Baptism is an obedient response to God’s prevenient grace in our lives. Prevenient grace is “a grace that goes before”. God has initiated this relationship. He has been pursuing you, and making a way for you to come to know him long before you were able to recognize his work, presence and salvation in your life. 

God saved you by His grace when you believed. And you can’t take credit for this; it is a gift from God. Salvation is not a reward for the good things we have done, so none of us can boast about it. -Ephesians 2:8-9 NIV

In baptism, we are publicly acknowledging that we are sinners who have been saved by the grace of God through faith in Jesus’ life, death, and resurrection. Baptism is also a means of receiving God’s grace. When we are lowered under the water, we are buried in the likeness of his death. When we are lifted back out, we are raised to newness of life!

For we died and were buried with Christ by baptism. And just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glorious power of the Father, now we also may live new lives. -Romans 6:4 NLT

Baptism is both a response to God’s grace in salvation, and a means to receiving God’s grace to live a life transformed by the power of the Holy Spirit; at work within us to grow us up. Baptism is also a symbol of our adoption into the family of God, as well as a declaration of our ultimate allegiance to Christ and his kingdom. Lastly, baptism is a symbol of our looking forward to Christ’s return and reign. 

But we are citizens of heaven, where the Lord Jesus Christ lives. And we are eagerly waiting for him to return as our Savior. -Philippians 3:20 NLT

Simply put, if you have placed your faith in Jesus, then you are encouraged to be baptized! 

The word baptize comes from the Greek word baptizo which means “to immerse or submerge.”

“After His baptism, as Jesus came up out of the water, the heavens were opened and He saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove and settling on Him. -Matthew 3:16

At Faith Community, we can baptize you however you are most comfortable. We can do a full immersion, we can pour water over you, or we can sprinkle water on you. The important thing is that you are baptized, not that you are baptized in a specific way. 

“He ordered the carriage to stop, and they went down into the water, and Philip baptized him. When they came up out of the water, the Spirit of the Lord snatched Philip away. The eunuch never saw him again but went on his way rejoicing.” -Acts 8:38-39

If you experienced an infant baptism and later went through some sort of "confirmation" process, or were baptized as an adult at another church, those baptisms count! Even if you have strayed away from your faith and have now come back. Your initial baptism is still accomplishing all that God desires for it to, and we celebrate what God has already done through your baptism (including bringing you back to himself!). However, if you were baptized as a baby but were never engaged in your faith as you grew up, we would recommend being baptized now. Or, for those already baptized but wanting to recommit or reaffirm their lives in Christ, we encourage you to participate in a reaffirmation of your baptism! This would basically look exactly like a baptism, but instead of submerging you under the water we would anoint you instead, and reaffirm what God has already done, and is still doing, through your original baptism. We have found this to be a powerful and meaningful experience!