Why do we do Parent-Child Dedications?
by Amanda Christopher
I wrote this post earlier this year, but wanted to share again as we look forward to another Parent-Child Dedication coming up soon! If you have attended one before, you know what a special time it is for a us a family. But if you stood and agreed to the covenant of partnering with and supporting parents in raising their children in the gospel, I hope you didn’t take it lightly! Children are a gift to the entire church, and the opportunity to invest in them is a privilege. Read the post below about why we do these dedications, and how you can do your part in pointing our children to Jesus.
If you’d like to participate in the upcoming Parent-Child Dedication on September 11, please email me to sign up!
We have a Parent-Child Dedication coming up in March, and I have been thinking lately about what these are and why we do them. I think sometimes when we talk about them, those of you who don’t have children or whose children are grown tune out or scroll past the posts, because they don’t apply to you. But the truth is Parent-Child Dedications are for all of New City, not just the parents and children.
During Parent-Child Dedications, we get the opportunity to celebrate together the gift that children are, but we also make a covenant as a family. Parents covenant to raise their children to love and follow Jesus, and the New City family covenants to partner with them and support them as they seek to make disciples of their children.
Parenting is hard! But it is harder when we feel alone. If we are a family, then that means parents do not need to feel alone in their parenting. They should be supported, equipped, prayed for, checked in on. They should have friends who are ahead of them in the parenting journey encouraging them and cheering them on. They should have peers in the trenches with them who can sympathize with the struggles, but always point them to Jesus in the midst of those struggles. They should also have friends who don’t have kids who will love on their kids and take time to get to know them. This is part of what it means to be a family. (And one of the beautiful aspects of multi-generational missional communities!)
I also believe that far too often, children are seen as less than whole people. It’s as if because they are small, we do not see them as spiritual beings who are broken and in need of a Savior. Sometimes we see their sin simply as bad behavior that needs to be corrected. Or maybe they’re so cute and sweet that we can forget they were conceived in sin and are just as much in need of redemption as the vilest criminal. Whatever the reason, we often fail to grasp the full weight of what it means to shepherd the children we have been given at New City.
This is where you all come in. This is why the Parent-Child Dedications are more than just a sweet idea or a nice photo op. We are a family, and the covenant we are making together is real. Your part in it matters. Your involvement in the lives of the families and children at New City matters, whether or not you’ve got kids of your own; even if you don’t serve in New City Kids; even if you think you don’t have anything to offer. You can pray for the children and their parents. You can speak to children when you see them at church. You can ask them what they are learning about God in their classes. You can tell them how glad you are to see them every Sunday.
You can also make it a priority to attend church on March 13, when we have our next Dedication! And when you stand and commit to praying for those families and supporting parents as they teach their kids to love and follow Jesus, really mean it.
If you would like to get involved with New City Kids, we always need more volunteers! You can email me to get plugged in.