You’re invited to a celebration of faith and renewal at our upcoming Baptism Sunday! We look forward to witnessing the ways that ways that God has been at work in individuals and celebrating that as a community of faith!
We hope and pray that:
- Many individuals will take the step of faith and respond to God’s leading, whether being baptized or making a recommitment to baptism.
- The community of faith will come alongside those who are being baptized and celebrate God’s grace in them, giving God the glory He deserves.
As you consider whether you’d like to take part in this special day, here is some information for you to read through:
What Is Baptism?
Baptism is a significant step in the life of every believer. It signifies entrance into the Church and is a symbol of repentance and inner cleansing from sin, a representation of the new birth in Christ Jesus, and a mark of Christian Discipleship. Through baptism, we see God’s grace at work in three significant ways:
1. God’s Grace Goes Before Us
It is always God who initiates a relationship with people and never the other way around. That means God is the primary mover in baptism. He pursues people through prevenient grace and invites them into relationship with him. Baptism is an individual’s response to God’s desire of them.
2. God’s Grace Gives Us Belonging
Baptism is about God’s grace in at work an individual, but it is not individualistic in nature. Baptism expresses an individual’s acceptance of God’s invitation into relationship – both with God and with the Church. As it initiates a person’s belonging in the household of faith, baptism ties followers of Jesus together as the body of Christ.
3. God’s Grace Initiates Salvation
For a person capable of making a professing commitment to the Lordship of Jesus Christ, baptism is a sign pointing toward salvation. For a child, we affirm that children are are under the atonement of Christ and, as heirs to the kingdom of God, are acceptable to receive Christian baptism. Through their belonging to the Church, baptized children are nurtured and led to personal acceptance of Christ, thereby confirming their baptism through professing their faith.
Recommitment to Baptism
There can be times when a person feels a spiritual change in their life and, though previously baptized, recognize a recent heartfelt conversion to the Christian faith. In these instances, we help people recommit the baptism vows that they either took at an earlier age or had family members take for them. Because God is the primary mover in Christian baptism, there is no need to be baptized again. Instead, a person may wish to express a recommitment to their faith by using water as a symbol of their stepping back into relationship with God. In this instance, we help believers make a recommitment through the means of immersion or pouring on of water, if so desired.
If you are interested at all and have questions that you’d like answered, please come to the Baptism Class on April 28th or May 2nd!