Go Public!
Baptism is a public declaration of a personal decision to trust and follow Jesus
It’s a unique opportunity to share your faith story with others. In this message, Michael unpacks the significance of baptism, its historical roots, and why it might be the right choice for you. If baptism is still on your “to-do” list, this message may be the nudge you need to finally go public.
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Step One: Sign Up
Fill out the Baptism Registration Form and tell us about yourself.
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Step Two: Prepare
We’ll help you every step of the way as you prepare to share your story.
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Step Three: Get Baptized!
We will all celebrate with you as you take this next step in your faith journey!
Still Wondering if Baptism is for you?
Check out our FAQ’s:
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Simply put, baptism is a public declaration of a personal decision to trust and follow Jesus. The personal decision comes from hearing, understanding, and believing in the message of Jesus (Romans 10:9-10) and the public declaration follows (Acts 2:41). Baptism is not what makes you right with God. God makes it clear that belief in Him is the only way to be made right in His eyes (Romans 3:25-26). It is simply a symbol of the new life you began when you started following Jesus. Furthermore, every Biblical example of baptism has started with conversion and led to baptism (Acts 2:41; 8:12, 36:38; 9:18; 10:43-48; 16:14-15, 30-34; 18:8; 19:4-5). We encourage you to check out each one of these scriptures as you consider baptism.
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Once again we want to emphasize that believing in Jesus is all that it takes to be permanently forgiven and accepted by God, nothing we do other than that can earn us salvation (Ephesians 2:8). However, Jesus does direct us to actively make disciples and baptize them (Matthew 28:19). And we believe that obeying our Heavenly Father’s command is reason enough. Apart from that, we think that getting baptized can be an incredibly powerful way to publicly proclaim your faith and share what God has done in your life to others.
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We celebrate baptisms a few times a year. And it’s a celebration! We encourage everyone to clap and shout real loud as the person in the water makes this incredible, public statement of their trust in Jesus! Each baptism is preceded with a short video of the person getting baptized telling their faith story. We think the story of each individual is a powerful tool that can bring honor to God and inspire others. Sometimes baptisms will take place during our Night’s of Worship, where we come together as a church to sing to God, pray, hear stories, and celebrate baptisms!
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The next step is to sign up! You can do that by filling out our Baptism Registration Form. After that, one of our pastors will set up a meeting with you where you can ask questions and get a walk through of the process. After your initial meeting you will be scheduled for a “Video Shoot” where we will film your faith story. Don’t panic though! We do our best to make this process as painless as possible and will guide you through the entire filming time. Once your video is complete, the next step is to show up on the next baptism date!
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Some churches choose to christen or baptize infants. While we recognize the right of other churches to practice infant baptism, we understand Scripture to teach that only people who have made the decision to follow Jesus should be baptized. Baptism does not make you a Christian. It shows that you already are one.
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We know everyone is different. For some people, being in front of a camera is easy, for others it can be a challenge. But what we have found is that no matter how nervous or scared somebody might be, each and every video has been a powerful testimony of a life-changing God. And no one has regretted sharing how God has been a part of their story.
The video itself will be about 2 minutes long and the time it will take to film it will range anywhere from 10 to 20 minutes.
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We believe that baptism can be one of the most meaningful moments of a person's life. But without the proper understanding, the meaning could easily be lost. So, if you have any questions or concerns, please feel free to reach out to us.
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You have a unique faith story and we can’t wait to hear it! Here are some questions and suggestions to help you prepare as you think about your story:
Introduce yourself by telling us your name, age, and how long you’ve been attending Local Church.
Do you remember when you first decided to follow Jesus? What led you to that moment? Share what that looked like for you – it’s ok if you don’t remember a specific day or date.
How is your life different now that you follow Jesus? For example – what different life choices are you making? Do you have a different attitude towards others? Are you seeing yourself differently now that you follow Jesus?
Have you set any new goals for yourself?
Who or what influenced you to pursue following Jesus?
Is there anyone you would like to thank for coming alongside you in your faith journey?
If you could tell us one thing you want people to know from your story what would it be?
Finish by declaring in your own words why you are getting baptized. (i.e. “I’m here today to publicly show my love for Jesus!”)