BAPTISM

What is baptism?

Christian baptism is the public testimony that new spiritual birth has taken place through Christ Jesus the Lord. We see in the scriptures that Jesus modeled baptism for us in his life before he began his public ministry (Matthew 3:13-17; Mark 1:9-11; Luke 3:21-23).

Just as burial is a public declaration that someone has died, so baptism declares that the believer has died with Christ to sin. Christ died on the cross for our sin and was buried and came back to life. Baptism is an act that symbolizes that we trust Christ with our life, intend to let him be in control of our life forevermore and identify with him and the community of believers (the church). (Romans 6:1-4)

In addition, baptism is a way for us to publicly declare that we identify ourselves as followers of Jesus Christ. Above all, we are to see ourselves as followers of Christ, and this is to be greater than any cultural, social or political identity that we might have (Galatians 3:26-29).
Who should be baptized?

Baptism is an act of obedience for people who have accepted the forgiveness of Jesus Christ and choose to follow him by giving him control of their lives (Matthew 28:18-20; Acts 2:41; 8:12-13). Thus, baptism is for those who choose to follow and obey Jesus Christ.

Baptism is not a way to earn salvation, but rather is an act of confirming your salvation in Christ.
What if I have been baptized as a child?

If you have been baptized as a child, we want to affirm and not “reject’ that baptism. However, we have a belief that baptism is an act of obedience following salvation for which believers are encouraged to follow through and be baptized with full understanding of salvation in Christ. Also, since most who were baptized as children do not remember this event, it does not have any significance and meaning for the person who was baptized as an infant. We believe that believer baptism is one of the ways to establish ownership of and deepen our faith in Christ.