So…what is next for you?
Maybe you've made a decision to follow Jesus recently (or even years ago).
What's your next step?
For some of you…the next step is baptism.
Now I realize for many of you that's a scary concept. That's why I'd love for you to read to the end of this post.
Baptism is something that has marked the response of people to Jesus for 2000 years. And if you haven't been baptized since you've decided to follow Jesus, we'd love to baptize you.
If you want to drill down on the background to Christian baptism, in this message I talk about the history of baptism (you can even learn how to read Greek – the word baptism is a direct transliteration from the Greek, βαπτιζω. (There's some trivia for your next party conversation).
And in the meantime, here are 7 reasons you would want to be baptized as your next step:
1. Obedience. Jesus said that you should be baptized when you trust your life to him.
2. You're afraid. The fact that you're afraid is actually a sign your should be baptized. Your biggest breakthroughs often come on the other side of your biggest fears.
3. It will form a milestone in your life. In the same way graduation marks finishing school, marriage marks the beginning of a new relationship, so baptism marks the beginning of your new faith journey.
4. Your prior baptism is something you didn't participate in. For those who were baptized as children, being baptized after your decision to follow Jesus is a way of marking your decision personally.
5. God will use your story. Yes, we make you do a video (I address that in the message), but when else will your story be heard by hundreds or even thousands of people? God will use your story to impact the stories of others.
6. Your family and friends will celebrate…and be impacted. When we baptize you on a Sunday, we encourage you to invite your friends and family to come with you. For many of them, this will be a rare trip to church. Who knows what God will do in them as they watch what he has done in you?
7. We'll make it as easy as possible. It's a big step, so let us take care of the details. We'll coach you through your video to make it easy. And on the day of, we'll give you a bathrobe, flip flops and now even a T-Shirt. We worry about the details so you don't have to.
So what's keeping you from being baptized?
You can start the process right now. Just click on this form.
We're already cheering for you!
– Carey
