Children’s Baptism
In baptism, as parents you are: thanking God for his gift of life, deciding to start your child on the journey of faith and asking for the Church's support.
For your child, baptism marks the start of a journey of faith, which involves turning away from the darkness of self-centredness, turning towards Christ and becoming a member of the local and worldwide Christian family.
Christians sometimes talk about Baptism as a 'sacrament': a visible sign of God's love. It is an ‘identity marker’ showing who we are, who we belong to and how we live. It is a response to God’s love and a part of following Jesus. In baptism, we are thanking God for his gift of life and publicly acknowledging his love. We are acknowledging that we all need to turn away from the darkness of evil and to make a new start with God.
Making decisions and promises
When you bring your child for baptism, you will be asked to declare publicly on behalf of your child that you believe in God and that you will bring your child up to follow Jesus. You will be asked to answer, on your child's behalf, that you have decided to turn away from everything which is evil or sinful and to turn instead towards Christ. The declarations made by you and the child's godparents will be made in front of the church congregation. The Christian community will promise to support you and to pray for you and your child.
The Declarations
During the service, as parents, you will be asked to make the following declarations:
Do you reject the devil and all rebellion against God?
I reject them.
Do you renounce the deceit and corruption of evil?
I renounce them.
Do you repent of the sins that separate us from God and neighbour?
I repent of them.
Do you turn to Christ as Saviour?
I turn to Christ.
Do you submit to Christ as Lord?
I submit to Christ.
Do you come to Christ, the way, the truth and the life?
I come to Christ.
These declarations are very powerful words of commitment and they have hardly changed over many centuries. People who make them are making a strong statement of commitment to God, to Jesus and to the church.
Shouldn't our children make their own decisions?
This is a good question and because many people want to let their children make up their own mind about being a Christian and belonging to church, many choose to have a Thanksgiving service for their child instead of a 'Baptism'. Some people worry that they are imposing views on their children, but in baptism we are not prescribing to our children how they must live , or brain washing them... we are saying that it is our desire, because we believe it is the best thing in life, to belong to Jesus... And just like in the rest of their lives, from the moment they are born, we make choices on their behalf. We don't wait until they are old enough to ask for milk before you feed them and in the same way it is right to give them spiritual nourishment and teach them about the love of God from an early age.
When they are old enough they may choose to be confirmed and to make an adult affirmation of faith. Baptism is no guarantee that our Children will grow up and desire to follow Jesus throughout their lives… just as the baptism of adults is no guarantee of that either. However, those brought up in a Christian home, surrounded by prayer and by parents who love Jesus, many naturally find themselves loving Jesus too. They have belonged to God and learned to follow him from as far back as they can remember.
Baptism is the marker that they have always belonged to Jesus and that they have this new life in them. Of course, as they grow and mature they will make decisions about life and how to live and they will choose either to continue in the faith or not. This is always God’s offer to us – either to accept his rule over our lives or to reject it. Our reason for baptising Children is not that it ‘makes’ them Christians – but that it marks them out as Christians – something we pray that they will remain faithful to, and live up to, until the end of their lives.
What happens in the Baptism service?
Your child's baptism will normally take place during the main Sunday service. This makes sense because at baptism your child is joining the family of the Church and be welcomed into membership. In turn, the Church will promise to support and pray for you and your child.
The Minister will make sure you know where to sit and when you need to move. Some parts of the service will be for the whole congregation to join in, some will be for you and the godparents.
For the baptism itself, parents and godparents will be asked by the priest to gather at the back of the church around the font. The priest will ask the parents and godparents to make declarations on behalf of the child
Important symbols
A number of important symbols will be used during the service itself:
The sign of the cross
The priest will make the sign of the cross on your child's forehead. This is
like an invisible badge to show that Christians are united with Christ and must
not be ashamed to stand up for their faith in him. The priest says: 'Christ
claims you for his own. Receive the sign of his cross. Do not be ashamed to
confess the faith of Christ crucified.'
Water
The priest will pour water on your child's head. Water is a sign of washing and
cleansing. In baptism it is a sign of being washed free from sin and beginning a
new life with God. Whilst water is a sign of life, it is also a symbol of death.
When we are baptized our old life is buried in the waters (like drowning) and we
are raised to new life with Christ (just as the people of Israel came through
the water out of Egypt and Jesus came out of the tomb).
Anointing
John the Baptist baptised in water, but he pointed the way to another – Jesus –
who would ‘baptise with the Holy Spirit.’ Christians are baptised in the name of
the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit. The Spirit is God’s power for living
and the guarantee of our new life in Christ. After the baptism the priest will
pray this prayer over the child: 'May God, who has received you by baptism into
his Church, pour upon you the riches of his grace, that within the company of
Christ's pilgrim people you may daily be renewed by his anointing Spirit, and
come to the inheritance of the saints in glory.'
The Welcome
The church congregation will say some formal words of welcome to acknowledge
that your child has joined the Church and to show how pleased they are to have
you among them.
When did baptism start?
Jesus was baptized in the river Jordan. This was a turning point in his life
(you can read the story in the Bible: at the beginning of Mark's Gospel in the
New Testament). Jesus told his followers to baptize others as a sign that they
had turned away from their old life, and begun a new life as Christ's disciples,
members of his 'Body', having been assured of God's forgiveness.
Baptisms often took place in a river: new Christians were plunged (‘baptismo’ in Greek means ‘to plunge’) under the water, marking their death to an old way of life, and lifted up again as a sign of new birth. Some churches still follow the practice of full immersion in water today.
Frequently asked questions
Q What's the difference between a baptism and a christening?
A None, they are just different words for the same thing.
Q Can we have a private service of baptism?
A Baptisms usually take place in the church's main service, because they
are a public declaration that your child has become part of the church family.
It is important that the church congregation is there to support you and welcome
your child.
Q What is the right age for baptism?
A Baptism can happen at any age. What matters is that those concerned
believe it is right to ask for baptism. Teenagers and adults may also be
baptized – see the ‘Adult Baptism’ part about this. You can only be baptized
once, but there are ways of renewing your commitment publicly as an adult
Q I'm not a regular churchgoer. Can I still have my child baptized?
A Yes, but in honesty we don’t think that this really makes much sense.
Baptism implies that parents take their faith and involvement in the church
seriously and that following Jesus is the most important thing in their life. We
never refuse to baptize a child, but if parents have not been active in the
church, they may want to delay the Baptism until they have their questions
resolved. God's love is available to all and we don’t want to block anyone from
participating in the life that Jesus has for us all. But baptism isn’t about
protecting your child in case they tragically died, or to make them a Christian,
or to secure their place in heaven.
Baptism is an identity marker marking us out
as disciples of Jesus. Disciples of Jesus belong to the church and worship with
other Christians not because they have to but because they want to. Baptising a
child but not bringing them up as a disciple doesn’t make sense. We therefore
invite every parent who would like to have their child baptised to spend some
time thinking through their own faith through a
pre-baptism course. We certainly don’t want to put anyone off but we do
want to enable people to mean what they are going to be saying in the baptism
service. Some people realise, having talked it through that they would prefer to
have a ‘Thanksgiving service’ first and then
consider baptism when they have had time to think on things further.
Q What does it cost?
A Nothing.
Q What is a godparent?
A Godparents make the same promises on behalf of the child being baptized
as parents. Godparents promise to pray and support the child and to help the
parents to bring up the child in the Christian faith. It is an important and
responsible role.
Q How many godparents should I have?
A As many as you would like. Most people have between two and three… some
more. A child can not have too many supporting adults praying for them and
encouraging them in their faith.
Q Who should I choose to be a godparent?
A Anyone who knows and loves Jesus – people who will not only be good
role models for your child but also be faithful in prayer for them. Godparents
can be family members or friends. They must also be baptized themselves.
Q Can we take photos or a video
A Yes, as long as it is done sensitively. The baptism is a service
of worship and the insensitive use of cameras undermines its significance.
What next?
• Talk to Richard or leave a message on his answerphone (01225 421438), and
he will contact you.
• Talk things through with your family and pray about what it all means to you
• Find out more about it all – Come to an Alpha course.
• Talk to others at church about it all
• Join in with the life of the church family on Sundays and throughout the week.
Email Richard Wilson
We hope your baby's baptism will be a wonderful and
memorable occasion and that it will be a very significant day, not just for your
child but also for you as parents.
