• Plan to arrive at the church at least one hour before the service, at 6:15 p.m., preferably in the clothes in which you will be baptized. Please meet at the front of the Sanctuary near the platform.
  • Clothes that will not retain much water work best (jeans are not good). We will give you a baptism t-shirt to wear and many people wear dark-colored shorts and a t-shirt under this. Also, make sure to bring a change of clothes, two towels and a plastic bag for wet clothing.
  • Please make sure to turn in your baptism application form (required for all baptism candidates) to Rachinee Pugh (rpugh@church-redeemer.org) at the church as soon as possible.
  • If you would like to purchase a DVD of the baptism service, they will be available in the Resource Center.

Water baptism provides a wonderful opportunity to testify about God's marvelous work in our lives. Through the power of Jesus' death and resurrection we have been born again into a living hope (I Peter 1:3). We were dead in our sins but God made us alive in Christ (Ephesians 2:1-10)! We encourage everyone to share a brief personal testimony during the baptism service. Begin by praying for the guidance of the Holy Spirit; He wants to lead you through the process. 

To help you develop an effective testimony, begin to write out simple, brief responses on an index card or small piece of paper:

1. Briefly describe where you were spiritually before receiving Christ as your Savior. How did that condition affect your feelings, attitudes, actions or relationships? 

2. Explain what motivated you to consider Christ and to receive Him into your life. Describe how your life has changed since you trusted Christ.

3. As you consider your "before Christ" and "after Christ" conditions, look for a theme that can tie your testimony together. For example, "I used to live with a great deal of fear, but when I came to know the love of God through Jesus Christ that fear disappeared."

We suggest that you write out your thoughts from the worksheet onto a note card and read your testimony from this card at the baptism service. Always keep your testimony positive by focusing on good things the Lord has done for you rather than bad things others have done to you. Avoid specific negative references to individuals or churches so that you can keep the emphasis on God and His faithfulness!  Remember to keep it brief-one or two minutes at most. A few well-chosen words can have a powerful impact!