Faith Path: Parent Dedication
Recommended Ages: Birth–2 years
God designed the home as the primary place for faith to be nurtured. Parent Dedication is a formal commitment by parents to raise their child in a Christ-centered home.
Commit to Raise Your Child in a God-Honoring Home
Parenting is one of the most rewarding and challenging experiences in life. It is also a great blessing and responsibility. The Bible is clear on our role as parents to raise up the next generation in the way of the Lord. Parent Dedication is the first step in the Faith Path and a way to publicly declare your intentions to raise your child in a Christ-centered home.
What is parent dedication?
Parent Dedication is a special time during a weekend service in which you make a formal commitment to raise your child in a Christ-centered home. We see several examples in the Bible such as 1 Samuel 1:24-2:10 when Hannah dedicated Samuel at the temple and Luke 2 where Mary and Joseph dedicated Jesus. During the weekend service you will be asked to make a public pledge before the congregation that you will raise your child to know, love, and follow Jesus Christ. God designed the home as the primary place for faith to be nurtured. One way that we seek to partner with you is by providing resources throughout your child’s spiritual journey. We call this the Faith Path. Parent dedication is the first step.
The Parent's Commitment
Parent Dedication is your commitment to model, teach, and reinforce the Christian Faith. It should not be confused with your child’s personal choice to follow Christ. We believe the Bible clearly teaches that each person must decide for themselves to trust in Jesus Christ as both Savior and Lord (Romans 10:9-10). The age a child is ready to make this personal decision will vary depending on the child.
The Church's Commitment
Parent Dedication is also a time for the church to commit to walk alongside you as you point your child toward Christ. You will receive a gift called My Faith Box to provide ideas each step of the way from birth to age eighteen. It is also a place for keepsake items from your child’s spiritual journey.
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recommended books
My Faith Box
By Lydia Randall
A new resource for parents to guide their child’s faith journey and capture spiritual growth keepsakes. My Faith Box includes a My Faith Box and My Faith Book. Ideal to help you create an age-specific plan on each birthday and capture memories from special milestones; while giving you resources and ideas for how to be intentional in helping your child know, love and follow Jesus.
Power of a Praying Parent
By Stormie Omartian
After 20 years of raising her son and daughter alongside her husband, Michael, Stormie Omartian looks back at the trials and joys of parenting and the power in praying for her children in The Power of a Praying Parent.
In the easy-to-read chapters, Stormie shares from personal experience as to how parents can pray for their kids':
·safety
·character development
·adolescence
·peer pressure
·school experiences
·friends
·relationship with God
This resource will help you to be an amazing praying parent whether your kids are three or thirty-three.
The Ministry of Motherhood
By Sally Clarkson
Motherhood isn’t just a job. It’s a Calling. A mother’s day is packed with a multitude of tasks that require energy and time: preparing meals, washing clothes, straightening and cleaning the house, and caring for children. These jobs all are necessary and crucially important. But in the dailyness of providing for a child’ s physical, emotional, and social needs, vital opportunities for spiritual nurture and training can be overlooked.
This doesn’t have to be the case. You can focus your energy on what matters most. Learn how you can:
·Make Life’s Mundane and Nitty-Gritty Moments Work for You and Not Against You.
·Discover Ways to Make Character-Building a Natural Part of Live.
·Teach Your Child in the Same Way Jesus Taught the Disciples.
·Pass on Crucial Gifts that Will Serve Your Family for a Lifetime.
Using biblical wisdom and practical teachings, Sally Clarkson shows how you can make a lasting difference in your child’s life by following the pattern Christ set with his own disciples–a model that will inspire and equip you to intentionally embrace the rewarding, desperately needed, and immeasurably valuable Ministry of Motherhood.
About Faith path
We believe God designed the family to be the primary disciple-making relationship. In other words, God gave parents the privilege of nurturing faith in the next generation. That’s why the Faith Path was created. It's a step-by-step plan to help you be intentional as you prepare for key faith milestones and foster spiritual disciplines in your child’s faith journey. From parent dedication to leading your child to Christ to launching your young adult, the Faith Path resources are designed to assist you in discipling your children.