We believe that it is the responsibility of parents to cultivate an environment where each child can understand the Gospel and trust Jesus for his/her personal salvation. One of the first steps in this process is affirming your own commitment to cultivate an environment where this can take place. Deuteronomy 6:6-7 shows parents how to do this:
“These commandments that I give you today are to be upon your hearts. Impress them on your children. Talk about them when you sit at home and when you walk along the road, when you lie down and when you get up.”
Our prayer is that you experience the joy the Bible speaks of in 3 John 4 when your child places his/her trust in Jesus and follows Him:
“I have no greater joy than to hear that my children are walking in the truth.”
Purpose
Parent/Child Dedication is a special time for parents to affirm their own commitment to cultivate the faith of their children, as well as the commitment of the New Covenant Church family to help them do this.
There are examples throughout Scripture of parents dedicating their children to the Lord. Hannah dedicated Samuel (1 Samuel 1:21-28) in the Old Testament, and Joseph and Mary dedicated Jesus (Luke 2:21-38).
Salvation
We believe Scripture is clear that the only way for salvation is through trusting in Jesus for the forgiveness of one’s sins. In John 3:16 Jesus said, “For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.” The emphasis throughout Scripture is focused on believing that Jesus’ death on the cross counts for an individual personally. Therefore, we believe that nothing a person does (including Parent/Child Dedication) will “save” them. Rather, the only way to be saved is through personal faith in Jesus.
Infant Baptism
We believe that baptism is the outward symbol of what has already taken place in a person’s heart when he/she trusted Jesus for the forgiveness of his/her sins. We understand that there are churches that baptize infants and small children, but we recommend deferring baptism until it is a personal decision reflecting the child's own declaration of faith. Instead of infant baptism, we offer Parent/Child Dedication as a special time for parents to affirm their commitment to raise their children in an environment where each child can understand the Gospel and trust Jesus for his/her personal salvation.
We offer baptism for all those who have placed their trust in Jesus for the forgiveness of their sins. For more information about baptism go to ncbc.church/Baptism.
Parent/Child Dedication at New Covenant
We ask parents to:
- Have a personal relationship with Jesus Christ.
- Be regular attenders of our weekly worship services.
We welcome a conversation with you on any of the above statements. Please email Andrew Boone, NCBC's Discipleship Pastor.