At Holy Trinity Theale, we seek to be obedient to Christ in all we do, so we take baptism very seriously. Adults who wish to be baptised are those who have decided to walk with Jesus as their personal Lord and Saviour, and who desire to submit to His authority and reign over every area of their lives.
ADULT BAPTISM
Why Come to Church?
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Baptism is a commitment to Jesus and to your local church. Coming to church is a lifestyle change and it is important to start as you mean to go on.
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In baptism, you become part of the church family and promise to keep meeting with God's people. We want you to be certain that when you make this promise, you are prepared to keep it. It would also be bad practice to make you promise to come to church after your baptism, if that wasn’t your practice before it.
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It helps you to understand the baptism service and the promises you make. Coming to church will help you to make sense of what it means to be a follower of Jesus Christ.
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It helps you to get to know us. You will want to know whether ours is a church family that you would like to be part of.
- It helps us to get to know you. In the baptism service, the whole church family promises that they will welcome you and pray for you. That is hard for them to do if they have never met you!
Where and When?
Baptisms are always at our main 10:30am service, on the first or third Sunday of the month. You can invite your friends and family, and there are Sunday Clubs for children once the baptism is finished, so you can enjoy the rest of the service.
What Next?
Our standard practice for all those who would like to be baptised is to spend a few weeks with us looking at the central claims of Jesus Christ in a very informal way. We usually do this as a seven-week course called Christianity Explored. There will be a meal, a short video and then a chance to discuss what we’ve heard and ask questions. No question is too hostile or awkward and many find it to be a good way to dig deeper into the Christian faith.
Once you’ve finished Christianity Explored and are happy that the baptism service represents your own convictions about Jesus, our Rector, Martin, will confirm the baptism date with you.
FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS
Do I Need Godparents?
Adults getting baptised have sponsors as opposed to godparents. This is still a significant privilege, responsibility and challenge for a Christian who is close to you. Sponsors make the same promises as godparents: they declare their own belief and trust in God and Jesus Christ and promise to encourage you in the Christian faith by prayer and example. As such, we ask that all sponsors walk with Jesus as their personal Lord and Saviour and can say their oaths during the baptism service with integrity. We don't want to make hypocrites of people, so a careful choice needs to be made.
Does Everyone Need to do Christianity Explored?
For the reasons given above, it is our standard practice at Holy Trinity to ask you to do this.
What if We Aren't Regular Members at Church?
Again, because being baptised is to be baptised into the church family, anyone baptised at Holy Trinity needs to be a regular, believing member before we arrange a baptism date.
If you are an adult and would like to enquire about turning to Christ and getting baptised, please click here.