Here at CHVRCH Newtown Square we believe that children are indeed a gift from the Lord. When parents stand before God’s people and dedicate their child to God, it is an occasion of great significance. To that end, we want to make sure you understand what we believe it means to “dedicate” your child to the Lord.

The purpose of a dedication is to help you, the parent or guardian, fully embrace the sacred call to raise up your children in the nurture and admonition of the Lord (Eph. 6:4). This is a time when parents are asked the following:

1. To present their child before the Lord and before a local church in which they are faithfully and consistently participating.

2. To consecrate themselves, as parents, to bring up their child in the nurture and admonition of the Lord.

3. To promise to instruct their child in the gospel of Jesus Christ, the practice of prayer, and to guide them in the development of Christlike character.

4. And finally, by God’s grace, to shape the home life of the child so that she/he might come to an open confession of Christ and membership in his Church.

In return, the body of Christ, which is the local church, is then asked to affirm their commitment to receive these children in love, to pray for them, to help instruct them in the faith. The church will commit to encourage and sustain these children in the fellowship of believers so that together we might all live, speak and serve as the very presence of Jesus for this world.