Child Dedication

We first see child dedication in 1 Samuel 1: 27-28. This is where a godly woman named Hannah prayed year after year for a child. God answered her prayer and she gave birth to a son. She named him Samuel. When he was born, she prayed these words: I asked the Lord to give me this boy, and he has granted my request. Now I am giving him to the Lord, and he will belong to the Lord his whole life.” And they worshiped the Lord there.” We also see Mary and Joseph dedicated Jesus to the temple when he was born.

You do not need to be a partner at City Alliance Church to have your child dedicated in a public ceremony. We do encourage parents to make sure they are calling City Alliance their home church. Why? In dedicating your child to God, you are stating that you are willing to partner with God and the church to raise your child in cooperation with God’s intentions. To partner with any church, a parent would be wise to decide if he or she agrees with its beliefs and vision, so they can be all-in in their partnership with the church.

When you choose to become a partner at City Alliance, you are stating that you agree with City Alliance’s beliefs and values and that you want City Alliance to be your home church. Partnership workshops are available regularly.

Child dedication is a church-wide experience. We invite our City Kids (children’s ministry) to join us in the service. During the dedication, the pastor will invite parents to come up and stand before the church. The Pastor and City Kids coordinator will anoint with oil and bless each child. Then they will be asked a few questions by the pastor in which they will reply, “We will.” After parents, the pastor will address the congregation and ask them some questions at which they respond with, “We Will.” Then we ask City Kids some questions to which they will respond. We’ll then pray a dedication prayer for the children.

At City Alliance, we believe that Scripture provides evidence that Baptism follows an individual’s decision to trust Christ alone for salvation (Acts 2:41, 8:12, and 10:47–48). And the New Testament records the baptisms of adult believers only.

In the Bible, we find parents bringing their children to Jesus. He held them, prayed for them, and told us to welcome them. But He did not baptize them and He did not tell anyone else to baptize them. City Alliance believes Baptism is for those who have made a personal decision to trust Christ alone for their salvation, once they have the maturity and ability to understand what that means.

Salvation comes only through faith in Jesus Christ as each person recognizes their sinfulness and receives forgiveness and eternal life through Christ and His work on the cross.

Rather than baptizing infants or children, City Alliance encourages Christian parents to dedicate their children. This is a ceremony in which parents formally call upon God’s blessing for their child and publicly commit to raise him or her in accordance with Scripture.

To have a child dedicated at City Alliance Church they must be 4 and under.

Yes! Child dedication signifies the commitment of parents (including single parents) to do their best to raise their child to be a follower of Christ. Additionally, we highly encourage single parents to dedicate their child as they commit themselves to raise him or her without the presence or partnership of a spouse. The decision to dedicate a child is not dependent upon the beliefs of the ex-spouse; however, we encourage single parents to discuss child dedication with their ex-spouse. Ideally, both parents—even if not married—would still commit to the dedication of their child to God.

We acknowledge that this is often not possible and that it takes extra effort for a single parent to raise a child. As a church, City Alliance is committed to supporting single parents in providing a Christian foundation for their child’s upbringing.

The goal of Child Dedication is to help parents understand their role as primary spiritual nurturers of their child's faith, we do ask that only parents participate in our child dedications at City Alliance Church. We do welcome parents to invite friends and family members committed to supporting them to attend the dedication service. The presence of these significant adults symbolizes their commitment to play a supportive role in the child’s spiritual development.