This Sunday, for our last service at 301 Garden Street, we got to celebrate Child Dedication! Child Dedication happens one Sunday a year, where we gather together as a church as families dedicate their children to make the commitment to raise their little ones under God’s lead!

It is important for us to partner with our families from the very beginning so we can support and encourage them in intentionally raising their children to know what it means to have a personal relationship with Jesus Christ.

As our families stepped on stage with their adorable little ones, Pastor Chris outlined the essential commitments we must make as parents and as a church! He walked us through three commitments that our families made and we, as a church family, also made a commitment to them.

The first question Pastor Chris asked was- do you commit to raise your child as God’s, understanding that they are a special gift you have been given and not yours?

God loves your child more than you do.
God knows your child better than you do.
God has a better plan for your child than you do.

The second question that was asked to the families was-

Do you commit to teaching and training your child to leave by:

Putting your relationship with God first.
Putting your marriage second.
Putting your child third.

Pastor Chris explained that putting your child third does not mean putting them last! He also reminded us that as parents priorities aren’t taught they are demonstrated.

The last question that was asked was- Do you commit to creating a safe place for your child to meet Christ:

By being humble and growing in Christ yourselves.
By welcoming rebuke when you are wrong.
By being the same people in public as you are at home.

He reminded us that our relationship with Christ is built on grace and not perfection!

We made a commitment to them to create a safe church family by:

Joining together to fight gossip and broken relationships in our church family, admonishing each other when we are wrong, welcoming rebuke when we are wrong as a church, and showing the authentic love christ has for each of these children.

It was really special to get to celebrate Child Dedication on our last Sunday at 301 Garden Street as we saw 29 children get dedicated!

We can’t wait to continue pouring into our kids as we move into our new space through Grace Kids and our middle school and high school program- Vibe and Quad! We are super excited for all the new and creative ways we’ll be able to love our kids and grow their faith inside of our new space!

To sign up for our next child dedication click here!