Baptism, Membership, Child Dedication

Baptism

Who?
Anyone who has accepted Jesus Christ as their Savior.

Why?
It is a step of obedience and an opportunity to show others that you love Jesus and desire to walk in obedience with Him. We practice believer’s baptism in that salvation always precedes baptism in the Scriptures. It is an outward sign of what has taken place inside the heart of a believer in Jesus Christ.

What?
Baptism has no power to provide forgiveness and/or redemption, and it does not play any part in the salvation of your soul.  It is a picture of the death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus.  It is also a symbol of what took place in your heart when you placed your faith in Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of sin:  we become dead to our sin (going under the water); our sins are washed away (symbolic washing by water);  we rise again to a new life in Christ (coming up out of the water).  We use immersion as our method of baptism because we believe that is the method that is modeled in Scripture - and the symbolism of immersion also demonstrates most clearly what baptism is all about.

How?
If you have trusted Him alone as the necessary sacrifice for your sin - the One who has paid the debt of sin on your behalf - and you have made that a personal decision between you and God, then the Bible says it is time for you to be baptized!  You can get a baptism/membership application at the church or click here to download it.

 

 

Dedication

Christian parents have a responsibility to raise up children in the way they should go.  We encourage parents at Bright Hope to dedicate themselves to the purpose of raising their children in a home where God is honored and taught with the prayer that someday, their children will acknowledge Jesus as their personal Savior.  We encourage parents to seek help from the local church in pursuing these purposes.