Satan loves undercover Christians who are timid with their faith and quietly keep it to themselves. Baptism provides an opportunity for the believer to proclaim Christ publicly. the when. Read and discuss key Bible passages together. Your goal as a parent is to help your child understand the meaning of these passages while also providing the opportunity for your child to share his or her thoughts and feelings about baptism. The third step is to meet with your pastor and begin the process with your church, which may include a baptism interview, a Bible study, and the invitation for your child to write his or her testimony.
I desire to see parents taking an active role in the preparation and celebration of their child’ s baptism. I pray that one of the effects will be that Jesus Christ is the satisfaction of your home— that He is treasured deeply, magnified fully, and sufficient in your child’ s life. Because Jesus is the object of baptism, any discussion of the topic must be Jesus-saturated. Baptism, from beginning to end, is about Jesus. When we come to the waters of baptism, we are reminded of Jesus’ saving work on the cross and God’ s eternal plan for redemption. May this experience be one that is remembered with fondness and a period of growth in your child’ s life.
If you are looking for a resource on baptism, the book Believer’ s Baptism: A Guide for Families and Churches is available at renewanation. org and is an excellent tool to guide you through the process described above.
Dr. Josh Mulvihill is the Executive Director of Church and Family Ministry at RenewaNation. He served as a pastor for nearly twenty years and serves on the board of Awana. He holds a Ph. D. from the Southern Baptist Theological Seminary. He is the author of Biblical Grandparenting, Preparing Children for Marriage, Biblical Worldview, and 50 Things Every Child Needs to Know Before Leaving Home. Josh is married to Jen, and they have five children. Josh blogs at GospelShapedFamily. com.
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