Jesus was baptized (Matthew 3:16). He was baptized as an act of obedience to God the Father. Jesus’ baptism symbolized His willingness to take on the death that we deserved.  So, even before we indicate our willingness to identify with Christ in our baptism, He already indicated His willingness to identify with us in His baptism. Jesus also commanded His followers to baptize others (Matthew 28:18-20). The early church made baptism a priority (see all references in Acts).

Baptism is an act of obedience that represents the believer’s faith in a crucified, buried, and risen Savior. Baptism is symbolic of the believer's death to sin, the burial of the old life, and the resurrection to walk in newness of life in Christ Jesus. It is a testimony to his/her faith in the final resurrection (Matthew 28:18-20). We have no record in the New Testament of believers resisting or neglecting the opportunity to be baptized.

Baptism is a public testimony or declaration that one has put his/her faith in Christ and given his/her allegiance to Him as King. It is a visual presentation of the work of the gospel in someone’s life for those watching the baptism.

You should be baptized as soon as possible after you have believed and trusted in Jesus. It is clear that Jesus told His disciples to baptize others who commit their lives to Him (Matthew 28:19). Baptism immediately after salvation aligns with how baptism was practiced in the New Testament and the early Church (Acts 8:34-39, 10:44-48, 16:30-34, 16:44-48, 18:8, 19:1-5, 22:12-16). Have you confessed, believed, and trusted in Jesus? Then there is no reason to wait.

As mentioned above, infant baptism reflects the best loving intentions of a family; however, the child is not old enough to have any decision, confession, or trust in the matter. In Scripture, baptism came after someone had consciously and purposefully made a personal decision to accept and trust Jesus as Savior and Lord (Acts 2:40-41, 8:12). Baptism is a commitment of your will to follow Jesus, not the will of someone else.

In some ways this answer is similar to infant baptism. The Bible teaches that baptism should follow, not precede, putting our faith in Jesus and His Lordship in our lives. We encourage you to be baptized after you make a decision to follow Christ.

Our BrainerdKids New Christian class is a great place to start! We'll be hosting a 4-week class to discuss what it means to follow Jesus and be baptized as believers. This class is a partnership with parents to help them understand where their children are and to prepare them to take the next step in their faith. While we believe that a child can choose to follow Jesus at any age, we make it a practice for children to wait until they are in at least the 2nd grade before following believers' baptism. This allows the children, parents, and church leadership to walk with children in a mature way to ensure they understand what they are doing.