For those who desire to be baptized, the following information is provided to prepare you for this very meaningful step of faith.
First, you need to sign up. Once you sign up, we will contact you to ask some questions, hear your story, and give you instructions about baptism. We conduct baptisms on the 2nd Sunday of every month.
We've worked hard to answer the most common questions about baptism. For all other questions please contact us.
Baptism is an outward expression of an inward commitment made to Christ.
The biblical examples of baptism were done by immersion or being submerged briefly under water.
Some churches practice a "baptism of confirmation" for children. This ceremony is intended to be a covenant between the parents and God on the behalf of the child. The parents promise to raise their child in the faith until the child is old enough to make his/her own personal confession of Christ. This custom began about 300 years after the Bible was completed.
This is different from the practice of baptism we see in the Bible which was done by those who had made a personal decision for Christ. For this reason, we reserve baptism for those who are old enough to understand and choose to make a personal commitment to Christ. To not confuse the purpose and intent of baptism, at Generation Church, a "child dedication" service is available to parents as a ceremony of covenant between parents and God on the behalf of the child. In many ways a "child dedication" service is truly a "parent dedication" service as parents publicly declare to raise their child in the faith until the child is old enough to make his/her own personal confession of Christ.
A child dedication service is held about once a quarter during weekend services.
After you give your life to Christ: (Acts 2:38, Acts 35-38.) As soon as you have given your life to Christ and have received Him as your Savior, you can and should be baptized. Excluding health problems, there is no reason to delay. If you wait until you're "perfect," you'll never feel "good enough". Jesus asks you to follow Him in baptism now.
We are called to only once give a profession of our faith in Christ through baptism. If you have already been baptized by immersion in response to your faith and commitment to Christ, we do not ask you to be baptized again. However, we do allow you to be baptized again if you desire to do so after rededicating your life to Christ.
If you were baptized prior to faith in Christ, we ask you to consider the Bible's teachings and follow Christ in baptism. If you have questions we invite you to contact us.
The Bible gives no age for when a child is ready to be baptized. For baptism to be a meaningful experience and expression of faith, its significance should be understood. Our desire is for a child to understand this important step of baptism in his/her life.
In child development, typically when children reach the age of 8 or 9, they gain the ability to understand abstract concepts. It is at this stage in a child development that they gain the ability to understand imagery such as those concepts involved in baptism representing our spiritual death, burial and resurrection. That being said, each baptism should be determined on a child-by-child basis.
Baptism is a public profession of our faith in Jesus Christ. However, private baptism can be performed in special circumstances. Please contact us for more information or details.