My Child Wants To Be Baptized, What Should I Do?

¹⁹ Go ^[a]therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit,

I believe that God’s desires for every father is to courageously step up and do whatever it takes to be involved in the life of his Children. It’s more than just being there providing for them, but to walk with them through their young lives and be a visual representation of the character of God our father in heaven.

When COVID-19 began and churches were closed, I made a deliberate decision to fully take the Priesthood roles seriously in my family. I went from sharing the word of God, praying to breaking the bread (The Lords Table). As we continued doing the same and explain to my children why they were not partaking on the same, one day my 8 years old daughter came and told me dad, I want to get saved. I was so happy as a father and after taking her through and just to understand why she had made that decision, I was so happy when she told me she wanted to have a personal relationship with Jesus.

From last year October, I began discipling my daughter and as we began this year, she told me she want to be baptized and she would like me to baptize her; Halleluiah. I was very excited as a father, I realized what I am doing is the right thing for my family. It’s clearly something that was important to Jesus, and so I was happy and it’s important to me as well. So a I started doing my own research on the best way to handle this subject. The Lord has helped to compile this materials which have been very helpful to me and my daughter and I believe it will also be helpful to you when you reach that time. Why I’m sharing this is, is to make you a spiritual leader in your home.

This lesson is meant to be done with your child. It shouldn’t take much time and it will give you good direction so that you can do two things with confidence:

1. Teach your child about baptism
2. Determine if your child is ready, or if they should wait a bit longer.

Then When Ready, What Should I do?

To me, COVID-19 lockdowns and restrictions started, it really opened my eyes as a Spiritual Leader of my family. Being a member of a church whose doors were closed and now being forced to have an online service, I had to do things in a different way. I have come to believe, being a the Priest of my family, I can go ahead and baptize my daughter, a ceremony which we will be doing before they open school. Acts 8:26-38, the Bible says, ²⁶ But an angel of the Lord said to Philip, “Get up and go south to the road that runs from Jerusalem down to Gaza.” (This is a desert road). ²⁷ So he got up and went; and there was an Ethiopian eunuch [a man of great authority], a court official of Candace, queen of the Ethiopians, who was in charge of all her treasure. He had come to Jerusalem to worship, ²⁸ and he was returning, and sitting in his chariot he was reading [the scroll of] the prophet Isaiah. ²⁹ Then the [Holy] Spirit said to Philip, “Go up and join this chariot.” ³⁰ Philip ran up and heard the man reading the prophet Isaiah, and asked, “Do you understand what you are reading?” ³¹ And he said, “Well, how could I [understand] unless someone guides me [correctly]?” And he invited Philip to come up and sit with him. ³² Now this was the passage of Scripture which he was reading:

“Like a sheep He was led to the slaughter;
And as a lamb before its shearer is silent,
So He does not open His mouth.
³³ 
“In humiliation His judgment was taken away [justice was denied Him].
Who will describe His generation?
For His life is taken from the earth.”

³⁴ The eunuch replied to Philip, “Please tell me, about whom does the prophet say this? About himself or about someone else?” ³⁵ Then Philip spoke and beginning with this Scripture he preached Jesus to him [explaining that He is the promised Messiah and the source of salvation]. ³⁶ As they continued along the road, they came to some water; and the eunuch exclaimed, “Look! Water! What forbids me from being baptized?” ^37 [a][Philip said to him, “If you believe with all your heart, you may.” And he replied, “I do believe that Jesus Christ is the Son of God.”] ³⁸ And he ordered that the chariot be stopped; and both Philip and the eunuch went down into the water, and Philip baptized him.

Parent Prep: Key Structure

You don’t have to be a Bible scholar to teach your child spiritual things! So here are the basics about baptism. Look over these before you sit down with your child.

1. Jesus told us to baptize his disciples (followers)-Matthew 28:18-20
2. Baptism is a symbol of entering into the death/resurrection of Jesus. Roman 6:3-4
3. Baptism is an outward sign of an inward commitment of faith. Acts 8:12-13
4. Baptism comes right after “conversion”(new faith) Acts 2:41

Parent Prep: Q&A

Here are the answers to a few questions commonly asked about baptism.

1. Does a person have to be baptized to be saved? Nope. Although there is no excuse not to be baptised, nothing can be added to faith as the one saving act. Faith in Christ alone saves us. Anything else is called, “work based righteousness” and I don’t believe in that. A good illustration on this point is the thief on the cross.
2. What if I was baptised when I was a baby? I would view that as baby dedication not a believers baptism. They are different. I would encourage you, if you’ve placed your faith in Christ, to be baptised as a sign of your faith.
3. Who should be baptized? Everyone who puts their faith in Christ. Anyone who confess with their mouth and believes in their heart that Jesus Christ is Lord should be baptized.
4. What if I was baptized years ago, but fell away? Should I be re-baptized? Nope. I don’t see anyone in the bible being baptized more than once. All you need is to repent. Is There Hope For a Backslider? And get your life back to the Lord. Baptism is a one time event and that’s why parents should careful determine if their children are ready for baptism.

PARENT-CHILD BIBLE DISCUSSION

Parent, this is for you to sit down and have a discussion with your child. I suggest you don’t just get their answer, but you tell them yours too. Take your time and do this together. I really encourage fathers to take a central stage in this.

1. What is the bible? What do you know about it?
2. What is your favourite story in the bible?
3. What happened with Adam and Eve? What did they do?
4. What’s the word for things that make God angry or sad? (It starts with “S”)
5. Has everyone sinned? What about really nice people? (Refer to Romans 3:23)
6. Can you remember any sin you’ve done? (You can encourage your child to write them down however, this is not a point to punish but to find out if he/she acknowledges good and bad)
7. What happens to people who sin? Does God discipline them? Why?
8. What did God do to rescue us and forgive us of sin?
9. How do we get forgiveness from God? Do we just have to be really good to make God happy?
10. When we have our family fellowship, we always praise and worship. Why?
11. What questions do you have about the bible? What is confusing to you?

THE WHO & WHAT OF BAPTISM

Parents, this is meant to help you explain what baptism is. Use the discussion questions below and others that come to mind.

1. Who gets baptised? Kindly read the Great Commission which is Jesus’big assignment for us and see who is supposed to get baptised. Jesus said: “Go and make disciples of all nations baptizing them in the name of the father and the son and the Holy Spirit.”

First, what do you think a “disciple” is? If you don’t know, let’s look it up! Who is them in that verse? Who gets baptized? So the question is, are you a disciple? Do you think you are? How come?

• What is baptism? What happens? The word baptism means to put in water but baptism is more than just throwing your cat in water, as much fun as that is. Read Acts 8:26-40 and take some time to discuss with your child.
• So what happens to a person when they get baptized? John 3:1-21 will be a great basis for your discussion.
• Who does it to them? Now here is where many people will have a problem. For me I will baptize my daughter, to some it should be done by a pastor. But fathers, you are a Priest to your house and therefore I don’t see why you should not baptize your son or daughter.

THE WHY AND WHERE OF BAPTISM

Parents, here are more discussion questions for you:

1. Why do people get baptised? Should I? Hmmm, so we know that disciples are the ones who get baptized and being baptized means someone else dunks you in water. But why? Read Romans 6:3-5 to see why people get baptised.
2. So what does that mean? Who are you being like when you get baptised?
3. Where do people get baptised? Read Acts 2:41 to see where people get baptised.
4. Do people get baptised infront of other people or alone, so no one can see them?
5. Why do you think baptism is done infront of people?

CHILD QUIZ

Children, this is for you. Try without any help!

1. Being baptized is which of the following?

a. Something all kids do

b. For all kids whose parents go to church

c. For kids and adults who have decided to follow Jesus

d. For kids who are really nice

     2.  Baptism is when you:

          a. Go to church and pray to God with others

          b. Get put under water because you love Jesus

          c. Sing in kids choir

          d. Turn 9 years old

    3. Jesus said that people should be baptized:

          a. In order for God to love you more

          b. Because you can’t go to heaven if you don’t

          c. Even if you’re unsure about it

          d. To show others that you want to follow Him forever.

   4. I am ready to get baptised if:

          a. I believe that Jesus died and came back to life

          b. I trust Jesus has washed away my sin

          c. I want everyone to know that I am Christian

          d. All of the above

   5. To be “saved” by Jesus means:

          a. You no longer do bad things, like you used to.

          b. You make God happy by going to church

        c. Jesus forgives and help you because of your faith, not because of what you do

        d. Jesus forgives & helps you because of your faith

CHILD TESTIMONY

This is for your child. Write your answer, with no help at first

1. Do you want to be baptised? Yes     No
2. If Yes, why do you want to be baptised?
3. What does it mean to be a Christian?
4. When did you become a Christian?
5. Why did you say yes to Jesus?
6. Do you believe that Jesus has saved you from your sin?
7. Do you promise to follow Jesus for the rest of your life?

PARENT ASSESSMENT

Parents, I want to caution you here, it is very tempting to just assume your child is ready to be baptized. I’ll ultimately leave it to your discretion but here are a few things to consider before you say Yes. You don’t have to write your answers.

1. Does your child truly grasp the weight of their sin? I believe from the age of 8 years, a child understand who they are and what they want.
2. Does your child understand Jesus’ work to clear them of that sin?
3. Have you prayerfully consider your child’s faith and do you feel like baptism is the next step of their faith? Or should they wait? While in High school I saw cases of people want to be re-baptised just because now they feel their faith is now grown and they know who they are.
4. Are you convinced your child is making this decision because of their faith, not because of pressure they feel from you, his/her peers or even your church. If yes, consider doing the will of God over your child.

NEXT STEP

Parents, thanks for taking the time to walk through this very important topic with your child. If your child is ready for baptism, you may contact your pastor/church. Some churches will again take your child through their baptism lesson before baptism. If you’re like me, prepare yourself to baptize your child. Invite his or her friends on that day, you can hire a pool, or if you have a bathtub the better. I would also encourage you to get a bible for your child as it’s very important going forward.

If your Child is going to wait to be baptized, don’t be afraid, keep praying for your child’s faith and keep fostering that faith in your home until your child is ready to make this decision.

You can comment below and or e-mail me on da***@da*********.com , I will be happy to answer any question and even pray for you. God bless you and shalom.