We take Baby Dedication's seriously.

This is an amazing opportunity for you to take some time at the beginning
of your journey as a parent to really think about what will matter the most
in the life of your child - to really talk together and decide what you value
and what you can do today that will have the greatest impact on your child's future.

Baby Dedication

Dedication Purpose

At 12Stone Church, Parent/Child Dedication is defined as the parental willingness to completely and irrevocably relinquish this child to God. The scriptural root of this type of dedication is found in 1 Samuel 1:27-28:

"For this boy I prayed, and the Lord has given me my petition which I asked of Him. So I have also dedicated him to the Lord; as long as he lives he is dedicated."

Parents are expected to actively dedicate themselves to provide for the child everything that is necessary for the growth of the child in all areas: physical, mental, emotional, social and spiritual. The responsibility of the parents is to lead this child, in cooperation with the child's own unique personality, into a knowledge of Jesus Christ so that the child will develop an insatiable desire to know God, personally and intimately.

Proverbs 22:6
"Train a child in the way he should go, and when he is old he will not turn from it."

Deuteronomy 6:6-7
"These commandments that I give you today are to be upon your hearts. [7] 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."

Ephesians 6:4
"Fathers, do not exasperate your children; instead, bring them up in the training and instruction of the Lord."

Dedication allows the parents the opportunity to publicly - before the Body - covenant with God to train up their child in cooperation with God's intentions.

It is imperative to understand that dedication is not a sacrament; it cannot impart grace or salvation to your child. Salvation only comes through Jesus Christ as each person recognizes his or her sinfulness and receives forgiveness and eternal life through Jesus Christ as their personal Lord and Savior. Dedication is parental recognition of a solemn responsibility and trust -- a responsibility to raise your child in the nurture and instruction of the Lord. The Dedication Service provides parents an opportunity to make this commitment public before God, their friends and family.

A Parent’s Covenant

As a parent, I willingly accept my child as a unique gift from God. I understand that my parental responsibility involves leading my child into a growing relationship with Jesus Christ and helping my child understand God’s specific purpose for his or her life.
Therefore, I promise today that I will strive to do the following...

To thankfully receive this child as God's gift to me and my family.
To covenant to be parents of commitment. It is my responsibility to provide an environment where my child can mature and grow physically, emotionally, mentally, and spiritually. I must strengthen my relationships to provide a loving, stable, and secure home.
To covenant to be parents of personal faith; to recognize that my children are more likely to accept Christ as Lord if I do, more likely to respect people if I do, more likely to pray, read the scriptures, and attend church by the model they first observe in me.
To covenant to be parents of patience; to recognize that my desire to shape this gift of God, with their inherent strengths and weaknesses, is a task that requires time, prayer and God to produce in my children what He and I hope for.
To covenant to be parents of play. Tomorrow will arrive sooner that you can know. Then your children’s automatic desire to play will be replaced with a tendency to worry and to work. I must learn to laugh and play today and not wait for tomorrow.