Baptism

Our next baptism will take place on Sunday, February 2nd during the worship services, and the next baptism after that will be Sunday, May 4th.  If you are interested in being baptized, please follow the these steps.  

1. Read the Baptism Ordinance below.  Please make sure you have read the complete Ordinances, especially the part about young people if you are interested in baptizing a child. 
   
2. Fill out the application by January 15th for the February baptism or April 15th for the May baptism (link at bottom of page). The application MUST be filled out by the person wanting to be baptized, and you must be a MBCC member or regular attender.   
3. After completing the application, you will be contacted by one of our pastors. 

If you have questions, please contact jacquiel@mbcc.us (adults), tims@mbcc.us (high school youth), kyles@mbcc.us (middle school youth), danas@mbcc.us (kids), or sethl@mbcc.us (college).

BAPTISM ORDINANCE

Concerning Baptism
We believe that baptism is an ordinance of the Lord by which those who have repented and come to faith in Jesus Christ obediently express their union with Him in His death and resurrection, by being immersed in water in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit. 

Who should be baptized?
We believe baptism is for everyone who, in repentance, have placed their faith in Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior; and who now want to publicly profess their faith and identify themselves with Christ.

Mode of Baptism
Since baptism is an outward sign of the inward work of grace for salvation, we believe that this sign should represent the death, burial, and resurrection of Christ, and portray our death to our old self and being raised to a newness of life. We believe that the best modal expression of this is baptism by immersion.

When should one be baptized?
We encourage every believer who has an understanding of the meaning of baptism and personally desires to declare their allegiance to Christ, to take this step of obedience and pursue baptism.

CONCERNING CHILDREN & BAPTISM
Faithfully preparing a young person to follow the Lord in the obedience of baptism is an important responsibility entrusted to Christian parents and to the church. We believe that parents are responsible for instructing their children and overseeing their spiritual development. The church leadership is responsible to sustain and guard the ordinance of baptism and to faithfully “shepherd the flock of God” (1 Peter 5:1-3).

We believe this “faithful shepherding” includes preparing our young people well. Therefore it is fitting for leaders of the church and parents to work together in preparing young people for baptism. We encourage families to have their children wait to pursue baptism until they are truly prepared for the event. We ask that parents take the initiative to lead their children toward a fuller understanding, more independent thinking, and a mature outlook on faith and baptism before participating in the ordinance.

Understanding
Children can confess faith in Christ when they are very young but they will likely not be able to understand the significance of the baptism until they are older. Because baptism is a personal statement of faith, not an act of tradition, it is important for children to understand the meaning of the ordinance and the active obedience it requires.

More Independent Thinking
It is not uncommon for those who were baptized during their pre- teen years to feel a need to be “re-baptized” when they are older. Memories of the first decade of our lives are often fuzzy at best. Even if we do remember a decision or an event like baptism, we usually cannot recall any reasoning behind the decision or event. Once a young person has the capacity for reasoning and for more independent thinking they are more likely to embrace the decisions and commitments they make as their own. Therefore it is reasonable that we refrain from baptizing a child until they are more likely to remember the experience and more fully embrace the commitment that is represented by this public declaration of faith.

Maturity
The process for preparing a young person for baptism is designed to instruct and encourage young people in their faith. It is also designed to help parents and church leadership to discern the candidate’s readiness for baptism. This process can be a stretch for many ten-year-olds and most children younger than this simply lack the maturity they need to satisfactorily complete the process. Because we long for individuals to possess these things, we strongly encourage families to have their children wait until they can clearly articulate their testimony of when they trusted Christ for their salvation, adequately understand the meaning and significance of baptism, and demonstrate their own desire to be obedient in this ordinance. For these reasons, we recommend that children be at least ten-years-old before pursuing baptism at MBCC. We hope that families will take this as an opportunity to instruct their children in the Scriptures and help lead them into a growing relationship with Jesus Christ.