Water Baptism (Immersion) Baptism is a wonderfully expectant moment!  Jesus says that when we declare Him before people, He will declare us before all heaven.  This is one of the truest celebrations; a time when we tell the world that we have been purchased for God and have entered into a life that will never end.   The subject of water baptism is perhaps one of the least understood practices of the New Testament.   According to Hebrews 6:2, it is the foundation step in our maturing process, to be like Jesus.   Facts: Jesus was baptized.   Jesus instructed that all believers were to be baptized.   What is Baptism? The Greek word used in the New Testament for “baptism” means to immerse, cause to be dipped, to submerge, to overwhelm.  To baptize something in water means to put it under the water. Therefore in the biblical sense, to baptize a person in water literally means to completely immerse.   Symbolism By confessing faith in Jesus Christ we attest to the fact that we believe in the historical death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus for the sins of the world.  As believers we receive the gift of eternal life made possible through his death and resurrection—we share in the benefits of what Christ did for us. Therefore, as a public proclamation of the death and resurrection we reenact it symbolically by being “buried” and “raised” in the waters of baptism.   Romans 6:3-4 Or don't you know that all of us who were baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death? We were therefore buried with him through baptism into death in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead through the glory of the Father, we too may live a new life. Accepting Christ’s forgiveness we are washed or cleansed of our sins.  This is accomplished through the shed blood of Jesus.   When we repent of our sins and ask Jesus Christ into our lives we are washed clean.  That is, our sins and the stain of them in our lives are washed away. Therefore, baptism symbolically demonstrates that we have been washed clean of sin.   Who can baptize? There are examples of large numbers of people coming to Christ and being baptized in the book of Acts which indicates that other Christians were baptizing new believers and not just the Apostles (Elders/Pastors).   We also believe in the priesthood of all believers (1 Peter 2:9), which gives all believers the privilege of baptizing.  We encourage you to ask someone who has been instrumental in leading you to Christ to baptize you.   In what name do we baptize? Jesus instructed the disciples to be baptized in the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit (Mt. 28:19).  All things we do are to be done in the name of the Lord Jesus (Colossians 3:17). The early church baptized in the name of Jesus Christ (Acts 2:38), in the name of the Lord (Acts 10:48), and in the name of the Lord Jesus (Acts 19:5)   Baptism is not intended to have an exact formulaic pattern.  This is a moment to be unequivocally identified with Jesus. There is no “special formula.”