Baptism

We are so excited for you that you have an interest in baptism. More than anything we are excited about the work that God is doing in your heart. This is not meant to be an exhaustive treatment of baptism but just a guide to help you consider this next step in following Jesus.  Baptism is at the very heart of the Great Commission that Jesus gave to the church. He told his followers to “make disciples of all nations baptizing them in the name of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, teaching them to obey all that I have commanded you…” (Matthew 28:18-20). So, clearly baptism is important. So, we want to briefly state why then help you take the next step.
First, what is baptism?
Baptism is primarily two things: a statement and a picture. First, baptism is a statement. Baptism is the biblical way for a person to identify him/herself with Jesus Christ. Throughout the book of Acts, we see a consistent pattern: people trust in Jesus to save them and they are baptized. Baptism is a way of saying, “I am identifying myself as a follower of Jesus and I am trusting in His death and resurrection to save me from my sin.” It’s a statement of belief and identification. Baptism is also a picture. When the person stands in the water before being baptized, that represents their life before trusting Jesus. They were alive to sin, following and obeying it as their master. When the person is put completely underneath the water, that represents the fact that they died to sin when they became a believer; they turned away from sin to follow Jesus. When the person comes up out of the water and is completely wet, that represents the new life they have because of Jesus. They have been washed clean from sin – not because their bodies are wet but because they have been forgiven by God because of Jesus’ death in their place (see Romans 6:1-4, Acts 2:38, 1 Peter 3:21-22).

Should I be baptized?
You should be baptized if you have cried out to God to rescue you from your sin and trusted in Jesus’ death and resurrection alone for salvation. Ephesians 2:8-9, John 3:16-17 and Romans 10:9-10 all explain how someone is saved: we are saved by grace through faith in Jesus Christ. We cannot save ourselves and we cannot earn salvation. So have you made that decision to cry out to God to save you? It might sound like this: God, I confess that I am broken and sinful and cannot save myself. So I trust in Jesus to save me through his death and resurrection. I confess him as my Savior and Lord. Help me to follow you. Amen.

I am ready to be baptized at the next baptism. What should I do?
First, let us know (fill out the form below or fill out the response card at church). On the day of the baptism, come 15-20 minutes early for service and find the Pastor who will be baptizing you. Consider what you will wear. You can really wear whatever you don’t mind getting wet. The best thing for men to wear is a t-shirt and pair of shorts. Women can wear the same thing. Women, please don’t wear white or anything that would be revealing (some women like to wear a bathing suit under shorts and t-shirt). Bring a towel and a change of clothes. You will be asked to repeat a statement like the following before you are baptized: I confess that I am broken and sinful and cannot save myself. So I trust in Jesus to save me through his death and resurrection. I confess him as my Savior and Lord. If you would like to share any part of your story of coming to Christ, please write it down, keep it to a page or less and submit it at least a day before the baptism.

What if my child wants to be baptized?
This can be challenging for a parent. You want to encourage your child to take the next step of baptism if they have trusted in Jesus Christ. However, you also want to make sure that they are at a developmental place where they can really understand the decision that they are making. Pray about it, talk to one of the Pastors, and talk with your child. Here at EPIC we believe that the parents are the primary ministers to their children and therefore have the best gauge on whether their child is ready. For this reason we encourage the parents to process with their children and take them through the questions below. Some of the things we suggest is that your child be able to remember the event as an adult, understand what baptism is and why they would do it, and be able to physically get baptized (being dunked under water). Although it is up to you as the parents to determine if your child is ready, we do require that the child is going into to First Grade or older and that children talk to a Pastor. As a parent take time to really consider if your child is showing any evidence of God’s work in his/her life: growing love/desire for God, hunger to read the Bible and learn about God, desire to share with others about God, softer heart, etc. If your child cannot answer the questions below then it is probably best to wait.
Questions to ask a child:
  • Who is Jesus and what has he done for you?
  • Why do you want to be baptized?
  • What does baptism mean?
  • Have your trusted in Jesus to save you from your sin and have you surrendered your life to him?

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