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Last Sunday, our church family was privileged to see eleven families publicly proclaim their desire to raise their kids for the glory of God at our Parent-Child Dedication, held during the 11am service.

At RBC, dedicating your child allows you to proclaim before our congregation your desire to raise your child(ren) for the glory of God. Dedications serve as a vessel for parents to express gratitude to God and to acknowledge their responsibility before Him in raising their children. Dedications are done during a weekend service and follow in the spirit of Hannah who offered her son Samuel completely for the Lord’s work (1 Samuel 1:27, 28).

For more information on Parent-Child Dedications at Reston Bible Church, click here.

In the spring, a young man’s fancy lightly turns to thoughts of (sigh) baseball.

It’s true.  But before spring hits, February 14^th peeps around a wintery corner and we find an affectionate group meandering the Children’s Ministry halls for the 2^nd annual Father / Daughter Dance.  This is my personal favorite event of the year for our little ladies who come with hair curled, cheeks blushed and a curtsey-worthy gown for a night of fun and conversation with their fathers or special date (who also dress the part in a suit and tie).  The evening starts off with fathers tokening their young ladies with corsages and a formal photo shoot.  From there, it’s delightful chaos as they spend their evening walking through a couple hundred helium balloons while visiting crafts rooms, eating desert, and finally, dancing the night away!

Yes, it’s meant to be fun and enjoyable (and I think it’s safe to say, it is!), but there is something much deeper at work on this special night.  Gavin Long, an RBC dad who attended with his lovely ladies, shares from his perspective:

“The worlds of a father and his young daughter can sometimes be vastly different. Dads are battling in the marketplace, while their daughters are concerned about who likes them at school. Dads are anticipating March Madness, while his daughter is dreaming of a new dress. The Valentine’s Dance creates a common experience to let those two worlds converge. Dads are not always the best when it comes to expressing their feelings, but events like the Valentine’s Dance provide fathers with an environment to connect with their daughters in an intentional and intimate way. Simple events like this go a long way in bridging the potential divide between the worlds of fathers and daughters, providing us, as fathers, with a powerful, but accessible way of communicating love to our little girls. It is that experience of fatherly love that dramatically shapes how our girls think about themselves, their families and God throughout their lives.”

Last year, we received numerous responses back from dads telling us that this night was a springboard for them to initiate a deeper relationship with their girls.  Praise the Lord! This year, I was able to see some of the benefits before the night even ended.  You’ve got to love overhearing a 2^nd grade daughter asking her dad, “I have three things I really like about you.  Can I say more than one?”