Child Dedication Fact Sheet
Child dedication is a significant and meaningful experience at Watermark. To create a memorable event for families, dedications are held during Sunday morning worship services, allowing time to honor and pray over each child and family.
Frequently Asked Questions
• Who gets to go on stage with the child? Immediate family (parents & siblings) of child being dedicated will be called up to stand with the pastor for the dedication. Siblings on stage are optional.
• What time should our family get to church on the day of the dedication? We ask for you to arrive 20 minutes prior to the start of the service so kids can get checked into their classes and we can answer any last minute questions you may have.
• Should we check our children into KidsPort before the service begins? Yes! Please place your child’s registration sticker on the back of their shirt. The dedication will take place right after the first song - after the dedication your child will be ready to go straight to their classroom.
• What will the actual dedication be like? Each family will be introduced and their corresponding slide will be displayed. Pastor Joel will give a brief message followed by a vow from parents and the church family. We will conclude with prayer, and a certificate and gift will follow.
Biblical Principles Behind Child Dedications
1. Children are a gift from God
• Sons are a heritage from the Lord, children a reward from Him. Psalm 127:3
• For You created my inmost being; You knit me together in my mother’s womb. I praise You because I am fearfully and wonderfully made; Your works are wonderful, I know that full well. Psalm 139:13,14
Therefore, we receive our children from Him with a heart of thanksgiving.
2. God has a purpose and a plan for each of His children
• All the days ordained for me were written in Your book before one of them came to be. Psalm 139:16
• For we are God’s workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do. Ephesians 2:10
• For I know the plans I have for you, declares the Lord, plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future. Jeremiah 29:11
Therefore, we ask that His will be revealed and released in the lives of our children.
3. Jesus encouraged His disciples to bring the children to Him
• People were bringing little children to have Him touch them, but the disciples rebuked them. When Jesus saw this, He was indignant. He said to them, ‘Let the little children come to Me, and do not hinder them, for the kingdom of God belongs to such as these. I tell you the truth, anyone who will not receive the Kingdom of God like a little child will never enter it. ’And He took the children in His arms, put His hands on them and blessed them. Mark 10:13-16
Therefore, we bring our children to Jesus in prayer to ask for His blessing.
4. Parents have a responsibility to teach their children about God
• Do not forget the things your eyes have seen or let them slip from your heart as long as you live. Teach them to your children and to their children after them...so 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, and so that you may enjoy long life... These commandments that I give you today are to be upon your hearts. Impress them on your children. Talk about them when
you sit at home and when you walk along the road, when you lie down and when you get up. Deuteronomy 4:9, 6:2, 6-7
• We will tell the next generation the praiseworthy deeds of the Lord, His power, and the wonders He has done. Psalm 78:6
• Parents do no exasperate your children; instead, bring them up in the training and in the instruction of the Lord. Ephesians 6:1-4
Therefore, we accept our responsibility and commit ourselves to a personal relationship with God through Jesus Christ and to raising our children in the love of God through the power of the Holy Spirit.
5. Practical ways to guide your children into a relationship with Christ
• Continue to develop your own personal relationship with God through prayer, Bible reading, joining a growth group and obedience to God’s Word.
• Attend church regularly as a family. Here at Watermark Church we begin teaching children lessons from the Bible at age 3. Talk to your children about what they learned at church and share what you learned as well.
• Develop Christian relationships with other parents who can be mentors, offer support and encouragement and friendship. Life groups are a great place to develop these friendships. If you want more information about getting connected to a life group, email Lori@mywatermark.org.
• Talk about your faith and read from the Bible at home. Encourage your children to begin memorizing scripture as soon as they are able. Pray with and for your children daily.
• Look for opportunities to develop your Christian parenting skills through books, seminars, classes and life group opportunities. RightNow Media is another great resource!
Other Helpful Scriptures
• For the LORD God is a sun and shield; the LORD bestows favor and honor; no good thing does He withhold from those whose walk is blameless. O LORD Almighty, blessed is the man who trusts in You. Psalm 84:11-12
• He will call upon me, and I will answer him; I will be with him in trouble, I will deliver him and honor him. Psalm 91:15
• Look to the LORD and His strength; seek His face always. I Chronicles 16: 11
• ... Acknowledge the God of your father, and serve Him with wholehearted devotion and with a willing mind, for the LORD searches every heart and understands every motive behind the thoughts. If you seek Him, He will be found by you. Chronicles 28:9
• But seek first His kingdom and His righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well. Matthew 6:33
• These commandments that I give you today are to be upon your hearts. Impress them on your children. Talk about them when you sit at home and when you walk along the road, when you lie down and when you get up. Tie them as symbols on your hands and bind them on your foreheads. Write them on the doorframes of your houses and on your gates. Deuteronomy 6-9
• Parents do no exasperate your children; instead, bring them up in the training and in the instruction of the Lord. Ephesians 6:1-4
• He who fears the Lord has a secure fortress, and for his children it will be a refuge. Proverbs 14:26
• Your eyes saw my unformed body. All the days ordained for me were written in Your book before one of them came to be. Psalm 139:16
• For You created my inmost being; You knit me together in my mother’s womb. I praise You because I am fearfully and wonderfully made; Your works are wonderful, I know that full well. Psalm 139:13-14
• Sons are a heritage from the Lord, children a reward from Him. Psalm 127:
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