One Baptism
At Harbor Churches, we baptize adults who want to commit their lives to Jesus Christ and infants of families who commit to raising their children in a Christian environment.
How can I get baptized or have my child baptized?
Believer baptism is available in worship throughout the year, and during the summer we celebrate together with our other congregations in a special baptism event. Infant baptisms are scheduled throughout the year at our individual campuses.
What do you believe about baptism?
We believe that baptism is a sign of God’s deep and saving love for us. The New Testament – not being an individualistic culture – did not distinguish between believer and infant baptism because when the head of a household became a believer, so did the whole family. Today, Christian churches often either baptize infants or believers. Here at Harbor Churches, we baptize both infants and believers. Although the two types of baptism share some things in common, including the name “baptism”, they also have different meanings. Jesus’ close follower, Peter, said this in Acts 2:38-39: Repent and be baptized, every one of you, in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins. And you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. The promise is for you and your children and for all who are far off – for all whom the Lord our God will call. We believe that the promise is for infants and believers, but that these two types of baptism have important distinctions.
BELIEVE BAPTISM
What is believer baptism?
The great Christian missionary Paul says this in Romans 10:9, If you declare with your mouth, “Jesus is Lord,” and believe in your heart that God raised [Jesus] from the dead, you will be saved. Believer baptism in the early church was a sign and seal of a person’s profession of faith in the Lordship of Jesus Christ. So, when a person professes with their mouth that they believe in Jesus’ death and resurrection, we encourage them to be baptized as a sign and seal that marks receiving the grace of God in their lives.
Baptism itself does not save a person. Instead, baptism provides a moment in time where we mark the commitment a person has made to trust in Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior.
INFANT BAPTISM
What is infant baptism?
In the Old Testament covenant that God made with Abraham, He promises to be God to Abraham, to his children, and to all who come after him. We practice the sacrament of infant baptism, in part, to recognize that God is still faithful in those promises to love us before we even have the capacity or desire to try and deserve or earn that love.
We also celebrate infant baptism because parents or guardians and the church make a commitment to raise a child to come to know their God and His son Jesus Christ. Infant baptism, therefore, marks an inclusion into a faith community, not a choice to follow Jesus Christ. We trust that the child will one day make a faith commitment themselves through a profession of their faith as adult believers.
