What Is Baptism?

In the New Testament, believing in Jesus and baptism are closely linked. Baptism is the public declaration of a decision to trust Christ that has already been made in a person’s heart.

Jesus showed by example that we are to be baptized by being baptized himself (Matthew 3:13-17). While Jesus had no sin to repent of, His baptism signaled His willingness to surrender His life in totality to the will of God. By going under the waters of baptism, Jesus also portrayed the kind of death He would die in order to purchase our salvation.

Baptism not only signifies resurrection to a new life in Christ, but it is also a public commitment to walk in Christ’s way. Baptism not only testifies that we now belong to Christ, but has historically been the “door” through which we identify with the church family at large. For this reason, baptism and church membership have been closely related in nearly all orthodox traditions.

We strongly encourage every baptized believer to also formally identify as a member of the church.

Who Should Be Baptized?

All those who accept Christ as their personal Saviour and Lord should be baptized.

At Immanuel Baptist Church, we wait until our children are old enough to believe and understand the true meaning of baptism before we baptize them (usually after 12 years of age).

At Immanuel Baptist Church, it is a membership requirement that every member have been baptized as believers even if they were baptized as children. We are part of the “believers church” tradition that sees baptism & church membership as something voluntary and individual. While we affirm parents good intentions in having their children baptized as infants, we see baptism as something an individual chooses of their own free will after they have trusted in Christ for salvation.

What are You Waiting for?

If you have trusted Christ for your salvation we would encourage you to make plans to publicly declare your faith. This step of obedience is a significant milestone in your walk of faith.