregation. For plans and permissions to make a FaithChest® go to the Youth and Family Institute website at www.youthandfamilyinstitute.org. You can download kit plans to build a chest or purchase a kit. Different groups in the church may contribute items for the chest. It might include a certificate, Bible, and other meaningful items. This FaithChest® is a symbol of our intention to work together with you the parents and you the godparents to provide resources that will help you pass on the faith to (name of child.) One day, this faith chest will be filled with resources that helped your child know the love of Jesus Christ and when your child has a child of his or her own (as hard as that is to believe now but it will go by so quickly!) you will be able to give your child this FaithChest® that he or she can use to pass on the faith to his or her child.

Closing Prayer and Family Blessing May the Lord continue to bless you and keep you. May the Lord continue to make His face shine on you and be gracious to you. May the Lord continue to look upon you with favor and give you peace. In the name of the Father, and the Son and Holy Spirit. Amen.

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