Our Baptism Policy is outlined below. If you are interested in having your child baptized, or would like to be baptized yourself as an adult, please contact the Church Office.
Baptism
Baptism is a public welcome into the body of all believers. It is also a welcome into our particular church family at Christ Church Fox Chapel.
We are happy to baptize candidates by immersion (in a pool known as a baptistery) or by pouring water over them (from a bowl known as a font).
Candidates
We baptize any believer who wishes to make a commitment to Jesus Christ.
We will also baptize infants who are not yet old enough to make that decision for themselves where at least one of their parents or guardians is a member of Christ Church Fox Chapel.
We are happy to baptize the children of relatively new members trusting that the commitments they are making to that child and to our church family are made in good faith. In baptism, the whole church makes a serious commitment to uphold the candidate in their walk with God. And so the promises only make sense where a person knows and is known by the other members.
In practice, a member is simply a believer who:
- Commits (affirms the historic creeds and commits to Jesus Christ as Lord and savior)
- Connects (attends worship services as a priority)
- Contributes (is involved in the life of the church, making regular gifts of time and money)
If by this definition you are not yet a member, you can read more about becoming one here.
Sponsors
All candidates for baptism must have at least one sponsor to help them grow in their faith. At least one sponsor must be present at the baptism.
Where the candidate is an infant, the parents or guardians often sponsor their own child as well as appointing additional sponsors commonly known as godparents. In infant baptism, the parents and godparents make a promise to lead that child to Jesus so that they can make a faith decision for themselves when they are old enough.
For that reason, only baptized believers may act as sponsors and we encourage candidates or their families to choose sponsors primarily for their spiritual maturity.
Preparation and arranging the date
Those seeking baptism will meet with a member of the clergy team to prepare for baptism. After preparation, the baptism will take place at one of our public weekend services when most convenient for the church and the candidate or their family.
We especially encourage baptism in January (when we remember the baptism of Jesus), at Easter, Pentecost and All Saints Day.
Baptism Applications
Interactive Youth Baptism Application
Use this application for an infant, child or youth (birth–18.) It can be completed in Adobe Acrobat Reader then printed & returned to the church office.
Interactive Adult Baptism Application
Use this application for an adult (18+) It can be completed in Adobe Acrobat Reader then printed & returned to the church office.
5/5/21
