You have 936 weeks in a kid's life when you can leverage distinctive opportunities to influence their future and lead them to Jesus...and it's counting down. The milestones path is intended to help facilitate an intentional, age-appropriate plan to engage the heart. While acknowledging that the Lord alone transforms the heart, we equip families to fulfill their God-given calling. We will celebrate a time of blessing and recommitment of those families who have completed a milestone during the year. Sign up here for milestone training.
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View some Frequently Asked Questions below:
FAQs
What is a dedication service? A dedication service involves a public commitment made by your family and the local church family of Fellowship before God. There are three parties to this commitment: God, your family, and the local church.
What is a milestone? A literal milestone is a stone that is set up beside a road to mark the distance in miles to a particular place. It figuratively became a reference to an event marking a significant change or stage of development.
What is Milestone Dedication Sunday? Our annual Milestone Dedication Sunday provides an opportunity for families to publicly express and/or reaffirm their desire to teach and model God’s Word in the power of His Spirit to their child(ren). Fellowship is publicly expressing and/or reaffirming its desire to partner with these families on this journey.
What do families need to do for their child(ren) to participate in Milestone Dedication Sunday?
- You must have a personal relationship with Jesus Christ.
- You must affirm and support the Family Ministry philosophy of Fellowship.
- You must be a regular attender of Fellowship.
- You must complete the training module for your particular milestone.
Do I have to complete training and/or an activity? Yes. Our desire is to equip families for the journey more than creating a ritual. Our early milestones involve training for the adult family members to complete. Beginning with the preteen years, families will have activities to complete with their child(ren).
Do I need to be a member of Fellowship to dedicate my child? No! You do not have to be a member of Fellowship to dedicate your child; however, we strongly encourage families to make sure they are calling Fellowship their home church. Why? In publicly dedicating your child to God, you are stating that you will partner with the local church to raise your child in the fear and admonition of the Lord. A local church partnership is not possible if you do not affirm the beliefs of Fellowship or regularly attend Fellowship.
How old does my child need to be to take part in Milestone Dedication Sunday? There are age/grade guidelines for each of our milestones running from birth to high school graduation. We realize that for a variety of reasons there may be children who have never been dedicated. We encourage you to begin at the appropriate age/grade milestone, while reviewing the family training that corresponds with the prior milestones.
Can a single parent or grandparent(s) participate in Milestone Dedication Sunday? Absolutely! A dedication service signifies the commitment of families, including single parents, to teach and model God’s Word by the power of His Spirit. We strongly encourage single parents to discuss child dedication with the child’s other parent (when applicable). Maybe you’re a grandparent who serves as the spiritual caregiver for a child. We invite you to participate, as long as the parents are supportive. As parents are called to be the primary Faith trainers of their children, it is ideal that both parents—even if not married—commit to the dedication of their child to God. We acknowledge that this is not always possible. As a church, we are committed to supporting single parents and grandparents in providing a Christian foundation for their children.
Will Milestone Dedication Sunday include baptism? Fellowship believes that baptism is for those who have already made a personal decision to trust Jesus Christ alone for their salvation (contra infant baptism). Once an individual has matured enough to articulate their belief in the Gospel, then the process of preparing for baptism will begin. There may be baptisms occurring during Milestone Dedication Sunday; however, this is not based upon the commitment of the parents, but rather the personal commitment of the child/individual to follow Christ.