BAPTISM
If you’ve made the decision to follow Jesus, baptism is one of the most meaningful next steps you can take. Baptism is a public celebration of moving from death to life through faith in Jesus Christ.
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If you’ve made the decision to follow Jesus, baptism is one of the most meaningful next steps you can take. Baptism is a public celebration of moving from death to life through faith in Jesus Christ.
“Many of the people who heard Him believed and were baptized.” – Acts 18:8
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Jesus was baptized.
“At that time Jesus came from Nazareth and was baptized by John in the river.” – Mark 1:9
2. Jesus said we should be baptized.
“Jesus said, ‘Go then, to all people everywhere and make them my disciples, baptize them in the name of the Father, the Son and Holy Spirit, and then teach them to obey everything I have commanded you.'” – Matthew 28:18-20
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In Scripture, “baptize” means “to immerse or dip under water.” We baptize the way we see in Scripture that Jesus was baptized. “As soon as Jesus was baptized, he went up out of the water.”– Matthew 3:16
Every water baptism in the Bible was by immersion. “Then both Philip and the man went down into the water and Philip baptized him. When they came up out of the water …” – Acts 8:38-39
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Every person who believes in Jesus Christ should be baptized.
“Those who believed and accepted His message were baptized …” – Acts 2:41
“Simon himself believed and was baptized …” – Acts 8:13
“But when they believed Philip as he preached the Good News … and the name of Jesus Christ, they were baptized, both men and women.” – Acts 8:2
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At Elevate City, we do not practice infant baptism. We wait until children are old enough to believe and understand the true meaning of a relationship with Jesus Christ before we baptize them. Some churches practice a “baptism of confirmation” for children or “infant baptism” for babies. This is different from the baptism we read in Scripture, which is only for those who express a personal belief in Jesus Christ. While many of us were “confirmed” as children in our parents’ church, that confirmation or baptism was the parents’ decision as a covenant between them and God on behalf of the child. Elevate City only practices water baptism by immersion after an individual has made a personal commitment to Jesus Christ.
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The purpose of Parent/Child dedication is for parents to present their child before God and the church, committing to seek after His grace and wisdom in discipling their child.
“Children are a gift from the Lord; they are a reward from him.” Psalm 127:3
“Train up a child in the way he should go; even when he is old he will not depart from it.” Proverbs 22:6
Parent/Child Dedication is a time for us to celebrate and thank God for the gift of your children. It’s also a time for you, as parents, to commit to model what following Jesus looks like and to raise your children to understand that they are saved by grace through faith in Jesus Christ, to believe that the Bible is absolute Truth, and to know the importance of committing to a community of faith through the local church.
Rather than baptizing infants, we encourage a dedication ceremony, where parents formally call upon God’s blessing for their child and publicly commit to raise him or her in accordance with Scripture the way Jesus was brought to the Temple by Mary and Joseph (Luke 2:22-38), and Samuel brought by his mother Hannah (1 Samuel 1:27-28).
At ECC, we celebrate parent-child dedications during service at least twice a year. For more info on the next parent-child dedication service, contact our NowGen Team!
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As soon as you have believed! We encourage you not to delay.
“Those who believed … were baptized … that day!” – Acts 2:41
“Then Philip began with the Scripture and told him (the eunuch) the Good News about Jesus. As they traveled along the road, they came to some water, and the man said, ‘Look, here is water! Why shouldn’t I be baptized right now?’ Philip said, ‘If you believe with all your heart, you may.’ The man answered, ‘I believe that Jesus Christ is the Son of God.’ So they went down into the water and Philip baptized him.” – Acts 8:35-38
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No. As long as your baptism (sprinkling, pouring or immersion) was after faith in Christ as a public announcement of your commitment to Jesus Christ, you do not have to be baptized again. However, ECC solely practices baptism by immersion. It would be your choice to participate in ECC practice of water baptism by immersion.
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Yes. Our pastoral staff looks forward to talking with you about your decision to get baptized again, especially if your first baptism experience preceded your conversion to Jesus Christ.