In September our Kids Ministry will learn about Friendship—Using your words and actions to show others you care.

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We encourage our parents to continue the conversation at home by following along with our weekly Kids Resources!

Kids grow fast. As soon as you figure out what’s going on in the world—from their toddler brain development to their high school friend drama—everything changes. After all, it’s just a phase.

When change happens this fast, shaping your kid’s faith and character feels overwhelming.

The Parenting Your… book series is made of individual phase guides from birth to 12th grade. Each guide is based on hundreds of hours of research and countless interviews with child development experts, professional counselors, teachers, and parents.

More than a “journal” but less than a detailed “manual” this guide was made for busy parents to capture their thoughts and observations to make the most of every phase. Remember, it’s just a phase… so don’t miss it.

In every guide, expect to discover:

• What’s changing over the next 52 weeks
• The 6 things each phase needs the most
• How to approach conversations about faith, heath, sexual integrity and technology
• How your kid will be changing physically, mentally, socially, emotionally, and spiritually

We are so excited that you are considering baptism for your child! Every child can have a personal relationship with Jesus, and in Local Church Kids, we encourage them to make a decision to follow Him.

We advise parents to wait until their child is asking to be water baptized. This is usually a good indication that they are ready to be baptized and that it will be a spiritual milestone in their life. While children under the age of seven can have a relationship with Jesus, they will not necessarily remember or understand the significance of water baptism, so we encourage parents to wait for baptism until they are a little older.

As you discern if your child is ready to be water baptized, we encourage you to use this question and devotional guide PDF.

If your child is ready to be baptized, their next step is to make plans to attend our next baptism event.

Throughout the New Testament, the Bible teaches that baptism is a public expression of worship symbolizing the new life we have when we follow Jesus. In the Bible we see that Jesus’ parents dedicated Him to the Lord (Luke 2:22–40), and He was later baptized as an adult (Matthew 3:16–17).

We understand that some churches practice “baptism of confirmation” for children. This ceremony is intended to be a commitment between the parents and God on the behalf of the child. The parents promise to raise their child in the faith until the child is old enough to make his or her own personal confession of Christ. This custom began about 300 years after the Bible was completed and is different from the biblical examples of new believers being baptized to publicly profess their faith in Jesus.

With a heart to follow this Biblical model, at Local Church we provide opportunities for child dedication and believer’s water baptism for children over the age of seven. To schedule a child dedication, please complete the Child Dedication Registration Form.