Baptism

We see baptism is a public expression of faith for someone who has committed to following Jesus. After making this commitment, they can be baptized in order to follow Jesus’ teachings.

Baptism is not required to be a Christian. People are baptized because they are Christians. We see baptism as a personal decision that people make and a way to publically let others know that they are following Jesus and want their lives to express this. At the Vineyard Church, we baptize by immersion because this most closely follows the Biblical form of baptism that was modeled by Jesus.

We like baptisms in our church to involve our whole community. Doing this in front of family and friends allows believers to share what God is doing in their lives, and to ask others to help them stay on the right path.

There are lots of different traditions related to baptism. Some people were baptized as infants in other churches. We believe that baptism is a public statement of faith that can only be made by someone who has personally trusted and believed in Jesus. If a person has not been baptized after they have welcomed Jesus into their life, we encourage them to be baptized. We do not baptize infants, but we do hold child dedications throughout the year. We do this to help parents and our church members confirm their commitment to helping children understand and grow in their love of God.