Baptism is the public, formal profession of faith, just as a wedding is the public, formal profession of love.
As such, baptism, according to the New Testament, is the manner in which all believers profess their faith to the church and to the world. It is the rite by which an individual marks the change from being "not-a-Christian" to being a "Christian".
For this reason, when a person who is not a Christian asks to join our church upon an initial profession of faith, baptism is the required next step.
For those who are already Christians, our church will accept your prior baptism, regardless of how or when it was conducted, under the following conditions:
- If you were baptized after making a personal decision to follow Christ, then we will honor it.
- If you were baptized upon the initiative of your parents (so-called "infant baptism"), we will honor that baptism provided you have participated in a formal confirmation process and have come to appreciate that baptismal experience as your own.
If, however, you were baptized as an infant, and have never participated in a confirmation process, we will ask that you be baptized upon your profession of faith, prior to becoming a member of our church.