Why You Should have a Baptism Class
Baptism in water is an essential part of a Christian’s faith, and one of my favorite things to do. Working in Kidmin though, there are a lot of questions about kids being baptized.
Can they be baptized?
When are they old enough?
How do you know if they’re ready?
How do we partner with parents through this process?
When I first started in Kidmin, I’d take any kid who raised their hand and said they wanted to be baptized. I would like to take the time to get to know them, but usually my evaluation was based on how long they’ve been coming to church.
At my second church, we started spontaneous baptisms. This meant anyone who wanted to get baptized, could if they came to Welcome Booth during service. A person, usually a pastor, would talk with them for a few minutes to make sure they knew what they were doing, then get them all set up for baptism at the end of that morning's service.
This is all well and good for adults, but one Sunday, I had a mom bring her three kids, ages 12, 8, and 3(!). I didn’t feel right about it but didn’t want to have an awkward conversation literally 30 seconds before we got into the tank.
I knew I had to do something different. Something better.
My answer was baptism classes.
Before I get into baptizing kids, I need to explain what I believe.
I believe anyone can be baptized in water regardless of age. Water baptism is an ordinance of the church and is simply a public proclamation of a person’s faith. Their readiness depends solely on their decision to follow Christ and willingness to make that decision public.
I don’t believe in infant baptism or age of accountability, but I do believe that there is a point a person’s maturity where they can recognize their sin, repent from it, and turn to follow Jesus. This is different for everyone, but in my experience, five is almost too young.
Having a baptism class gives me a chance to convey these ideas to parents as well as these benefits.
1. You have a focused opportunity to present the Gospel
The big problem with the mom bringing the three kids was that I didn’t really know them, and the three-year-old’s language ability was that of a three-year-old. There is no way I could figure out in the time allotted if they’d made the decision to follow Christ.
When I first started finding what worked for me and my church, I had a salvation class and a baptism class. This was Orange’s model, and a good one at that, but it didn’t work for me. The salvation class presented the Gospel well, but the baptism class was more of an hour-long event with family and friends and videos and so much more. It was designed to be held outside of service times, and it was specifically for children who had already decided to get baptized.
I found I needed something in the middle. I needed something that would remind the converted of the decision they'd already made and create an environment for parents to lead their children to Christ.
This is where I found Dale Hudson’s excellent curriculum from Building Children’s Ministry.
Starting Point is designed as a salvation class (he does have a baptism class but I never bought it). The salvation class met my criteria and I was able to tack on what they needed to know about baptism in the last five minutes.
I used this curriculum to present the Gospel to a group of kids for an hour usually over Zoom once a quarter. While I do present the Gospel regularly, there is no other time in ministry that we talk about Jesus and the kids’ relationship with him for that long.
2. This is an excellent way to partner with your parents
In both curriculums I used, the parents were an essential part of the process. I would announce the baptism class in kids church and ask if kids were interested. I would then go to those parents and inform them of their child's interest.
I usually had a flyer outlining when and where the class would be held as well as a way to sign up. Frequently, this was the first conversation I’d have with the parents about their child’s salvation and an opportunity to ease any concerns they may have.
Then when the class was held, the parents’ attendance was required. I would make it clear in the invite emails and the follow up emails. In the last few years, I’ve held the class over zoom with great results. However, there were a few times I’d have to ask kids to go get their parents to sit through the class with them.
Throughout the class, I have discussion questions where the parent and the child discuss the answers. A lot of times these conversations are deep and meaningful. For some families this may be the first conversation about each other’s faith they’ve ever had.
By the end of the class, I give everyone, including the parents an opportunity to follow Christ. I also give them a discussion guide complete with a prayer to lead their children later if they choose to do so. I then leave the ball in their court. They have to tell me via email that they are ready and then fill out the church-wide baptism form to be placed in the pipeline.
3. You have the ability to find out if they're ready
It happens every now and then throughout the class that kids who attend the class don’t get baptized after.
There are a variety of reasons, but the big one is that they’re not ready. One class I had, several kids that I’d never met hopped onto the call. Their grandmother had signed them up at the last minute and didn’t have the materials at home to properly follow along.
By about the halfway point, some of the kids left the room and others were fidgeting so much there was no way they were paying attention. One of the questions of the class is what do you think baptism is and they said they were taking the class because their grandmother told them it was what they were supposed to do. By the end of the class, both the grandmother and I knew they weren’t ready.
I was glad they attended, and I commend the grandmother for her investment in her grandkids faith. I’m also glad I had an obstacle in place to help us identify who’s ready and who’s not.
Before doing this class, I would have baptized those kids anyway. They would have no idea why they were doing it outside of their grandmother told them to.
With younger kids that are growing up in a practicing Christian home, I’ve found that they know all the right answers early on, but it’s just head knowledge. They haven’t truly made the decision to follow Jesus, they’re just repeating what they’ve been taught.
After my son sat through the class at age five, I told him he wasn’t ready and needed to wait. I baptized him this week, two years later.
One thing I tell the parents when we’ve decided the child isn’t ready yet, is that they don’t have to repeat the class. One and done is good enough. I want some obstacles to getting kids baptized, but I don’t want to make it insurmountable.
4. The parents are on board from the beginning and the awkward conversations go away.
As I said in the last point, sometimes the child is not ready. Since the parents are in the room throughout the hour-long presentation of the Gospel, they get a pretty good feel for where their child is spiritually. By the end of the class when I give them the choice to accept Jesus, be baptized, or wait, most parents know what their child is going to do.
I had one parent who was determined his almost five-year-old was ready to be baptized. I wasn’t so sure, but to get baptized at my church, kids must attend the class.
As we went through the class, I would ask open-ended questions about their faith and the kid couldn’t answer any of them. Part of the problem was the format and environment, however it showed his parents that he wasn’t ready for a public declaration of faith.
Instead of me having to tell them no, they disqualified themselves. I’m so glad they did, because he wasn’t ready, and I wasn’t looking forward to explaining it to them.
One time, before I did the class, I baptized a girl who said she was ready, including bringing her swimsuit to baptism Sunday. I was excited because I’d already had conversations with her and her mom about the day but had not received final confirmation from the mother.
Since the girl showed up with a change of clothes, I thought it would be ok, and I went ahead. I later found out that the mom was angry. She didn’t want her daughter to be baptized yet. She needed to discuss it with her ex-husband and try to get him there. When I asked about the swimsuit and change of clothes, I discovered she had a pool party later that afternoon.
Thankfully, I was able to apologize and smooth things over.
By having parents included from the very beginning, this will almost never happen. They’re excited and are inviting friends and family to the event. It’s a win-win.
Baptizing people is one of my greatest joys in ministry. It’s a sign we’re doing something right, and a very public way to show the fruit of your ministry to the whole church. It’s our responsibility to make sure it’s done right and properly. Partnering with parents throughout the process is must and alleviates all those awkward and confusing conversations.
I hope you have a baptism class in your ministry. Below, I’ve listed some the resources I mentioned in this post.