Baptisms / Christenings / Dedications

As a Baptist church we don’t baptise/christen babies, but instead, we baptise adults or young people ‘upon profession of faith’, i.e. once they have chosen for themselves to be a follower of Jesus. We do this by full immersion, meaning that the person is lowered fully into the water and back up again.

There are a number of reasons for this!

Baptism by full immersion symbolises dying to our old way of life and being born again to a new life in Christ. It represents being washed clean of our wrongdoing; of being united with Jesus in his death and resurrection. It is a public way of showing that we belong to Jesus and want to follow him. It is a special moment in a person’s life when they are open to receiving more of God’s Spirit for service in the church and in the world.

Our practice is based on what we read in the Bible:

  • Jesus set an example: Jesus was baptised by John the Baptist (Matthew 3:13-17; Mark 1:9-11; Luke 3:21-22)
  • Jesus commands us: in the Great Commission (Matthew 28:18-20), Jesus says, “Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptising them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit”
  • The early church practised it: on the Day of Pentecost, Peter tells the people to “Repent and be baptised, every one of you, in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins. And you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit” (Acts 2:37-38). We read in the Acts of the Apostles of many new believers being baptised.

Baptism is a joyful occasion and we have had the privilege at NBC of baptising people of many different ages and backgrounds over the years. If you are a follower of Jesus and would like to discuss baptism, please contact us!

Christening/Dedications

Although we don’t baptise babies, we do welcome babies and children into the life of the church, when parents are willing to make certain promises about how they will raise their child. We call this a “dedication” and it takes place during our normal Sunday morning service. If you are a follower of Jesus and would like to find out more about dedicating your child, please do get in touch.