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What Is Baptism?

Baptism is going public about your faith in Jesus and communicating to the world your heart-felt commitment to following Him. It expresses the believer’s death to sin, burial of the old life, and resurrection to a new kingdom life in Jesus.

Baptism Declares the Gospel. It’s not merely a right of passage or religious ceremony; it’s a visible declaration that you have been made new through Jesus Christ. Through public baptism by water, we declare that we have found salvation in Jesus Christ and now identify ourselves with his family, the Church, both locally and globally. (1 Corinthians 12:13)

Baptism Displays the Gospel. It’s a symbolic drama where you act out publicly what has taken place inwardly. You are displaying that through Jesus, you have been washed clean and are a new creation (Acts 22:16). Those who are baptized with Christ, now “put on Christ” and display him to all they encounter. (Galatians 3:27)

Baptism is a Way to Experience the Gospel. Through immersion under water, you identify with Jesus Christ in his death and burial, showing that through receiving salvation, you are putting to death the old way you used to live. Coming up out of the water identifies you in the resurrection of Jesus for our new life in him. (Colossians 2:12-13)

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Who Should Be Baptized?

Jesus commanded that all Christians be baptized as an initial act of obedience in discipleship. (Matt 28:19;Acts 2:38). At RISE, we want to be obedient to Jesus and follow the apostle's lead in baptizing all believers upon credible profession of faith in Jesus. (Acts 10:47-48)

If you believe in Jesus Christ as your Lord and Savior, then you are a new creation and the next step is to be baptized, declaring before God, your church, and your community that you are now a part of His eternal family! We are excited to celebrate your new life and obedience to God!

What Questions Are Asked During Baptism?

What Questions are Asked During Baptism?

During a baptism service at Rise, you’ll notice when someone gets in the waters, we have questions we ask them before we baptize them in the water. It’s important for our entire church along with those who are being baptized to not only know those questions, but to understand the theology behind them.

Q1: "Do you repent of your sins and acknowledge your need of a Savior?”

In following Jesus, we first must acknowledge our need for him and that we are repenting of (literally "turning away from from”) our sin.

Paul puts it this way: "Do you not know that all of us who have been baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death?” (Romans 6:3)

It is not the act of baptism itself that buries our old, sinful nature—but rather baptism is a symbol of us going to the grave with Jesus. "We were buried therefore with him by baptism into death” (Romans 6:4). Isn’t that beautiful? Our brokenness, our shame, our sin, our guilt is put in the grave. We are turning from our old sinful nature when we repent and turn to Jesus.

Q2: "Do you publicly declare Jesus as your Lord and Savior?”

It’s not enough to turn from sin, it’s about turning to Jesus as the only one who can save.

Saying we have put our faith in him means we believe in our hearts and acknowledge with our mouths that Jesus He is God in the flesh, that he conquered over death, and that he alone has the power to save. And because of our faith in Jesus, we are raised—just as he was raised—to new life!

“Just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, we too might walk in newness of life. For if we have been united with him in a death like his, we shall certainly be united with him in a resurrection like his.” Romans 6:4

This is why we cheer and shout and whoop and jump and holler as those who are being baptized emerge from the waters—because it’s a picture of their new life found in Jesus.

They have been raised from their spiritual death, and now are able to live by the life-giving Spirit of Jesus.

So here is what we say to someone just before they enter the waters in this beautiful symbol of redemption:

"Because of your repentance of sin and faith in Jesus, today we acknowledge your old self is buried with Christ and you have be raised to new life in Jesus! Therefore, I baptize you in the name of the Father, the Son, and of the Holy Spirit!"

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