Baptism

 We believe that the Bible teaches that baptism is the initiation ceremony into the family of God. Jesus established it in the last words he spoke to us before he ascended to heaven. It is a call to "step out of the shadows" and demonstrate what we say we believe. It also, illustrates and points us to the central tenet of Christianity… the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of our sins. (We have a free teaching CD on this topic called - "Baptism: Stepping Out of the Shadows" that examines the Scriptural support for our position available upon request.) Key scriptures on this topic include: Matthew 28:19, Mark 16:15, 1 Corinthians 15:3-4, Colossians 2:12, Romans 6:3-4, Acts 2:17-36, 8:29-38, 16:14-15, 22:15-16.

    Method of Baptism
    There has been much confusion & controversy amongst Christians over the centuries about the correct way to baptize people. Should they be sprinkled with water or fully immersed? In other words… how much water does it take to get baptized? Here at Damascus Road we don't feel the need to get caught up in that controversy. We practice baptism by immersion here because we think it most closely represents the symbolism of the death, burial, & resurrection of Christ. However, if you've been sprinkled with water for your baptism or water was poured on you or some other method, that's fine. We recognize that and celebrate that with you.

    When to Get Baptized
    How old should someone be to be baptized? We recognize that this has been a controversial issue among sincere Christians for centuries particularly in reference to infant baptism versus believer's baptism. We respect Christian leaders that hold differing opinions on this issue and we are always interested in dialoging and learning from other believers. However, here at Damascus Road, it appears clear to us that Jesus intended baptism to be a ceremony for people old enough to believe in Jesus themselves.

    We practice infant dedication here at Damascus Road. On special days of the year, parents come up and publicly declare their intent to raise their child in the Christian faith and we pray a prayer of blessing over those children. But we don't baptize them until they are old enough to understand and respond to a gospel presentation. We actually recommend kids to wait until about age 12. That gives them an opportunity to begin to develop a sense of what submission to the Lordship of Christ really means in their daily decisions. Certainly kids younger than 12 can know and have a relationship with Jesus but we encourage them to wait till about age 12 to really make it their own decision.
That means if you were baptized as an infant, it may have been a wonderful and very meaningful event for your parents and we don't want to disrespect that in any way. But we would encourage you to study the key scriptures on this topic and offer yourself to Christ for baptism as an adult believer as well. It will be a very meaningful mark in your spiritual journey and God will use it as a witnessing tool for others who are watching. Nearly every time we have a baptism here in church, someone watching it will approach one of the pastors and say… alright, I want to do that too. Wouldn't it be awesome to be used by God to nudge someone else toward an eternity with Him? You may never be called to stand up at a pulpit and preach a sermon, you may never teach a Bible class or write an inspirational book, but God can use your public baptism to impact seekers who are watching.