A Message Regarding Baptism
Dear Parent,
The baptism of a child is a great event of spiritual significance – for the child, for the family, and for the church. It involves our loving heavenly Father with His family of faith in a beautiful and intimate way. As one of the sacraments, baptism is truly one of the great treasures of the church.
In presenting your child or children for baptism, you are reaffirming your own faith in Jesus Christ. Also, you are showing that you want your child/children to love Jesus Christ, to serve Him, to obey Him and to know Him, to take that step of trusting in Jesus Christ as their Lord and Savior. You are committing to raising him or her in ways that encourage a strong faith.
As the pastor takes your child from your arms he or she introduces your baby as a unique individual loved and known by God to the congregation. In the act of infant baptism, the congregation pledges to help you raise your child. We have heard often that it takes a village to raise a child and in this sacrament, the congregation vows to be that village!
How do I schedule a baptism for my infant or young child?
- Contact Sandy Lutz (303.402.6414, ) for upcoming baptism dates and to sign up for a baptism instruction class.
- Attend Baptism Instruction Class.
- Complete “Application for Child Baptism” form for each child at the Baptism Instruction class, listing date of baptism.
- Prepare for baptism by studying this Guide and reflecting upon the meaning of this sacrament.
- Present your child with thanksgiving and joy! Please arrive at the service fifteen minutes before the worship hour where your child will be baptized. Meet the Elder who will guide you through the morning in Sheldon Jackson Parlor.
What about my elementary child?
1. Attend the class on Baptism as part of the Coming to the Table class with your child or study this guide, discuss it with your child, reflect upon the meaning of this sacrament, and schedule a time to meet with one of the pastors when both the child and at least one parent can be present. During this time the child will be asked to share their personal faith in Christ and their desire to be baptized.
2. Contact the senior pastor’s administrative assistant (303.402.6414) for upcoming baptism dates.
3. Complete “Application for Child Baptism” form for each child.
4. Please arrive at the service fifteen minutes before the worship hour where your child will be baptized. Meet the Elder who will guide you through the morning in Sheldon Jackson Parlor. Join your child with thanksgiving and joy!
Want to go deeper? Theological questions answered.
1. What is the biblical authority for infant baptism?
The authority for the baptism of a child is the Scriptures. Just as the Lord’s Supper has superseded the Passover of the Old Testament, so has baptism superseded circumcision of the Old Testament. Baptism in the New Testament is administered to adults and infants alike. The Apostles baptized entire households of Cornelius (Acts 10),
2. What is the purpose of Infant Baptism?
The Shorter Catechism gives this definition of Baptism:
Baptism is a sacrament, wherein the washing with water, in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost, doth signify and seal our ingrafting into Christ, and partaking of the benefits of the covenant of grace, and our engagement to be the Lord’s. (#94)
The baptism of a child, like adult baptism, acknowledges that the recipient belongs to the Lord in a special way; he/she is ingrafted into Christ; he/she receives special benefits through the covenant of grace through his/her parents and their faith; and he/she is engaged to be the Lord’s. All of these blessings he/she may later deny, just as an adult who is baptized may deny them.
Someone has summarized the meaning of the baptism of a child in six headings:
a. A Recognition of a Covenant Relationship.
Baptism does not initiate this covenant relationship, but it does publicly recognize it. This covenant is a contact, an agreement between a person and God, and it speaks of the way God desires to enter into a relationship with us and our children. We read in Scripture on many occasions of the way in which God promised blessings to His people if they would love and follow Him. God is always faithful to the covenant, even when we aren’t, and His mercy is from everlasting to everlasting. Baptism recognizes a covenant relationship, so parents take vows at the baptism of their child. They make promises to the Lord which by God’s grace they will seek to fulfill.
b. An Expression of Thanksgiving.
The Baptism of a child is an opportunity for the parents to thank God for this new life in the midst of their covenant community.
c. A Symbol of Cleansing.
The Baptism is a symbol of God’s forgiveness for which the child, like his/her parents, is in need.
d. An Acknowledgement of an Obligation.
In Baptism each Christian parent acknowledges before God and humanity that he/she has a serious obligation to bring this child up “in the nurture and admonition of the Lord.”
e. An experience of God’s grace and love.
In Baptism God reaches out to a child even before he/she can say His name, and in this act of grace recognizes His mark of covenant love on the child.
f. An Act of Dedication.
It is at this moment of Baptism that the Christian parent, like Hannah of old, gives the child back to God for His service, as He wishes to use him/her. The parents acknowledge they are not owners of the child, but stewards under the Master. The Christian parents realize that the child is the Lord’s, placed in their care.
3. Does such Baptism guarantee the child salvation?
It does not, anymore than adult baptism guarantees salvation of the adult. Presbyterians do not believe in “baptismal regeneration.” Baptism in no way is magic. Rather, salvation happens when the child responds to Christ’s call to follow him and ultimately make his/her own profession of faith in Jesus Christ.
4. What vows do the parents make before the congregation and before God?
The Christian parents in presenting their children make the following three vows:
- Do you reaffirm your own faith in Jesus Christ as your personal Lord and Savior?
- Do you claim God’s Covenant promises on your child’s behalf and look in faith to the Lord for his/her salvation?
- Do you now promise, in humble reliance upon God’s grace, to set before your child a godly example, and will you pray with and for your child and seek to bring up your child in the knowledge and love of God?
5. What about “godparents?”
Presbyterians do not designate “godparents.” Instead the congregation of God’s people take certain vows which add the responsibility for the child’s Christian nurture to the community of Christians as well as to the parents.
6. What vows do the worshipers take in accepting representative responsibility for producing, as much as is possible, a Christian environment in which the child may grow?
The worshiping congregation promises to add their energies and efforts to those of the parents in assisting the young child to grown up under the nurture and admonition of the Lord through these two vows:
- We, the people of the congregation, receive this child and promise with God’s help to be his/her sponsor to the end and that he/she may confess Christ as his/her Lord and Savior and come at last to His eternal kingdom.
- We further promise that we will endeavor to set before him/her a good example of Christian living both as individuals and as a society, through God’s grace.
7. Are there age limits for the Sacrament of the baptism of a child?
The Directory of Worship of the Presbyterian Church says, “The children of believers should be baptized without undue haste or undue delay.” We recommend that an infant should be at least six weeks old before being baptized. Our practice and policy at First Presbyterian Church is that we baptize children up through eight years of age based upon the faith of their parents in presenting their children for baptism. A child nine or older may also be presented for baptism upon their own profession of faith in Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior. If the child is still in elementary school, the child and the parent are encouraged to attend the Coming to the Table class which is offered once in the fall and once in the spring. Following the class, the child and at least one parent can discuss the child’s personal faith in Christ and their desire to be baptized with the pastor teaching the class. If the child and parent are unable to attend the class or choose not to, an appointment can be scheduled with any of the pastors and the child, with their parent present, can discuss his/her personal faith in Christ and his/her desire to be baptized. At the baptism both the parent(s) and the child will be asked to take vows before the Sacrament is administered.
If a child thirteen or older desires to be baptized we encourage them to wait until they can participate in the youth commissioning class. At the conclusion of this class many teens chose to be baptized.
8. Can just one parent present a child for baptism?
One parent, who is a believer, may present his/her child for baptism. This may come about through death or divorce or because one parent is a non-believer or disagrees with infant baptism.
For the unbelieving husband is sanctified by the wife, and the unbelieving wife is sanctified by the husband: else were your children unclean; but now they are holy” (I Corinthians
9. My husband/wife objects to my having our children baptized. What should I do?
If one partner is a non-believer, the Christian training rests in the hands of the believing partner, who must act for the benefit of the children. If the partner is an active Christian of a persuasion which rejects the baptism of a child, then the Presbyterian should present his/her arguments carefully, respectfully, and clearly. Since the objectives in infant baptism are unquestionably very good and worthwhile, then the Sacrament is either harmless (if wrong) or helpful (if right). The Presbyterian should not act independently of his/her partner. Seek unity in the family and pray about the matter.
10. Do the parents have to be members of First Presbyterian Church,
Since the baptism vows require congregational and pastoral care to the child so committed unto the Lord, and since every believer ought to associate him/herself with one of God’s congregations, it would seem contradictory and questionable for a local couple to request a local pastor to baptize their children without first uniting with that church. However, there may be some circumstances where one or both parents are Presbyterian but currently hold church membership elsewhere, or if the grandparents of the child are currently members of First Presbyterian Church. If a couple is currently attending First Presbyterian Church and are moving toward membership, their request for the baptism of their children will be taken under advisement. Each request will be handled individually and with serious concern for each set of circumstances.
11. Infant Baptism and Christening are the same thing, are they not?
No, they are not. The meaning of Infant Baptism has already been discussed. The meaning of “christening” is “to give one a Christian name” or “to make one a Christian.” The Roman Catholic Church and certain
12. What is the relationship between receiving communion and baptism?
Baptism and communion are the two sacraments which Presbyterians celebrate. We believe that both were instituted by Jesus Christ, who ordained these symbols to be a means of grace for believers.