PICTURE THIS:
The Resurrected Jesus ascends into heaven and a few days later the promised Holy Spirit falls upon empowers the apostles to begin building the first Church. A spirit-filled Peter preaches the Gospel to a huge crowd and more than 3,000 people accept Christ as their Savior, turn from their sin and get baptized—all in the same day! Baptism was the first thing a new Christian willfully did after responding in faith to the good news of Jesus. In fact, baptism is an act of obedience that Christ expects of every believer. In the early days, one would be hard-pressed to find an unbaptized Christian. Jesus instructed, “Believe and be baptized” (Mark 16:16), and that’s what those who chose to align themselves with Jesus did. Jesus’ words are a command for us to go public with our new faith. Baptism is an outward sign of an inward conversion experience—and it is a celebration into a new life. According to Romans 6:4, baptism identifies us with Christ’s death as we go under the water and with his resurrection as we come back up. At baptism, the believer symbolically dies to the old life to become a brand new person who puts Christ first.
We encourage those with questions about baptism to watch this short video, where Pastor Keith provides 5 Biblical Reasons for Believer’s Baptism. We’ve also posted a recent sermon taught by Pastor Jason that will provide even more clarity on this foundational ordinance at the bottom of this page. If you are interested in moving forward with baptism, simply click one of the neighboring buttons, fill out the corresponding form, and our church leadership will follow up with you for next steps.
LEARN MORE ABOUT BAPTISM
What is baptism?
Baptism is an outward expression of the internal change that takes place in the heart of a believer. It is a symbolic act to declare one’s salvation, and while we do not believe it is a requirement for salvation, it is commanded by God. Baptism is a celebration of a believer’s decision to trust Jesus as their Lord and Savior. (Matthew 28:19, Acts 2:38)
Why Water Baptism / Immersion?
The original Greek word ‘baptizo’ literally means ‘to immerse or dip’. When Jesus was baptized it was by immersion and we see that each account of baptism in the Bible was done in this manner. When we are lowered into the water it represents our old way of life being buried along with Christ in his death. Then we are raised out of the water, just like Jesus was raised from the dead, so we can walk in newness of life. (Romans 6:4, Matthew 3:16)
Who is a Candidate for Baptism?
Baptism is for anyone who has turned from their sin, surrendered their life to Christ, and purpose to die to themselves in order to live for Him on a daily basis. Water baptism is a one-time event that takes place after you have put your faith in Jesus. If you were baptized as a baby, we honor your parents' decision to commit you to God in that act. We also believe that that commitment by your parents was prior to your commitment to Christ and making a conscious choice to trust your life to Christ. Because of this, we would encourage you to get baptized now that you have made a personal relationship with Jesus, taking ownership of your faith.
When do we do Baptisms?
We are prepared to do baptisms anytime someone is ready to make that step of obedience. We will go out of our way to celebrate with you and nothing can hold us back from making that happen. We encourage you to celebrate that with us on a Sunday morning with our church family as it is your way of sharing this step with your community and going public with your faith!