After completing the baptism interest form, a member of our church’s leadership will reach out and speak with you about your faith and desire to be baptized. We have baptisms in our Sunday gathering four to five times per year. Before your scheduled baptism day, you’ll receive instructions about what to wear and bring, when to arrive, etc. You’ll enter the water (it’s warm!) with the person baptizing you, who will briefly share about your decision to be baptized with the congregation. You’ll be asked to affirm your faith with 3 simple yes or no questions, then immersed and brought out of the water. We also have a loved one or a person of influence light a candle on your behalf at that time, as a symbol of the role that other people play in our spiritual journeys. We get you dry and celebrate and that’s it! Nothing magic in the water, no speeches to give, just a simple but special occasion to consecrate oneself to the Lord among His church.

That’s wonderful! We baptize anyone who makes a credible and age-appropriate profession of faith in Jesus. We don’t have any theology exams to pass, we just look for simple—even childlike (Matthew 18:2-5)—faith. Our family ministries team offers baptism classes for kids periodically; reach out to jessica@cherryhillsfamily.org to find out more. In the meantime, celebrate your child’s interest and ask them curious questions, engaging them in conversation about their desire and helping them grow their understanding.

We expect people after their baptism to develop new questions, to continue to wrestle against sin, to experience the fading of any idealistic feelings about faith, and become realistic about the experience of Christian community. One way we seek to help is by providing short term mentors to encourage you and come alongside you in any next steps in the weeks after your baptism. We’d also suggest marking the time in your calendar and celebrating the occasion each year. Check out our discipleship pathway for some further direction on how to get started in practicing the way of Jesus.

We believe spiritual rebirth is a precondition for inclusion in God's church. In keeping with our convictions about the necessity of personal repentance for life in Christ and the baptist tradition which is our heritage, we only baptize people who make a credible profession of faith.

Being baptized as a baby is evidence of your parent’s faith, but it isn’t evidence of your faith. A parent who has a child baptized blesses them, acts faithfully in accordance with their convictions, and does a beautiful thing for them which should be cherished. But even while honoring what your parents desired for you, we ask followers of Jesus to be baptized on their own accord as a testimony to their personal appropriation of their parent’s faith. This is in step with baptism following repentance.

This is a matter requiring discernment. Firstly, the desire to follow Jesus seriously and publicly is always commendable. Secondly, baptism is not a repeatable event, just as birth is not a repeatable event. Therefore, we ordinarily do not re-baptize people, because that is a confusion around what baptism accomplishes. However, we recognize that some people look back on their baptism as illegitimate due to coercive pressures, substantial misunderstandings, and other factors. In such cases we would be glad to discuss your story and what God is doing in your life now.

No, but baptism is connected with salvation in scripture. In Acts 2:38, Peter tells those gathered for the festival of Pentecost to “repent and be baptized… for the forgiveness of sins.” In 1 Peter 3:21 the apostle refers to the “baptism that now saves you also… by the resurrection of Jesus Christ.” We would seriously call into question the legitimacy of any person’s salvation who rejects baptism. Yet it seems that baptism is connected to salvation as the act which expresses repentance and depends upon the ministry of Christ for efficacy (which is why 1 Peter 3 speaks of baptism saving by the resurrection, ascension, and Lordship of Jesus). Baptism is no means of grace apart from faith. In layman's terms: baptism doesn’t save anybody anymore than a wedding ring marries somebody. But it is the sign and seal of our salvation, a pledge of covenant love and union with God which is the ordinary means of grace for beginning the Christian life. Baptism is an outward response of an inward reality.

We typically baptize people publicly with the gathered church. We want people to do something courageous in making their profession of faith, and we want the church to see that there is someone new for whom we have responsibility to care for and share our lives as we follow Jesus in community. Baptism is not merely an individual thing– it’s a communal thing. But there may be exceptions for various reasons where someone isn’t able to be baptized in the typical fashion, and we can discuss alternative arrangements. Reach out to luke@cherryhillsfamily.org with questions.