On Sunday, September 1, we brought our Family Worship Summer to a close with a Child Dedication service. The Bible Fellowship Church’s Biblical Principles for Living explains this practice as follows:
Article 151 – Dedication of Children
151-1 Child dedication is a voluntary act in which believing parents publicly present their child to the Lord as an outward expression of their gratitude to Him for the child and as a formal appeal to God for divine assistance in the bringing up of the child. It is not to be confused with baptism, or to be considered as imparting salvation, or viewed as an ordinance of the church.
151-2 The child is a gift from God and therefore the parents promise, as God’s stewards, to bring up the child in the discipline and instruction of the Lord.
151-3 In dedicating their child in the presence of fellow believers, parents are publicly dedicating themselves to the faithful fulfillment of their parental responsibilities and are acknowledging their need of the prayerful support and encouragement of those fellow believers.
151-4 Child dedication becomes meaningful as the parents explain to the child the meaning of this act and consistently carry out the promises made before God and the church at the time of dedication.
Four of our families came forward for this service: the Kocmans, the Lathams, the Browns, and the Coolmans. Please continue to pray for these families in their daily efforts to fulfill their promises and explain this act as their children grow older, as well as for the children themselves. We thank God for these families and the work He is doing and will do in their lives!