We will baptize in the name of God the Father, Jesus, and God the Holy Spirit. We believe that baptism has no salvific power. We will perform baptism as an act of obedience from the command that Jesus gave us. Baptism is an outward expression of an inward conviction modeling our death to self (as Jesus died), our burial of sin (as Jesus was buried), and our resurrection into new life (as Christ was raised).

We believe baptism chronologically is to follow the salvation experience exclaiming that you are going public with Jesus. Baptism prior to salvation means that you took a bath at church one day.”.

If you want to get baptized again now that you’re a Christian or because you understand what that means now to walk in a newness of life we have no issue with that. However we do want you to understand also that it’s not a piece of salvation but an expression of going public with Jesus. We will let the Holy Spirit lead you as you decide. 

There is one instance of re-baptism in the New Testament. In Acts 19:1-5, Paul encountered some men who had been baptized by John the Baptist. But apparently they had left Palestine before they heard about Jesus. When Paul told them about Christ, they believed and were baptized a second time, this time in the name of the Lord Jesus. This suggests that a person who was baptized before he came to personal faith in the Lord Jesus Christ (whether as an infant or older) should be re-baptized as a confession of genuine faith in Christ.

If you want to bring an extra set of clothes, flip flops and a towel you’re welcome to. However, we will have all of those things for you in case you forget.

Baptism is important because Christ commanded it as a part of the Great Commission: “Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit” (Matt. 28:19). If we neglect baptism, we’re disobeying our Lord. Since true faith always expresses itself in obedience, those who have believed in Christ and have been properly instructed about baptism will obey Christ by being baptized.

Baptism is the place where a believer publicly confesses Jesus Christ as Savior and Lord and identifies with Christ and His church. In talking of our need to follow Him, Jesus said, “If anyone wishes to come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow Me…. For whoever is ashamed of Me and My words in this adulterous and sinful generation, the Son of Man will also be ashamed of him when He comes in the glory of His Father with the holy angels” (Mark 8:34, 38). Baptism is the initial way of confessing Christ publicly

The word “baptism” is simply a transliteration of the Greek word, baptisma, and some related words which have the meaning of dipping or immersing. Since the object dipped or immersed became totally identified with the substance in which it was placed, the idea of identification is central to the meaning of baptism. Jesus’ baptism by John publicly identified Him who was sinless with sinners in anticipation of His death and resurrection as their sin-bearer. In that sense, He referred to His own impending death as a “baptism” which He had to undergo (Mark 10:38-39; Luke 12:50). For us baptism symbolizes our identification with Christ in His death, burial, and resurrection; our identification with Christ’s church; and, our cleansing from sin.

A) BAPTISM SYMBOLIZES TOTAL IDENTIFICATION WITH CHRIST IN HIS DEATH, BURIAL, AND RESURRECTION.

B) BAPTISM SYMBOLIZES OUR IDENTIFICATION WITH CHRIST’S CHURCH.

C) BAPTISM SYMBOLIZES CLEANSING FROM SIN.

The clear teaching of Scripture is that all who believe in Christ as Savior and Lord should be baptized in obedience to Christ. The New Testament order is always: The preaching of the gospel of Jesus Christ; acceptance of the message by faith on the part of the hearers; then, baptism. Never once is there an instance of baptism preceding faith as the norm to be followed. And there are no examples or commands concerning the baptism of the infants or yet unbelieving children of believing parents.

Immersion, sprinkling, and pouring are three common modes of baptism. Some who practice immersion do it three times forward (once for each person of the trinity). We don’t believe that the mode of baptism should be an issue worth dividing over. But immersion is the meaning of the Greek word; it best represents the biblical truths symbolized by baptism; and, it was the method used in the early church.

The Greek word for baptize was used of a ship which had sunk or of a man who had drowned. It means to dip or submerge. But when the translators of the English Bible came to the word, sprinkling was the official mode, so they sidestepped the awkward matter by transliterating the Greek word into English, hence coining the word “baptize.” It should be translated “dipping”!

At rest we dunk or immerse because we believe it best represents the truth of total identification with Christ that baptism symbolizes. When the believer goes into the water, it pictures death (separation) to his old way of life. When he comes out of the water, it speaks of the fact that now he is raised to newness of life in Christ. Immersion also pictures total cleansing from sin. While it ought to be done in the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit (Matt. 28:19), there is no indication that it requires three separate immersions. Once under better symbolizes the fact that we are placed into Christ once and for all by the Holy Spirit.