Baptism is a sacrament where God shows his commitment and gives grace to us. God responds to human brokenness and sin with love and compassion and reveals a loving Father who pursues his people. In baptism, we see God's justifying grace in action.
This means baptism is not a response to an act of obedience or reliant on cognitive ability. Baptism is the demonstration of God's power and faithfulness to the individual; in other words, baptism is solely the work of a graceful and merciful God who reaches down to us and makes a commitment to the individual. We need God to do this! Because there is no way we can make it to him through our works or obedience.
This doesn't mean it's just some ritualistic act or a family tradition to be fulfilled. When we receive baptism one of the gifts we receive is adoption into God's family, which means learning about life in that family. In God's family, we worship together, grow in faith, serve our church and the wider community, practise generosity, and live a life of obedience to Jesus firmly grounded in our baptismal identity.
Prepare: enrol in a baptism class. These classes provide expectant, new, and even older parents to understand and learn how to grow and nurture faith in the home.
Plan: fill out a baptism information form and book a date at an upcoming baptism service.
Celebrate: during the worship service we will celebrate the baptism.
When adults come to be baptised they have encountered God's grace, and the seed of faith is planted. God wants to keep watering this seed! This happens in baptism and through hearing the word of God.
Therefore, adults who come to be baptised will be involved in learning about the Christian faith. This may happen before or after the baptism depending on the individual.
The first step toward adult baptism is to enrol in our exploring Christianity course and then book a time to meet with our Pastor