My 9-year-old is getting baptized!?
Should I invite them out to eat afterwards, or is the church service enough?
Answer:
Congrats on your decision. I would invite family that lives in town and maybe some close friends. I would also tell all of the family about the event before hand because they may want to come. Getting baptized is an exciting moment in a child's life so I would plan to do something special afterwards like going out to eat or a small party at home
(*you should have baptized them when they were 3 months old...)
but invite your family ofcourse and pick a godfather and godmother for your daughter.
When my kids were baptized it was during the summer and I invited just immediate family (grandparents, my husbands siblings.not everyone will come). Afterward I had everyone back at the house for a little cookout. Just do what your budget can allow for. We kept it small and simple.
I would invite everyone who means alot to you. Dinner out afterward would be nice or just put a pot roast on in the slow cooker and invite them over afterwords
This is up to you - and her. Does your child want to make a big deal of it, have everyone around? Or do they want to keep it simple?
It's a big day for your child, let them help plan it - within reason. Instead of a meal out, a good compromise could be a come by the house for cake and drinks for everyone in the afternoon, and a special lunch out for just immiate family and very close others.
Do what ever you feel is enough. It is a special occasion to you and no one can tell you how to celebrate it. When me and my other younger siblings where baptized we only had immediate family there and that was only because it was just a small service.
Who to invite all depends on who you want there. My son was baptised a couple of months ago and when my boyfriend and I were figuring out who to invite I wanted to invite my whole family, in town and out of town because baptisms have always been big in my family, everyone has always invited the whole family. But my boyfriend was like "why do you need everyone there when you're not even close to them?" so we ended up only inviting the family that we were close to. We also invited everyone over to our house afterwards for a big BBQ, but that was just for our benefit so that we could visit with everyone afterwards because some of them came from out of town, and we usually had them to our house on the weekends when they came down anyways. It was just nice to visit with everyone afterwards because the ceremony at the church was very short and straighforward, and as soon as it was done we had to leave because there was another child getting baptised very soon after our son.
That is awsome!.. when my kids got dedicated i invited family that was around the same general area and friends of ours that were really close to our family or kids. I did tell my family that didn't live near me but never sent them a invatation. I'd ask your son what he wants to do sense it's his baptisum. If he wants to hang out with his friends and family then plan a get together, if he'd like to eat afterwards plan on going out and let people know in advance and go somewhere your son wants to go. In whatever you do make sure your son is part of the desion making sense it's about him and his desion to follow christ. congrates and good luck.
Praise the Lord. God bless you and your family.
Open the doors up. Let everybody see this Blessing. Show everybody what the Lord has done.
Again, Just Praise the Lord.
I would invite all family, but let the out of town family know that if they are unable to come that you understand and won't be hurt if they decline. But I would definitely let them know about it. My feelings would be hurt if one of my nephews was baptized and no one told me about it, but I would probably just send him a card and not be able to travel for the service. As far as inviting everyone out to eat after wards, it would be nice, but I don't think that you should be expected to pay for everyone's meal.
if its a choice then wait till he/she is 18! 9 year olds dont understand religion, so cannot make that choice.
read iknowtruthismine's answer for real clarity
invite family and friends anyone who would want to come. this is a big step invite any and everyone who loves the child and ask about doing a potluck dinner after church
I would invite immediate family and friends that are close to you. You also should have a sponser or better known as a God mother or God father. I would pick someone that is close to your son and great in their faith. Maybe an uncle or grand-parent, etc. Congratulations! God bless you and your son's awesome choice and acceptance of Jesus Christ!
I agree with another user. Although I agree with your idea to wait until they can make the choice of a religion, 9 years of age is still too young. I didnt decide against a religion until I was 14 years old. In most cases a person doesnt challenge thoughts and ideas until mid adolscence.
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