So I’m working on a possible event/orientation/service/something for brand new parents-to-be. This is an initial engagement, conversation and even tour of our ministry to kids, most importantly… getting new parents on our radar. We want to let them know about upcoming child dedications and equip them for success.
I know that I’ve come across churches in the past that have done something, either formally or informally. Are you doing something for this audience or do you know someone who does? Let me know please by leaving a comment or contacting me on my contact form.
We held baby showers 3-4 times a year on a Saturday morning at our main campus. We had had an ice breaker game that helped the parents meet the other parents there, talked about why we think babies are so important and how we want to partner with parents, etc. And then a scavenger hunt in our classrooms for parents to find such things as, the baby info sheet we ask parents to fill out each Sunday, a bible phrase or prayer sentence teachers will be saying to the babies, the classroom bible, the room clean-up procedure posted in the room, etc. Once back to the party I would use each find as an opportunity to talk about WHAT we do with babies in class and why (not just “babysitting”), more about our classroom bible and why we believe it is important to start talking about God & the Bible at a young age (not waiting until they’re 2), our cleaning & safety standards, etc. Finally – we gave them a gift bag with a cd recording of one of the sermon’s on parenting from the past, a preschool classroom music cd (leftover from previous quarters from the Lifeway curriculum preschool uses), a bib with the church logo, Westside bag tag, Lifeway’s Baby magazine, and a sheet about “Your baby and the Bible” on one side and cut up Bible phrases to tap around specific areas of the home to use as a reminder to continually teach your child(ren) as you walk along the rode, get up/lay down, etc…
The pros – The women who came started engaging with the ministry much sooner and bringing their baby to class at an earlier age, which we saw tremendous benefits with. (separation anxiety was much less extreme as they got around the typical 8-13m age. The babies were already familiar with their classroom, teachers, and the fact that mommy & daddy always come back!) We also saw parents purchasing Bibles to teach with at home with their baby through the preschool years and using the weekly take home tips to engage their child with during the week. At the baby shower they saw me model speaking to a young child about God/Jesus/Bible, heard my testimony of doing so with my own toddler, & I think realized, “Hey, I can do that!”
Con – Getting parents to the shower… We are a church of about 4k and I’m guessing out of about 30 pregnant women in the body during one of the showers I would get anywhere from 2-8 women. Dad’s were also reluctant to attend with their wives. I moved from preschool to grade school around the time we were starting to re-evaluate the effectiveness of the showers.
Two parents “getting it” was significant and worthwhile to me, but my direct line also had the time/energy/cost to consider. 🙁
I was able to get a Child Dedication Class up and running in addition to the actual dedication service, as well as information on our website ABOUT Child Dedication before I moved to grade school, SPECIFICALLY because of this blog and the examples you provided with your own experiences. The class gives us an opportunity to pour into parents in many of the same ways, outside of doing a touch/feel walk-through of our baby classrooms… Huge win for parents and the church. Woot!
That was a long comment. Sorry. :p