FAQs
CAN I COME TO CHURCH?
Yes! Anyone is welcome to attend services or activities.
IS THERE A DRESS-CODE FOR SERVICES?
The short answer is NO! Please feel free to come along, as you are wearing anything that makes you comfortable.
DO YOU CHRISTEN /BAPTISE BABIES?
The birth of a baby is an important event in the life of a family and it is good to have the opportunity to mark the birth in a worship service. Although as Baptists we do not christen or baptise infants, we do want to provide a time for thanksgiving and commitment by the parents and also the church community.
Although it is called Infant Dedication, it is really a presentation of the baby and the dedication of the parents to their task of bringing up the child. The ‘dedication’ is normally a part of a Sunday morning worship service. It is tailored to fit the circumstances of the parents and the baby or child being dedicated. There will be questions put to the parents, enabling them to express their thanks to God and their commitment to their task ahead.
There are four elements to the dedication and we will look at each part individually:
1. THANKSGIVING FOR THE BABY- As Jesus was brought by Mary and Joseph to the temple to be presented to God (Luke 2:22-23), so the parents bring their baby to church to give thanks to God for its safe arrival. One of the questions put to the parents enables them to affirm that they acknowledge their baby as a gift from God and do indeed give thanks to God for him or her.
2. COMMITMENT BY THE PARENTS - St Paul gives instruction to parents, “Do not treat your children in such a way as to make them angry. Instead, bring them up with Christian discipline and instruction.” (Ephesians 6:4) So parents are invited to promise they will bring up their child in that way and always love their child, come what may.
3. RESPONSIBILTY - The local church has a part to play in the nurture of the child and so the congregation is invited to respond to a question put to them.
4. BLESSING - We read in the Bible that Jesus took little children in his arms, placed his hands on them and blessed them. So we claim God’s blessing on the baby. The Minister will use the baby’s full name, place his hand on the baby’s head and pray the blessing God commanded Aaron to give to the people of Israel (Numbers 6:24-26).
GODPARENTS - Parents may want to include godparents in the dedication service. A godparent has a practical and a spiritual role in helping the parents bring up their child. Hence the question asked to the godparents is,
“[Names of godparents] do you accept responsibility to support [the parents’ names] and to help them as they bring up [the child’s name], surrounding him/her with all that is good and true? ‘
WHAT IS A CHRISTIAN?
A Christian is someone who loves God, believes that Jesus is His son.
A Christian is someone who has confessed their sins and asked for forgiveness.
A Christian is someone who invites Jesus to be Lord of his/her life.
HOW DO I BECOME A CHRISTIAN?
Christians are people who have put their faith in Jesus Christ to forgive them the wrong in their lives and want him to lead their lives from that point on. Doing good deeds, going to church regularly, trying to live a reasonable life are all good things, but do not of themselves make someone a Christian.
Lets explain!
BACK TO THE BEGINNING
God is love and he created us and this world for us to enjoy. He created us “in his image”, as thinking, reasoning human beings, so that we can be his friends and love him. He has given us rules to live by, so that we can live at peace with him and with each other.
THE BAD NEWS
However, as thinking people we are able to choose to do good or bad; right or wrong. God does not force us into loving him.
When we do wrong, the Bible calls this ‘sin’. It is, in effect, going against God’s way for our lives. It is not only things like murder that are sin, but lying, selfishness, stealing and cheating. The Bible says that we have all sinned and that it separates us from God (Isaiah 59:1-2, Romans 3:23).
THE GOOD NEWS
God has given us a way to be reconciled back to himself and end that separation. He sent his son, Jesus Christ, to take the punishment for the wrong in our lives. His death on the cross was not for any sin he had committed but for our sin.
Two days later Jesus rose from the dead to show that he has gained the victory over sin and death, and that he is alive for evermore. He has broken down the barrier that separated us from God; the gap has been bridged!
HOW DO YOU BECOME A CHRISTIAN?
Becoming a Christian is as simple as A - B - C - D!
A - Admit that you have sinned in God’s sight and that this has separated you from God.
B - Believe that Jesus Christ died on the cross for you, taking the penalty for your sin in order to bring you back to God.
C - Confess your sin to God and ask him to forgive you; - that is, receive Jesus Christ as your Saviour.
D - Decide to follow Jesus Christ for the rest of your life; -that is, receive Jesus Christ as your Lord.
YOU CAN DO THIS BY PRAYING IN A SIMILAR WAY TO THIS PRAYER BELOW
Lord Jesus, I admit that I have been living my life my way instead of your way.
I believe that you died on the cross in my place, to take away my sin.
I confess my sin to you and ask you to forgive me.
Please come into my life and make me the person you want me to be.
Amen.
Once you have prayed the above prayer, tell another Christian what you have done!
WHAT HAPPENS WHEN YOU BECOME A CHRISTIAN?
You have been forgiven (I John 4:10) and reconciled to God (2 Corinthians 5:18-19).
You have been “born again” by the work of the Holy Spirit in your life (John 3:3; 1 Peter 1:23). This means that the spiritual side of your life has been born within you.
You have received God’s gift of eternal life (Romans 6:23). This means that when you die, you will be with Jesus Christ for ever in heaven.
You have become part of God’s family (John 1:12; Galatians 3:26).
WHAT IS BELIEVER’S BAPTISM?
Sometimes people refer to what we do in Baptist churches as “adult baptism”, but that is not really correct. In fact we practise believers’ baptism. The difference is that the requirement for baptism is not the reaching of a certain age but the necessity for the person to believe in Jesus Christ as their own personal Saviour and Lord (see the leaflet, Tell me about Becoming a Christian).
We baptise by immersion, which means that the person being baptised goes down completely into the water (i.e. is totally immersed). The word baptism comes from the Greek baptizo, which means to immerse or submerge in a fluid.
WHY BE BAPTISED?
First of all, Jesus commanded his followers to be baptised. He said to his disciples, “Go and make disciples of all nations, baptising them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit.” (Matthew 28:19). He did not see baptism as an optional extra! If you are a disciple of Jesus Christ, then you will want to be obedient to him, for Jesus also said, “If you love me, you will obey what I command.” (see John 14:15)
Secondly, Jesus himself was baptised at the beginning of his ministry here on earth (Matthew 3:13-15). In doing this, he set an example for us to follow. When we are baptised, we follow in his footsteps.
Thirdly, baptism was practised in the early church as recorded in the Acts of the Apostles in the Bible. On the Day of Pentecost 3,000 new believers were baptised. Throughout Acts we read of people being baptised, including St Paul (Acts 9:17-18).
Fourthly, because of all that it symbolises, baptism is a powerful witness to all who see it (see below). The act of baptism is an outward visible sign of what has happened to us inwardly and spiritually. It says that the person being baptised has become a Christian and is following the Lord Jesus Christ. It is our responsibility to witness for Christ whenever we can (see Acts 1:8) and baptism is one way God has given us to do this.
WHAT DOES BAPTISM SYMBOLISE?
1. A sign of cleansing We show that the sins of our life before becoming a Christian have been ‘washed away’, just as water washes dirt from our bodies.
2. What Christ did for us When we are baptised, we are acting out a kind of drama, symbolising Christ’s death (as we go down into the water), his burial (as we are submerged in the water) and his resurrection (as we rise up out of the water). By our action we are saying that Christ died and rose again for us.
3. What has happened in our lives We are also acting out what has happened in our own lives when we became Christians. Our old lives, centred around ourselves are ended, ‘put to death’ if you like, and new lives of following Jesus have begun. See Romans 6:3-7 where St Paul speaks about these things.
4. It is a declaration of loyalty Baptism is called a sacrament by the church. The word comes from the Latin sacramentum, which means ‘oath of allegiance'. A Roman soldier made a sacramentum to the Emperor. It was the seal upon his promise of loyalty. Baptism is an outward ‘seal’ upon our declaration of loyalty to Christ.
WHAT NEXT?
As baptism is all a part of your Christian journey, it is linked with church membership. We are baptised into Christ and into his ‘body’, which the Bible says is the church. Therefore baptism is the normal way of entry into the church (see I Corinthians 12:13). For more information about church membership, see below.
WHY BE A CHURCH MEMBER?
WHAT IS CHURCH MEMBERSHIP?
When people become members of a local church they are identifying themselves with a local ‘body’ of Christians. In fact the church was Jesus’ idea! One day when Simon, one of his disciples, said to Jesus, “You are the Christ”, Jesus responded with the words, “You are Peter and on this rock I will build my church.”
When Jesus spoke about the church he did not mean a building! In fact the Greek word for church is ekklesia and it means a gathering or assembly. To become a member of a church means to join with other Christians in the new community that Christ founded.
WHY BECOME A MEMBER?
When we become Christians we are ‘born again’ and become members of God’s family. St John wrote, “To all who received him, to those who believed in his name, he gave them the right to become children of God.” (John 1:12) So our faith has a corporate dimension; we belong to one another as family
As part of this new community of faith, we worship and serve Christ together, and we love and care for one another. The early church recognised this (read about it in Acts 2:42-47). It is also within this faith community that we gather in Christ’s name to seek and do his will (specifically we do this at the ‘church meeting’).
To become a member of a local church is an act of commitment to that church. You are saying you want to be identified as part of that local community of believers.
St Paul pictures the church as a living body. The ‘body’ is healthy when every person plays their part, just as our physical bodies are healthy when each part is working properly. He said to the church at Corinth, “You are the body of Christ and each one of you is a part of it.” (1 Corinthians 12:27, but see whole chapter)
In order for each person to play their part, God gives us spiritual gifts to enable us to work together in the church, “so that the body of Christ may be built up.” (Ephesians 4:12)
BUT DO I HAVE TO SIGN UP?
It is sometimes said that church membership is never mentioned in the Bible. Whilst it is true that the phrase ‘church membership’ does not actually appear, it is certainly implied!
On the Day of Pentecost when the church was born, it began with 120 believers. After St Peter preached his first sermon, we read that about 3,000 were added to their number that day. There was a distinctive group who were the members of that first church.
To ‘sign up’ to membership is to say we are serious about this spiritual family that God has called us into, and to recognise the commitment we have to our brothers and sisters in the faith as well as to God.
WHAT ARE THE BENEFITS OF MEMBERSHIP?
Some of the benefits of membership have already been mentioned. It provides a spiritual family to support and encourage Christians in their walk with Christ; it gives them a place to discover and use their gifts.
It also gives a sense of belonging, opportunities to learn more about the faith, scope for growing spiritually and acts as a place of accountability (for more about this, see Matthew 18:15-17).
WHAT ARE THE RESPONSIBILITIES OF A CHURCH MEMBER?
Jesus commanded us to love each other and this was to be the mark of discipleship (see John 13:34-35 and 1 John 3:16). In the Bible we are also commanded to pray for each other, encourage, serve, teach, accept, honour, forgive and submit to each other. We are to be devoted to one another and bear one another’s burdens. Being obedient to these commands is what being a member of a local church is all about.
The responsibilities of membership normally include:
- attending worship and participating in Church Activities;
- personal prayer and Bible study;
- participation at the Communion of the Lord's Supper as a privilege and a priority;
- helping the Church whenever possible by using gifts and abilities to advance the Purpose of the church through its Activities;
- attending and participating in Church Members' Meetings;
- giving regular financial support to the Church in proportion to personal resources and circumstances;
- upholding Christian values.
(the above is an excerpt from the Brentwood Baptist Church Constitution.)
THE FINAL QUESTION
What about you?
Do talk to the Pastor or one of the deacons about how to become a church member.