On Saturday, March 1st, we celebrated Child Dedication at Browncroft! Five families professed, in front of God, extended family, and friends, their commitment to raising their little one in a Christ-centered home and training them up in the Christian faith. We are so thankful for each of these parents and their precious children and hope you will keep them in your prayers as they strive to live out this wonderful declaration. In fact, we are looking forward to praying over them as a church in an upcoming Sunday service.

It’s such a blessing to hear each family’s story and what it has meant to them personally to dedicate their child to the Lord. Please enjoy these reflections from two families who participated in the recent ceremony and wish them congratulations the next time you see them at church!

-Carissa Gray, Communications Coordinator

Jenna & Alex Evans:

When I was pregnant with our first child, I remember my uncle telling us that after each of his children were born, he would hold his child and say a prayer acknowledging that we are stewards of this beautiful life and that we have to give them right back to the Lord. This was a powerful thought for Alex and me as we prepared for our first child. We had the baby list created, the nursery set up, the baby showers planned, birthing plan notes in order, and the hospital bag packed, but how had we prepared to bring our children up in the faith we hold so dearly? It struck both of our hearts that this was where we needed to focus. So, after each child was born, we carried on the tradition of giving each of them back to the Lord. Most of you will be envisaging a “Circle of Life” scene, however it was just a simple moment for both of us. But in our hearts, it was momentous – these were not only our children, but God’s children whom we were given the joy of raising.

As our babies grew, we decided to make a more public declaration with the support of our loving family and friends and church family, through a dedication service. This looked different for each child, as our oldest daughter was brought up in our church in England. Our second beautiful girl was dedicated here in Rochester as we had just moved back.  As for our third child, our son, we were blessed with a different, but equally memorable and special service at Browncroft. The service was intimate and inspiring. We were given some homework to think about a verse and some words we pray our son will demonstrate as he grows in the Lord. It was a beautiful way to think about the core words we hope and pray God will use to His benefit and glory in our son’s life. We then had an opportunity to share those words with our family and friends and pray over our son.

The dedication service for each of our children focused us on our child being made in God’s image and designed by God, and reminded us that they are not ours. We are committing to growing these children in the Christian faith, praying that God would strengthen our family, with our extended family, friends, and church community encouraging us as our child grows. Our hope from this is that our children will develop their own personal relationships in Christ, and one day make their own decision to be baptized and follow God’s plan for their own lives. And who knows, maybe they will have children and choose to bring them up in God’s love one day – that’s our hope and prayer.

Stephanie & Nate Ellens:

A verse that our family is memorizing together recently has been Joshua 24:15: “But as for me and my house, we will serve the Lord.” I love this verse because it’s a powerful reminder that the culture we create in our home needs to be intentionally Christ-filled, and that despite our past or current struggles, we can renew our commitment to follow and serve the Lord. That desire to love God and let Him guide our parenting was the motivation in dedicating all of our children, and most recently having our youngest, Bennett, dedicated at Browncroft on March 1st. We desire and benefit from the accountability of our church family seeing us make this public commitment. 

The dedication ceremony was beautifully done and a great reminder that our time with our children (under our roof) is finite.  And therefore the responsibility we have to raise our kids to see, understand, and desire God in their own lives should be met with a sense of urgency. We were reminded that we can guide, teach, and instruct our kids, but the Lord convicts and changes hearts. We pray one day our children will make the choice to publicly declare their life commitment to Christ and be baptized. Until then we will “train up our children in the way they should go,” with the hope that “when they are grown they will not depart from it” (Proverbs 22:6). 

Parenthood is an incredibly humbling and sanctifying experience. Many people see our family with three young children and say, “Wow, you’re so busy!” And while that is true, I always try to then reply back, “Yes, and so blessed!” Psalm 127:3-5 says that “Children are a heritage from the Lord… Blessed is the man who fills his quiver with them!” 

We are immensely blessed by the three children God has given us. We experienced two miscarriages and almost lost Bennett early in my pregnancy. There was uncertainty during the remainder of my pregnancy, and we tangibly felt the outpouring of support, prayers, and biblical encouragement from our church family at Browncroft. Dedicating Bennett in this incredible community will be an experience that will forever be deeply meaningful and memorable for us.