How Life.Church Does Baptism

Weddings, baby showers, graduations, birthdays… baptisms?

Although some might not think of a party when they think about baptism, it’s cause for celebration. Baptism is the next step after an attender has made the decision to follow Christ. Here at Life.Church, we encourage people to understand the significance of baptism and to share the joy with friends and family.

How Life.Church Does Baptism

Because we see baptism as a holy, joyful event, the goal at Life.Church is to ensure every Baptism Weekend is meaningful and organized. Watch our full strategy video here or catch a few tips on how we do it below. 

Meaningful 

• Hear their story. People feel known when we listen to them. Baptism is a great time to listen to someone’s story. We encourage everyone being baptized to share their story verbally or in writing. Great questions to ask are: “Why did you decide to be baptized?” “What’s God doing in your life now?” and “How are things different since Jesus?”
• Celebrate the moment: Rather than approaching baptism as a solemn occasion, we frame it as a party. This doesn’t mean that other approaches are wrong, but to our church, baptism is an incredibly significant event so we want to celebrate it! We create a joyful atmosphere by using balloons in the lobby, upbeat music, photo opportunities with family and friends, and we line the lobby with lots of volunteers who give high fives and shouts of celebration when attenders are walking in and out of the baptism area.
• Document the celebration. Photos of baptism make the best party favors. We have a volunteer team of photographers on hand to capture photos during baptism. Photos are printed and given out that day, or you can send them to people later—plus, many campus teams put photos on their social media sites, with permission of course. In this photography tutorial video on Open Network, you can learn how to successfully light, shoot, and edit baptism photos to commemorate this life-changing event.

Organized

• Communicate every step: While being baptized is an exciting moment for anyone, it can also come with some jitters. Quell some of those anxieties by making sure everyone knows where to be, what to bring, and what to expect well ahead of time. Also, help them by sharing details that will be important for them to share with their family and friends who are attending.
• Create an Excellence Walk Checklist: Our LifeKids teams at every campus complete an Excellence Walk Checklist to make sure that we’re ready to welcome families for every experience. Likewise, walking through the entire Baptism experience with your team will help catch potential trouble spots and get everyone on the same page.
• Rely on volunteers: A successful Baptism Weekend requires a few more volunteers than usual, so make sure your baptism volunteers and regular volunteers are ready to make sure everyone has a great experience. Learn more about baptism volunteer roles.

We’d love to share more about our approach to Baptism Weekend. For more information and tips on what works well for us, check out our full list of Baptism Resources on Open Network. There you’ll find communication pieces, logistics diagrams, promotional artwork, training guides, and more. Also, watch our training videos to learn even more about how we make Baptism Weekend meaningful and organized!