I thought I’d actually wrap up this series on Child Dedication this week. Last week (Saturday) we held our dedication service and I was more than pleased. To be honest, it was the best dedication I’d ever experienced. Sure, there are some things to tweak, but it won’t take much to make this whole experience stellar.

So, here is what the service looked like:

Since I used Fellowship One for registration, I had a list of kids who I expected to be there. Since I also used Fellowship One to register parents for the Prep for Dedication class, I didn’t publicly display the link for the dedication service. Once a parent attended the class, I emailed them the link to register for the dedication service. I had a volunteer check families in as they arrived. We dedicated 28 kids and probably had a crowd of 250 at the actual dedication.

We started promptly at 11:00 AM with the slide show I posted here. Cathy Harwick, my new elementary director welcomed everyone to the dedication and opened with a word of prayer. I had a praise and worship leader then lead us in two songs of worship. It wasn’t too long, but just right. Following the music, Cathy got up again and spoke for about 10 minutes on why we practice child dedication and what it means. Afterward, she introduced the three other pastors/leaders who would be praying over families. She would call up four families at a time. The families and friends would come to the front and meet the pastor/leader who would dedicate them. The pastor/leader would ask the parents, “What is your motivation for having your child dedicated today?” After the parents shared their thoughts, the pastor/leader would pray over the child, family and friends. It was a sweet and personable time, probably 6-7 minutes up at the front.

While the dedication was happening, the worship leader continued to play and sing while the slide show continued to play on the big screen. This prayer time lasted for about 25-30 minutes. After this was finished, Cathy closed the service in prayer and the families were dismissed. In the lobby, parents picked up certificates and dedication Bibles before they left.

I got to experience this dedication as a father and participant. I thoroughly enjoyed the expereince as a participant. I also really like the environment. I felt like we were really getting it right. So, like I said before, I was more than pleased.