Baptism
Get Baptized
Are you ready to commit to life with Jesus? Baptism is your next step!
Baptism is a public, supernatural moment where God unites us with Jesus. As we go down into the water, we are buried with Him. As we come up out of the water, we are raised to new life with Him (Romans 6:3-4).
This means that in baptism, what is true of Jesus becomes true of you:
- Because He died, your old self dies.
- Because He lives, you get a brand-new life.
- Because He is strong, you get His power living in you.
- Because He is pure, you get forgiveness for all your sin.
- Because He is good, you get a new heart that desires goodness.
- Because He lives and reigns forever, you will live and reign forever with Him.
If you want to learn a little more about baptism, check out this video!
FAQs
We should be baptized to follow Jesus’ example (Matt. 3:13-17), obey Jesus’ command (Matt. 28:18), receive the forgiveness of sins (Acts 22:16), receive the Holy Spirit (Acts 2:38), wash our hearts clean (1 Pet. 3:21), demonstrate our faith in Jesus (Acts 8:12-13), receive spiritual circumcision (Col. 2:11-12), be born again (John 3:1-10), and make visible the invisible work of Christ in our lives (Gal. 3:26-27).
Scripture describes salvation as happening by grace through faith at baptism for good works (Eph. 2:8-10; Col. 2:13-14; 1 Pet. 3:18-22). The water is not magic, nor is baptism a “work” that saves us. Whereas Scripture includes examples of people being saved apart from baptism, the normative process is portrayed as the Holy Spirit meeting us at baptism to do the work of salvation in us (Heb. 10:19-22). We know that many brothers and sisters in our midst were raised in different Christian traditions that dispute this teaching. Whereas being baptized is a “Tier 1” issue, the exact role of baptism in the salvation process is a “Tier 2” issue (see the “What We Believe” page for further explanation).
The norm described in Scripture is for a person to be baptized immediately when they place their faith in Christ (Acts 8:36-39).
The word for “baptism” in the New Testament is the Greek word baptizo, which means “to plunge.” The New Testament says baptism is the moment we are united with the death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus (Romans 6:1-5). Therefore, to symbolize that transformation, we baptize people by immersing them in water. If you have been sprinkled, we would love to hear your story and talk about why immersion is important.
If you were sprinkled, can’t remember your baptism, were pressured into making a decision that wasn’t yours, or simply received the external act of baptism without inwardly surrendering your heart to Jesus as Lord, then we would encourage you to be rebaptized. If you were baptized properly, but fell into sin or had a season of wandering from the faith, you should repent and seek forgiveness, but rebaptism is not necessary (Acts 8:13-24).
Be Made New
If you are interested in being baptized, we’d love the chance to hear your story and discuss any questions you have! Just fill out the form below and we’ll be in touch with you soon.