Child Dedication: Liturgies for the Non-Liturgical

When it comes to being a pastor in a non-liturgical tradition it can be tough to be a part of a movement where there is no "book" to guide you through the "right way" to say and do things.

I love the creativity and spontaneity that freedom can bring and the dependence on the Spirit to do something that makes sense for your context, but the downside is you're often not sure where to start when you first begin doing things like weddings, dedications, funerals, baptisms, communion, and more. And when given too much freedom, people tend to slip into trite and repetitive sayings (this is especially true of public prayer).

Also, the amount of options for how to do some of these sacred acts can be paralyzing without any defined guardrails from your tradition.

So, over the years I've developed many of my own liturgies (or you can just call them templates or guides if you wish) for certain sacred acts or services within the church, and I thought I'd occasionally start sharing them in case it helps those just starting out or looking for inspiration. (I previously shared this prayer for dedicating a church space or building when I couldn't find one).

I've often borrowed bits and pieces of material from other traditions or people I've learned under, so this all won't necessarily be original to me, but a good portion is and certainly the arrangement, flow, and order is.

These of course will need tweaked for your specific setting. These are simply the templates I build from for each unique situation.

First up in this series of "liturgies for the non-liturgical" is . . .

Child Dedication

Explanation of Dedication

This is a special occasion and a very important one as we dedicate [NAME] to the Lord.

Like lots of acts of worship, child dedication reminds us that everything we have belongs to God, and in this case this act is a reminder that children are not our own, but belong to God. Therefore, we must entrust them to the Lord and free them to follow God wherever that may take them.

The concept of child/baby dedication is of course found in the Bible, in both testaments, and in the life of Jesus himself:

Luke 2:22: When the time came for the purification rites required by the Law of Moses, Joseph and Mary took [Jesus] to Jerusalem to present him to the Lord.

In 1 Samuel 1, we learn of the woman Hannah who prays for a child and the Lord hears her prayer and grants her a son. She says in v. 22 that she will “present him before the Lord.”

And so when he was still young, she brought him to the priest and said: “²⁷ I prayed for this child, and the Lord has granted me what I asked of him. ²⁸ So now I give him to the Lord.”

Both of these stories briefly illustrate the 3 different elements of child dedication:

1. The Parents dedication to the Lord and to the child (to give them up and raise them in the way of the Lord).

Mary and Joseph “took Jesus to Jerusalem” in a physical act of handing him over as parents, and Hannah said “now I give him to the Lord.”

2. Church response (community of faith)

The parents don’t do the act themselves in the privacy of their homes; rather, like adult baptism, this is a public act received and validated by the community of faith.

3. The Child Dedication to the Lord through Anointing and Prayer

Both stories use the language of “present him to/before the Lord.”

We aren’t told exactly what the dedication ceremony entailed in either of these stories, but there was some formal act of dedication which likely included words said, prayers, and some physical outward act to represent the inward truth.

Here at our church, we use oil for this physical act.



In Exodus 30:30-31 God says, “Anoint Aaron and his sons and consecrate [dedicate] them so they may serve me as priests. Say to the Israelites, ‘This is to be my sacred anointing oil for the generations to come.’” Therefore, oil is:

• symbolic of dedication (priests in OT; cf. priesthood of all believers in the NT)
• A type/metaphor of the giving of the Holy Spirit, of favor, or commission

So we will now go through these 3 elements of dedication, beginning with:

The Parents Dedication (parents are called up)

1.   So first, do you recognize that [Name] is a gift from God to you, to us, and to the world?

2.   In that case, do you present [Name] to the Lord today in dedication and do you pledge to bring up [Name] in a Christian home, looking to God for wisdom, strength, and love?

3.   Lastly, as [Name] grows up will you endeavour to lead him/her to trust Jesus as his/her own Lord and Saviour?

Church Response      

1.   Congregation, will you prayerfully support [Parents] in the raising of [Name] and thereby help them to keep their commitments made today?

2.   Will you seek to follow Christ wholeheartedly in order to lead [Name] by example?

3.   Will you passionately support the ministries of this church that aim to disciple children?

Dedication Through Anointing and Prayer (other family members join)

[Any meaningful stories or significant meaning to the name share here.]

The child will be anointed with oil in the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit, as a sign of dedication and consecration to God

[Pastor will hold child for dedication prayer]

[Chance for people to listen to the Lord and offer up prayers as well as share any prophetic words or Scriptures the Lord might share with them for the child]