5. Celebrate, celebrate, celebrate!
People are standing up in front of their community and declaring their allegiance to Jesus … it’s time to party! This experience should be the Mother-of-All-Church-Is-Fun Moments. The music needs to be high energy. Have a reception (with cake!) at the end of the service for the people getting baptized. In all the pre-game huddles that day, make sure you prep your teams to be high energy and excited for the candidates. The place should be filled with high-fives and hugs to reinforce the decision people are making. The Kingdom of God is a party and this is one of those times when we need to let loose!
6. Engage the entire family.
I was baptized at the same time as my two parents and brother. It was a full family experience. What an honor! Your entire church can work together to encourage parents as they work with their kids through this important spiritual milestone. Talk about it in your children’s ministry and give parents tools to talk about it with their kids. Help parents respond well when their kids ask questions. Few churches have modeled this as well at North Point Ministries has with their Family Birthday Celebration. It’s an intentional strategy to help families leverage this key moment in their lives!
7. Prepare for spontaneous baptisms.
People are going to come to your baptism service, and in that moment decide they need to get baptized. Be ready for them. Have everything they are going to need to make that happen: change of clothes, flip-flops, hair products, towels, a place to get ready and so on. Then let people know during your service that you are ready for them. Prepare a team of people to be ready to talk with folks who might want to be baptized. Don’t ask them to wait … don’t make them take some class … be ready to respond to what is happening in the moment. Ask the band to play another song and wait if people are still getting changed. As people see that you are ready for them, they will respond. It is a faith building experience to watch someone follow through and be baptized during a service when they didn’t anticipate it.
I think there are people at your church who are ready to be baptized. Serve those people by making it easier for them to take this bold step of faith! It’s our job to remove to the barriers. Make the right thing to do … the easiest thing to do.
