Cradle Care Ministry: How Your Church Can Welcome Babies & Families

6. Semi-Annual Dinner + Nursery Tour (90 minutes)

Invitation – Baby shower type invitation goes  to all CC care recipients + husband/father.

Food – Food is ordered from inexpensive restaurant or catering company (e.g. sub sandwiches, pasta + salad, dessert from warehouse club)

Table assignments – Hosts and participants are paired to help facilitate interaction, especially with husbands.

Games – CC caregiver acts as host at each table, facilitating games to encourage interaction. Award small prizes.

• Pictures of common baby products with the name covered up. Husbands try to guess the product. (e.g. Dreft Laundry detergent)
• How many crackers does the church nursery go through each Sunday?
• How many dads work in the church nursery?
• Each year, how many babies are dedicated at our church?
• What husband’s mother-in-law lives the closest?
• What mother went through the longest labor? 

Prizes – Provided for the above games:

• Large jar of pickles + gift card to local ice cream shop
• Gift card to movie theater
• Pack of baby spoons
• Other inexpensive baby items

Speaker – Married couple further along (children might be in middle school or high school) speak for 15 minutes on topic of their choice. This selected couple has a strong relationship with Christ and is active at the church. Talks might cover any topic related to marriage, child-rearing, and growing in a relationship with Christ:

• What we wish we’d known when we were pregnant.
• How we grew through hard times in our marriage.

Nursery tour – Preschool minister hosts a tour of nursery and nursing mothers room. Review safety policies. Parents may also get their picture badge so to make their first Sunday in the nursery go smoothly. 

7. Baby Dedication 

Our church recognizes each new baby individually. For the past several years, Dawson has held between 70 and 80 baby dedications. Parents may choose which service to attend to dedicate their child.

The pastor’s wife meets with the parents just before they go into worship and participate in their child’s family dedication. The pastor’s wife takes this opportunity to get to the know the family and prepare them for what happens during the service.

The pastor talks to the congregation about the need for children’s ministry volunteers to care for and teach this child to aid in their spiritual development.

To watch a video of Dawson’s Baby Dedication, click this link:  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WPUbOB5obHs