This short video series will give you a fuller understanding of the sacrament of baptism and introduce you to the logistics of the baptismal ceremony at Christ Church. If you're anticipating your own baptism, or that of a child, please make this a part of your preparations.

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If you or someone you love is getting baptized, we’re thrilled to help prepare you for an incredible moment. It begins with filling out a form on the website. This triggers a conversation with our church Baptism Liaison to talk about planning and preparation. You’ll do everything from narrowing down a date, to discussing your preferred water method, to sharing your t-shirt size for some CC swag… from infant onesies on up. For preparation, we ask that you read and watch all the content located on our Baptism Prep Page.

On the day of your baptism, the Baptism Liaison will meet you in the Atrium to help you find your way around and get comfortable. If you have guests, we’ll make you aware of seating areas where they can get a good view. Baptism happens late in the service, after communion and the Lord’s Prayer, regardless of the worship style, room, or time. 

In the case of full immersion, you’ll head to the back Green Room with sufficient time to prepare. You’ll then be led out to the immersion tank for baptism. The pastor will guide you through the sacred ritual, step-by-step. Afterwards, you’ll head back to the Green Room for a change of clothes. A baptism buddy and towels will be there to help.

In the case of an infant baptism, you’ll want to have your young one with you as communion ends. You’ll be coming up to the font during the Lord’s Prayer. Once again, the pastor will be guiding you through baptism, step-by-step. You can return to your seats as soon as the baptism has concluded.

For any and all baptisms, relatives, sponsors, Godparents, or other significant persons are welcome to stand up front during the baptism ritual. Just please be sensitive to the number of sponsors, especially if there are multiple baptisms happening that day. After the service concludes, stick around and take pictures as you celebrate with family and friends. You’ll be given a gift bag with a Bible, t-shirt, and certificate. You also are given a candle during the baptism experience to keep as a reminder of the light of Christ that now lives in you. For kids and infants, please take the personalized banner home with you as a reminder of your baptism.

After you’ve been baptized, we encourage adults to pursue other Faith Steps like joining a Group, getting involved by serving on a team, and discovering other ways to cultivate your faith. For parents of baptized infants or young ones, we invite you to begin nurturing faith at every opportunity and helping your child navigate the Faith Steps to come.

The hope and intent is to see baptism as a beginning, and we want to help you discover what comes next for you as a child of God.

INTRO: WHAT IS BAPTISM?

Baptism is when God’s word is joined with water to formally adopt a person into God’s redemptive family. 

In one sense, everyone is a child of God when they are born into humanity but, in baptism, our place in old humanity dies and we are born again into Jesus’s redemptive family. Through this spiritual adoption, we inherit Jesus’s accomplishments, we take his family - the church - as our own, and we grow into being his child and follower.

Succinctly, it’s the beginning of a new life lived in, and for, Jesus as his child, growing in faith and faithfulness to him and his purposes for us.

Baptism is a sacred ritual of the Christian church dating all the way back. It is one of the two sacraments Jesus commanded, and has proved to be one of the greatest gifts for Christians. The information below is intended to help you better know and understand what baptism looks like and means for us at Christ Church. It is a resource for Christians looking to learn and for non-Christians who are just curious. It’s meant to both prepare and equip you. The hope is that by listening and learning, you can better see how baptism can be a meaningful part of your life, the life of someone you love, and the life of our church. 

PART 1: PROMISES

The baptismal experience has two parts - promises and exorcism. To understand the second part, you must understand the first. 

As you are adopted into God’s family, you inherit certain rights and responsibilities. These rights and responsibilities come in the form of promises - promises between God, the adult or infant being baptized, and the greater Christian family - the church. God promises to adopt you, be a Father to you, and pass onto you all the legal rights of being his child - everything from forgiveness of sins, the presence of the Holy Spirit, and even the promise of resurrection - something meant for his whole family, someday. 

If you are an adult being baptized, you promise to participate in God’s family, grow in your faith and faithfulness, and share it with others through words and actions. If you are baptizing an infant or young one, the parents or guardians promise to teach the child what it means to participate, grow, and share, according to the baptism identity. 

Even the church, as the great Christian family, promises to nurture faith and faithfulness in the baptized.

These promises prevent baptism from becoming cheap grace, a magical stamp, or fire insurance. We believe in costly grace that recognizes the costly sacrifice of Jesus and the graceful act of God as he includes us in his family’s redemption. While God is the one initiating the adoption, we have a part to play as we now conform to the values, teaching, and ethics of his family. 

So, the promises in baptism initiate us into God's family, affording us rights and responsibilities as we now grow into the child God desires and designs us to be.

PART 2: EXORCISM - REJECTING EVIL

The second part of baptism is exorcism or, more clearly, rejecting evil and casting out its influence on our lives. We renounce “sin, death, and the devil”... all the forces of evil that seem to mess with individuals and communities. We drown the old person in baptismal waters and are resurrected as a new creation; a new person. Since we no longer belong to evil, we do not seek to join our new lives to it. 

This does not mean we won’t make mistakes or feel the effects of living in a broken world. It does mean that selfishness, pain, and brokenness of any kind no longer forms the basis for our lives. In fact, we fight evil in our lives and in our world, as best we can, clinging instead to life in Christ.

Rejecting evil means getting rid of the obvious stuff and working to unearth the less obvious, as well. Evil is at odds with new lives and our new Christian family, so we take our baptismal identity seriously each and every day, working to align ourselves and this world with Jesus. 

PART 3: BAPTISM FOR THE LONG HAUL

While the ritual of baptism happens at a specific point in someone’s life, it is also something that must be repeated in daily living. God claims us as his children, daily, and we must daily drown our own desires, hopes, and dreams and, instead, follow the call of discipleship. It's imperative that the Christian does not limit baptism to a singular act long ago but, rather, sees the rest of his or her life as a living-out of that baptismal identity. We must daily welcome God’s grace and love, and be transformed by his Holy Spirit - precisely what begins in baptism. 

The sign of the cross was made over you in your baptism, and is something for you to repeat at the start of everyday over yourself. The use of water in bathing or showering or even doing the dishes should serve to remind you of your baptism and the ongoing work of cleaning your person, inside and out. 

Simply put, baptism is meant for the long haul and is something that you can return to daily as you find confidence in God’s promises and commit to yourself to pushing evil out - both of which began in your baptism. 

PART 4: BAPTISM LOGISTICS

If you or someone you love is getting baptized, we’re thrilled to help prepare you for an incredible moment. It begins with filling out a form on the website. This triggers a conversation with our church Baptism Liaison to talk about planning and preparation. You’ll do everything from narrowing down a date, to discussing your preferred water method, to sharing your t-shirt size for some CC swag… from infant onesies on up. For preparation, we ask that you read and watch all the content located on our Baptism Prep Page.

On the day of your baptism, the Baptism Liaison will meet you in the Atrium to help you find your way around and get comfortable. If you have guests, we’ll make you aware of seating areas where they can get a good view. Baptism happens late in the service, after communion and the Lord’s Prayer, regardless of the worship style, room, or time. 

In the case of full immersion, you’ll head to the back Green Room with sufficient time to prepare. You’ll then be led out to the immersion tank for baptism. The pastor will guide you through the sacred ritual, step-by-step. Afterwards, you’ll head back to the Green Room for a change of clothes. A baptism buddy and towels will be there to help.

In the case of an infant baptism, you’ll want to have your young one with you as communion ends. You’ll be coming up to the font during the Lord’s Prayer. Once again, the pastor will be guiding you through baptism, step-by-step. You can return to your seats as soon as the baptism has concluded.

For any and all baptisms, relatives, sponsors, Godparents, or other significant persons are welcome to stand up front during the baptism ritual. Just please be sensitive to the number of sponsors, especially if there are multiple baptisms happening that day. After the service concludes, stick around and take pictures as you celebrate with family and friends. You’ll be given a gift bag with a Bible, t-shirt, and certificate. You also are given a candle during the baptism experience to keep as a reminder of the light of Christ that now lives in you. For kids and infants, please take the personalized banner home with you as a reminder of your baptism.

After you’ve been baptized, we encourage adults to pursue other Faith Steps like joining a Group, getting involved by serving on a team, and discovering other ways to cultivate your faith. For parents of baptized infants or young ones, we invite you to begin nurturing faith at every opportunity and helping your child navigate the Faith Steps to come.

The hope and intent is to see baptism as a beginning, and we want to help you discover what comes next for you as a child of God.

PART 5: WRAP UP

Hopefully these videos have given you a better understanding of what baptism is at Christ Church. If you are interested in getting baptized, click the button below to fill out a short form. If you have questions, we've put together some Frequently Asked Questions that might help. Otherwise, please contact a member of our pastoral staff to schedule a more personal conversation about your specific questions. Most of all, we hope you feel inspired to embrace the gift of baptism and what it means to be part of God’s redemptive family.

If you are interested in getting baptized, click the button below to fill out a short form