Baptism is a public confession of faith and inward transformation. The act of Baptism is saying, “Jesus Christ is the Lord of my life.” When you are baptized, you are showing others that through Jesus’ death, burial, and resurrection, you have been redeemed and now identify with the body of Christ. The physical act of baptism is submersion beneath the water, putting to death the old life that you once lived. As Christ resurrected from the grave, coming up out of the water signifies that the power of the Holy Spirit has resurrected you to a new life in Christ.

It is a public act of obedience. The Bible specifically calls us to this action step of obedience. (Acts 2:42) Jesus himself was baptized, so we identify as one in Christ, one in the Body of Christ. (John 15) Baptism is also an act of worship and an opportunity to strengthen your faith in front of the body of believers. Baptism is not private; it is a celebration of the power we have through the Holy Spirit. By the obedience of Christ dying on the cross for our sins, we are “made new” and “meant for more” in our obedience to Christ. It is a significant moment of our faith journey! We are joining “The Jesus Team” and publicly confessing our faith in Him and joining His mission.

After you’ve decided Jesus is the Lord of your life, and you are ready to publicly declare and dedicate your life to Him. For that reason, we believe that children should be old enough to make their own decision to be baptized. We believe people should be able to articulate their own story and faith in Jesus, understanding the implications of baptism. As a general rule (but not limited to this rule), we believe it’s best for students to be in middle school or older before making a public confession of faith.

We believe your baptism is a significant and marking moment of your faith journey. So, if you were baptized as an infant, that was a special dedication based on your parents’ decision to raise you in the faith. However, we think it is paramount for you to make your own decision of Faith, to walk in obedience and dependence on Jesus. If your moment of baptism was special for you, and you were baptized as an older follower of Jesus but have fallen away for a time, we do not believe it is necessary to be re-baptized. We do believe it is important for you to share how God has extended his grace again in your life and share that story with others.