Why We Dedicate Our Children to the Lord
Why We Dedicate Our Children to the Lord
When a couple stands before the church holding their newborn, it’s a scene that melts even the toughest hearts. It’s tender. It’s joyful. And if we’re thinking biblically, it’s also warfare.
Yes, warfare. Because when Christian parents dedicate a child to the Lord, it is not just about a cute religious ceremony. They are taking their stand in a world that wants to disciple their children toward sin, chaos, and self-worship. Our parents are saying, “This child belongs to King Jesus.” That’s not merely sentimental—it is subversive to the system of this world.
It is also more than tradition. Child dedication is an expression of our faith in a covenant-keeping God who calls us, our families, and our community to walk in His ways together. So, why do we dedicate our children publicly in the church? What does this moment mean for our parents, for the child, and for the church?
1. Dedication Is an Act of Worship
First, dedication is about who owns this child. Spoiler alert: it’s not you. Psalm 127:3 says, “Children are a heritage from the Lord.” That means they’re not trophies, accessories, or personal projects—they’re entrusted souls from the hand of God.
When Hannah prayed for a son, God answered her prayer with Samuel. In gratitude, she declared, “I have lent him to the Lord; as long as he lives, he is lent to the Lord” (1 Samuel 1:28). In other words, ‘This boy is Yours, God. Use him as You please.’
Every parent who stands before the church to dedicate a child is making the same declaration: “Lord, this life is Yours. Help us raise this child for Your glory.” Dedication begins with worship, because it begins with the recognition that all of life, including our parenting, exists under the reign of a gracious God.
2. Dedication Is a Covenant Commitment
Child dedication is a covenant promise. Parents are publicly vowing before God and His people to raise their children in the fear and admonition of the Lord (Ephesians 6:4).
This is no light promise. The world will catechize your kids if you don’t. The world and their programming, their classrooms, their screens—all of it is ready to tell your children who they are and what they should worship. The world is coming for your kids, ready to kill, steal and destroy.
God’s design for family discipleship is clear in Scripture:
“These words that I command you today shall be on your heart. You shall teach them diligently to your children…”
— Deuteronomy 6:6-7
Deuteronomy 6 gives us the blueprint: talk about God’s Word everywhere. When you sit, walk, eat, and lie down. The Christian home is meant to be a kingdom outpost where Christ is King and truth is normal.
Parents are called to shape their children’s hearts through daily rhythms of faith in family worship—reading God’s Word, praying together, and modeling love and obedience to Christ. This is the essence of Christian parenting: not perfection, but faithfulness.
By dedicating their child, parents commit to pursue this calling with God’s help. They acknowledge their dependence on His Spirit, trusting that only He can bring new life and faith in their child’s heart (John 3:5–8). Dedication is not about human effort; it’s about a grace fueled responsibility to defend our children from the lies, and lead them to the truth.
3. Dedication Is a Covenant Community Promise
When we dedicate a child, the church isn’t merely clapping politely from the sidelines. We’re making a promise too. The Scriptures teach that God’s people live as a covenant family—a community of faith bound together in Christ.
As a church we are not just observing. We promise to walk alongside the family, to pray for them, to encourage them, and to build a community where this child will hear the gospel and see it lived out.
The early church understood this. The believers “devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching and the fellowship, to the breaking of bread and the prayers” (Acts 2:42). A community of faith built up with one another in Christ.
This is why dedication happens before the congregation—it’s not simply a private family moment but a covenant act within the family of God. Together, we are saying, “We will come alongside of you as you raise this child in the Lord.” The church is a united front in the spiritual battle for the hearts of our children.
4. Dedication Points Us to the Gospel
Let’s be clear: dedicating a child doesn’t save them. Only Jesus saves. But it’s an act of hope—a public declaration that we trust the God who can bring life from death, faith from unbelief, and worship from rebellion.
It’s a way of saying, “This child will grow up under the sound of the gospel, among the people of God, surrounded by prayer and truth.” We’re setting them on the narrow road from the very beginning, trusting that God’s covenant mercies reach from generation to generation (Psalm 103:17–18).
Child dedication is both an act of defiance against the darkness and a celebration of the light. We dedicate children because we believe God keeps His promises. Our prayer at every dedication is that the grace of that gospel will one day awaken this child’s heart. Until then, we labor and pray, trusting in God’s promises.
5. Dedication Reminds the Church of Its Mission
Every baby dedicated to the Lord is another reminder that Christ is King—not Caesar, not culture, not the self. And it reminds us of our calling to make disciples, beginning with the little ones in our midst.
When Jesus said, “Let the little children come to me, and do not hinder them” (Matthew 19:14), He wasn’t just being gentle. He was declaring that His kingdom includes children. To dedicate a child is to stake a kingdom claim—to say that the name of Jesus will be confessed in this home and in this generation.
So Why Do We Dedicate Children?
Because we believe God is building His kingdom through families who fear Him.
Because we believe the church is a covenant community, not a weekly performance.
Because we believe the gospel changes generations.
When we dedicate children, we are declaring our dependence on the grace of God and our confidence in His promises. We are declaring war on the kingdom of this world and entrusting the next generation to the One who loves them even more than we do.
“The steadfast love of the Lord is from everlasting to everlasting on those who fear him, and his righteousness to children’s children.”
— Psalm 103:17
May every child dedication at Evangelical Bible Church be a moment of joyful surrender, deep faith and renewed hope in the God who keeps His covenant from generation to generation.
May we give glory to the God who owns them, to renew our covenant before Him, and to raise a generation that loves and serves the Lord Jesus Christ with joy and courage.
When a couple stands before the church holding their newborn, it’s a scene that melts even the toughest hearts. It’s tender. It’s joyful. And if we’re thinking biblically, it’s also warfare.
Yes, warfare. Because when Christian parents dedicate a child to the Lord, it is not just about a cute religious ceremony. They are taking their stand in a world that wants to disciple their children toward sin, chaos, and self-worship. Our parents are saying, “This child belongs to King Jesus.” That’s not merely sentimental—it is subversive to the system of this world.
It is also more than tradition. Child dedication is an expression of our faith in a covenant-keeping God who calls us, our families, and our community to walk in His ways together. So, why do we dedicate our children publicly in the church? What does this moment mean for our parents, for the child, and for the church?
1. Dedication Is an Act of Worship
First, dedication is about who owns this child. Spoiler alert: it’s not you. Psalm 127:3 says, “Children are a heritage from the Lord.” That means they’re not trophies, accessories, or personal projects—they’re entrusted souls from the hand of God.
When Hannah prayed for a son, God answered her prayer with Samuel. In gratitude, she declared, “I have lent him to the Lord; as long as he lives, he is lent to the Lord” (1 Samuel 1:28). In other words, ‘This boy is Yours, God. Use him as You please.’
Every parent who stands before the church to dedicate a child is making the same declaration: “Lord, this life is Yours. Help us raise this child for Your glory.” Dedication begins with worship, because it begins with the recognition that all of life, including our parenting, exists under the reign of a gracious God.
2. Dedication Is a Covenant Commitment
Child dedication is a covenant promise. Parents are publicly vowing before God and His people to raise their children in the fear and admonition of the Lord (Ephesians 6:4).
This is no light promise. The world will catechize your kids if you don’t. The world and their programming, their classrooms, their screens—all of it is ready to tell your children who they are and what they should worship. The world is coming for your kids, ready to kill, steal and destroy.
God’s design for family discipleship is clear in Scripture:
“These words that I command you today shall be on your heart. You shall teach them diligently to your children…”
— Deuteronomy 6:6-7
Deuteronomy 6 gives us the blueprint: talk about God’s Word everywhere. When you sit, walk, eat, and lie down. The Christian home is meant to be a kingdom outpost where Christ is King and truth is normal.
Parents are called to shape their children’s hearts through daily rhythms of faith in family worship—reading God’s Word, praying together, and modeling love and obedience to Christ. This is the essence of Christian parenting: not perfection, but faithfulness.
By dedicating their child, parents commit to pursue this calling with God’s help. They acknowledge their dependence on His Spirit, trusting that only He can bring new life and faith in their child’s heart (John 3:5–8). Dedication is not about human effort; it’s about a grace fueled responsibility to defend our children from the lies, and lead them to the truth.
3. Dedication Is a Covenant Community Promise
When we dedicate a child, the church isn’t merely clapping politely from the sidelines. We’re making a promise too. The Scriptures teach that God’s people live as a covenant family—a community of faith bound together in Christ.
As a church we are not just observing. We promise to walk alongside the family, to pray for them, to encourage them, and to build a community where this child will hear the gospel and see it lived out.
The early church understood this. The believers “devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching and the fellowship, to the breaking of bread and the prayers” (Acts 2:42). A community of faith built up with one another in Christ.
This is why dedication happens before the congregation—it’s not simply a private family moment but a covenant act within the family of God. Together, we are saying, “We will come alongside of you as you raise this child in the Lord.” The church is a united front in the spiritual battle for the hearts of our children.
4. Dedication Points Us to the Gospel
Let’s be clear: dedicating a child doesn’t save them. Only Jesus saves. But it’s an act of hope—a public declaration that we trust the God who can bring life from death, faith from unbelief, and worship from rebellion.
It’s a way of saying, “This child will grow up under the sound of the gospel, among the people of God, surrounded by prayer and truth.” We’re setting them on the narrow road from the very beginning, trusting that God’s covenant mercies reach from generation to generation (Psalm 103:17–18).
Child dedication is both an act of defiance against the darkness and a celebration of the light. We dedicate children because we believe God keeps His promises. Our prayer at every dedication is that the grace of that gospel will one day awaken this child’s heart. Until then, we labor and pray, trusting in God’s promises.
5. Dedication Reminds the Church of Its Mission
Every baby dedicated to the Lord is another reminder that Christ is King—not Caesar, not culture, not the self. And it reminds us of our calling to make disciples, beginning with the little ones in our midst.
When Jesus said, “Let the little children come to me, and do not hinder them” (Matthew 19:14), He wasn’t just being gentle. He was declaring that His kingdom includes children. To dedicate a child is to stake a kingdom claim—to say that the name of Jesus will be confessed in this home and in this generation.
So Why Do We Dedicate Children?
Because we believe God is building His kingdom through families who fear Him.
Because we believe the church is a covenant community, not a weekly performance.
Because we believe the gospel changes generations.
When we dedicate children, we are declaring our dependence on the grace of God and our confidence in His promises. We are declaring war on the kingdom of this world and entrusting the next generation to the One who loves them even more than we do.
“The steadfast love of the Lord is from everlasting to everlasting on those who fear him, and his righteousness to children’s children.”
— Psalm 103:17
May every child dedication at Evangelical Bible Church be a moment of joyful surrender, deep faith and renewed hope in the God who keeps His covenant from generation to generation.
May we give glory to the God who owns them, to renew our covenant before Him, and to raise a generation that loves and serves the Lord Jesus Christ with joy and courage.
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