Baptism
Jesus replied, “I assure you, unless you are born again, you can never see the Kingdom of God.” Jesus replied, “The truth is, no one can enter the Kingdom of God without being born of water and the Spirit. John 3:3,5
Baptism with water is a sacrament that begins our life-giving relationship with God through Jesus Christ. As a sacrament it carries with it the promises of God for forgiveness, new life, eternal life and salvation, and the presence of the Holy Spirit. And it involves the earthly element of water [symbolic of cleansing and new life]. We baptize people of all ages: adults who have come to know Jesus Christ and have never been baptized as well as the children of believers. A person only needs to be baptized once in their life.
We baptize using a small amount of water poured over the person’s head from a small basin at the front of the worship area. We don’t usually do full immersion baptisms [where the person baptized is fully immersed or dunked under water] simply for practical reasons. And we believe that it’s not the amount of water used that makes a baptism effective, but the words and promises of God!
Because baptism is the beginning of a person’s life of faith and their entry into the family of God, the body of Christ, we do baptisms during regular Sunday morning worship services when the other members of the body of Christ are present to welcome the newly baptized person.
If you would like to be baptized or have a child baptized, please contact the pastor. The pastor will discuss with you your reasons for wanting baptism for yourself and your child and offer any necessary instruction on the meaning of baptism. The pastor will schedule your baptism with you [baptisms can be scheduled for almost any Sunday of the year]. She will also get information for you about the person to be baptized for a baptismal certificate. There is no charge or fee to perform a baptism.