At Peachcroft Christian Centre, we believe it is very important that whatever parents bringing their children for a blessing or baptism choose to do, they do with honesty and integrity - which is why we offer three options and allow parents to choose the one they feel most comfortable with.

1. A thanksgiving service is a way of saying thank you to God for the gift of your child.  It includes prayers for you as parents and for the child's future. This option does not require any Christian commitment on the part of the parents.

2. A dedication service includes all the elements of the thanksgiving but does require the Christian commitment of the parents, as promises will be made about bringing your child up in a Christian environment, (i.e. teaching him/her how to pray, being faithful in worship, reading the Bible regularly, taking part in the life of the church you normally attend).

3. A baptism (Christening is the colloquial term used mainly by greeting card manufacturers - but it is not found in any service book used by churches!). There are some fairly deep statements of faith and promises made by parents and God-parents at a baptism.  These are above and beyond those made at a dedication or thanksgiving.  These include a confession about your own turning to Christ, acknowledging that Christ died for you in your place, repenting of your own sin and following Jesus yourself; then there are promises about helping the child grow up in the family of the church which it joins at baptism.  This option is particularly suitable for parents who are already active in the life of the church or are quite clear about their own Christian commitment.   Some parents prefer to keep baptism until the child is old enough to make the promises for themselves - as their own Christian commitment - usually as a young adult/teenager.  That is what normally happens when a parent asks for option 1 or 2.  As their child gets older, he/she can make their own mind up on whether they want to be a Christian. If they do, baptism then seems to have greater personal significance in their life.

If you would like to discuss the matter of thanksgiving, blessing or baptism then please feel welcome to contact our minister, Peter Bennett, at This email address is being protected from spam bots, you need Javascript enabled to view it