In this season of True Life Church, we are regularly (at least 4 time per year) offering folks the chance to be baptized in front of the rest of the church - either during a Sunday service or at a summer pool party.

The below excerpts from another church's blog are a great reminder of how powerful a public baptism can be for those watching.

November 14, 2014

With every baptism, we witness a drama that visually and viscerally presents the reality of God’s power to rescue those whom He calls His own. Those being baptized share their stories of redemption from the platform. Again and again, we hear that these stories are being used by the Lord to bring many to saving knowledge of Jesus Christ. Why? Because they testify to the truth of what God has been doing since the beginning.

When God chose to save Noah and his family from the Flood, He shut the door of the ark and brought them safely through the waters of judgment to new life.

When God freed the Israelites from Egypt, He led them through the miraculously parted waters of the Red Sea to a new life freed from Egyptian bondage. He would work a similar reminding miracle just decades later parting the Jordan so Israel could cross over to a new land.

When Jonah chose to disobey God, the Lord lovingly pursued him. God brought him safely through the waters of death inside the belly of a fish that would spit him onto the dry land of life and obedience.

Obedience and Proclamation

These are the Old Testament seeds of baptism. These stories form the backdrop for the actions of John the Baptist in Matthew 3 as John begins baptizing Jews (and Jesus himself) in the waters of the Jordan. Jesus’ baptism was an act of obedience to the Father, but it was also a powerful testimony to the meaning of these older stories, full of nothing less than ocean-splitting deliverance from death to life.

Baptism is first an act of obedience to Christ’s command and then a powerful proclamation of the gospel. It is a gift of God to His people. Believers are often forgetful and need constant reminders of our shared story. When we see someone following Christ in obedience to baptism, being symbolically “buried” in water only to be raised by a power that is not their own, our hearts are stirred by our shared story of salvation in Christ.

Baptism also lays claim. It is a statement of ownership to any who witness it who do not honor Christ. In baptism, a simple ceremony signifies the eternal reality that this individual belongs to Christ and Christ alone. It is the sign of the King’s irrevocable seal upon the son or daughter raised out of those judgment waters.

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If you are a part of True Life Church, and you have not been baptized since making the decision to trust in and follow Christ, would you consider joining us for our next Baptism Celebration? Email me (Pastor Chris) and we can chat: Chris@TrueLifeNJ.com.