Baby Dedication

Welcome to Willowdale Chapel's baby dedication! No doubt you're in the midst of all the changes that occur when you bring a new child into your home. It can be crazy and exhausting-but we're here to help. Not only are we excited to provide loving nursery care for your baby, but we want to resource you for the sake of your child's spiritual development.

So what is baby dedication?

This event is different from baptism. At Willowdale, we practice believer's baptism rather than infant baptism, believing this important rite is best undertaken when a person chooses for himself to follow Jesus. Obviously your little one is not quite capable of that yet. But we still believe the birth of your baby is a spiritually significant event, and should be marked as such through dedication.

Baby dedication is your commitment to raise your child in the faith, to know and follow Jesus-so that one day he or she will make their own commitment and be baptized. Baby dedication is also an opportunity to publicly invite God's grace into your child's life, so that His influence is upon them from the very beginning.

Baby Dedication is more than a Sunday event, it is an opportunity for you as parents to think through what really matters most. What does it mean to dedicate your child to God? What does it mean to dedicate yourselves to Christian parenting?

To stimulate your thinking, we've produced a series of videos called, "Parenting Pit Stops." These videos focus on three essential topics for raising your child to follow Jesus. We ask you to view these videos as a couple, maybe in the evening after the children are asleep. Take one per night so that you have time to reflect, discuss the topics, and complete the suggested activity.

Once you have completed the three Pit Stop videos, we invite you to an orientation meeting during a Sunday morning service. At that time, we will also introduce you to our preschool ministry and make preparations for the dedication ceremony.

We're excited for this journey and eager to walk alongside your family. There are few satisfactions in life greater than seeing your child learn about God and develop a personal relationship with Jesus.