Dedication is not a sacrament. It does not give grace or salvation to a child. Salvation comes only through Jesus Christ as each person recognizes their sinfulness and receives forgiveness and eternal life through Christ and what He did on the cross.

Scripture provides evidence that baptism follows a person’s informed decision to trust Christ alone for salvation. (Acts 2:41, 8:12, and 10:47–48). The New Testament records the baptisms of adult believers only.

In the Bible, we find parents bringing their children to Jesus. He held them, prayed for them, and told us to welcome them. But he did not baptize them and he did not tell anyone else to baptize them. Circle Drive Church believes baptism is for those who have made a personal decision to trust Christ alone for their salvation once they have the ability to understand what that means. As a general rule for how old one must be to have that ability, the church has determined that a believer must be at least 12 years old to be baptized.

Instead of baptizing children, Circle Drive encourages Christian parents to dedicate their children. This is a ceremony in which parents formally call upon God’s blessing on their child, and publicly commit to raise their child in accordance with Scripture.