Step 2
Baptism, which is commanded by God of all new believers, is one of only two ordinances given in Scripture to the Church, the other being the Lord’s Supper. Baptism is the full immersion of believers into water and serves two purposes: a symbol and a proclamation.
As a symbol, it is a beautiful physical representation of the spiritual reality of salvation. It is a picture of the old sinful human dying and being born again in Christ Jesus. Along with that, it also symbolizes Christ washing away of our sin.
As a proclamation, the person being baptized is declaring to the world that they have been saved by trusting in Christ alone, and the church administering the baptism is declaring that, as best they can discern, the person being baptized is saved.
Since baptism is a symbol and proclamation of a person’s salvation, he or she should only be baptized once after they have been saved since Scripture teaches that we are saved only once.
Perhaps you were baptized by a church of another Christian denomination. We will gladly recognize your baptism as valid if it meets these three criteria:
-
You were baptized after you believed on Christ.
-
The church baptizing you did so as a symbolic act and not as a requirement for salvation.
-
You were baptized by immersion.
If your previous experience does not meet all three criteria, we humbly ask that you be baptized according to Scripture.