Commitment

 1 Samuel 1:27-28 “I prayed for this child, and the Lord has granted me what I asked of him.  So now I give him to the Lord.  For his whole life he will be given over to the Lord.”

All over the world, God is building his kingdom through children and through child-like faith. At WMB, we seek to embrace children with the intent of becoming like them in faith, and to equip them in their walk of faith by our instruction and example.

When you dedicate your child to the Lord, you are making the commitment to be an “as for me and my household we will serve the Lord” family (see Joshua 24:15). You are declaring that you desire to raise your child to know and love Jesus. The service of dedication recognizes that God gives parents an important and exciting responsibility. It also recognizes that God empowers you day by day to fulfill this responsibility. The church family at WMB desires to support you as you raise your children.

Celebration

At a WMB service of dedication, parents accept their God-given tasks and ask for God’s help to fulfill these tasks. Extended family, small groups and the faith community at WMB pledge to support parents in raising their children to follow Jesus.

Child Dedication Services at WMB will be held in the Lower Auditorium at 12:00pm (after the second regular church service) on four Sundays during the 2011-2012 ministry season. A celebration luncheon will be provided by Kids Ministries after each dedication service. We urge you to invite your extended family, friends and small group to support you and celebrate with you by attending the service and luncheon along with people from WMB.

Companionship

Selecting godparents or sponsors (whichever term you prefer) will provide you with spiritual mentors who will encourage, support and hold you accountable to this commitment of seeking to model and teach faith in Jesus to your child.

While we at WMB see much value in the role of godparents or sponsors, you are not required to select them for your child as he or she is dedicated. You may see this as a role that your wider extended family, circle of friends, or the church family will fill. Whether you choose specific people to fill this role or not, know that your church family at WMB will pray for you, encourage you and be available to support you in a variety of ways.

Process

• Please fill out the attached form and return it to the Information Centre to register for a Child Dedication Service. 
• A digital photo can be emailed to lisamatthews [at] waterloomb [dot] org anytime after you have registered for use during the Sunday morning service 
• If you are planning to do so, choose godparents or sponsors, and invite family, friends, and your small group to the celebration luncheon.
• Approximately two to three weeks before the service, you will receive a call of confirmation and inquiry to get the names of godparents or sponsors (if you have chosen them) and to get an approximate number of people who will be attending the celebration luncheon. 

 Child Dedication Services in 2011-12

• October 16, 2011 at 12:00pm
• January 15, 2012 at 12:00pm
• March 25, 2012 at 12:00pm
• June 17, 2012 at 12:00 noon

For more information, please contact Pete Olsen, Pastor, Age Based Ministries