One of my favorite moments from last year’s baptism services was watching Mason get baptized. Mason is a seventh grader at our campus, and his story is a brilliant picture of what baptism is all about. Mason was sitting in the service while his parents were serving in Kids Ministries. At the end of the message, Mason made a decision to follow Jesus.
As a staff, we quickly got word to his parents. It was such an incredible moment to see them connect with Mason after such a life-changing decision. Without pause, Mason decided that he wanted to get baptized. He didn’t come to church that night planning on making a decision to follow Jesus, so he definitely wasn’t prepared to get baptized. But he received all of the necessary items to get ready and our campus celebrated as Mason and his dad entered the water.
Mason’s story offers a glimpse at what baptism means for each and every one of us. It reminds us that at its core, baptism is about a follower of Jesus publicly proclaiming a very private decision. The first chapter of Mason’s baptism story wasn’t when he entered the water—the story began when he made a decision to follow Jesus. As Mason began his new life with Christ, the next step was baptism. But baptism doesn’t save you. The decision to follow Jesus is the necessary first step before entering the water. For some of us, it takes months or years before we enter the water and take that next step, but the beginning is always the same: a choice, a moment, a decision to be a follower of Jesus.
For Mason, that next step was about five minutes! What a great reminder that we don’t need to wait to be baptized until we are “mature Christians” or feel like we have all of our questions of faith figured out. Mason had been a Christian for five minutes, he definitely wasn’t mature in his faith, and yet it was a moment worth celebrating when he responded to his newfound faith and took the next step of baptism.
Is there anything holding you back from getting baptized? Do you feel like you need to “get right with God” before going in the water? If you’ve made a decision to follow Jesus, don’t wait. Don’t hold back. As you respond in obedience to be baptized, I believe God will honor that decision. When you confirm your identity in Christ, you invite His blessings into your life. As it says in Luke 11:28, “Blessed rather are those you hear the word of God and obey it.” Come out this weekend and let’s celebrate what God is doing in your life. Start a new chapter in your relationship with Christ by taking the next step of baptism. We can’t wait to see you in the water.
If you still have questions about what it means to be baptized, check out our FAQ page to get some of those questions answered.
