Baptism, Membership, Infant Dedication, Weddings and Funerals

Baptism: unlike most other mainstream Christian churches (such as the Church of England, Methodists and United Reformed Church), Baptists do not baptise or “christen” babies. Our understanding of the New Testament teaching about baptism is that it is for “believers only”. Baptism is a very special moment on the journey of faith - it is a moment when we seal our personal commitment of faith in Jesus as Lord of our life in the presence of our fellow believers. Normally baptism takes place by full immersion in water as part of a public act.

Church Membership Having become members of the worldwide Christian Church, we are called to live out our Christian faith in partnership with other Christians in a local church. Our commitment first and foremost is to Jesus Christ, but he wants us to express this in commitment to one another and to the wider community in the context of a local church. Church membership is a way of showing our commitment to Christ and to one another, and it opens up various opportunities for service.

There are three ways of becoming a member of a Baptist Church.

Believer’s Baptism This is the normal way, based on New Testament practice. Prior to total immersion in water, the person being baptised is asked to respond to two questions:

Do you confess your faith in Jesus Christ as your Lord and Saviour?

Do you promise, relying upon God’s grace, to follow Christ and to serve him all your life in the fellowship of the Christian Church?

At a subsequent Communion Service, the person is officially welcomed into membership after responding to a further question:

Do you promises to be a loyal member of Fuller Baptist Church, regular in attending worship, faithful in your support for the church, and diligent in your private devotions, seeking to grow always in your knowledge and love of God?

Profession of Faith If there are really good reasons for not being baptised then a person may become a church member by “profession of faith” – making the same declaration and promises as those who are baptised.

Transfer of membership If a person is a member of another Christian Church, (s)he may transfer membership to our church. This would usually be a transfer from one membership roll to ours and involves our Church Secretary communicating with the previous church.

When application is made for membership, two church visitors are appointed to interview the applicant. Their task is to represent the church to the applicant and then to represent the applicant to the church. They will want to know something about your commitment to Christ, and why you are now taking this important step in your life. The visitors will then make a report to the church meeting, for members’ approval.

Infant Dedication and Thanksgiving As Baptists we understand from the Scriptures that Baptism is for believers only, and we do not, therefore, baptise infants. We do, however, recognise that children have a place within the family of God and, indeed, the Kingdom of God. In fact, Jesus indicated that children show us the way by which we, as adults, should enter God’s Kingdom.

An “Act of Thanksgiving and Dedication” provides the opportunity to welcome a child into the church family whilst at the same time inviting the parents and congregation to give thanks for the gift of a child, to pray for God’s blessing upon the child and its parents, and to dedicate ourselves, as parents and as a church fellowship, to play our part in nurturing the child in a Christian environment.

The Act of Thanksgiving and Dedication usually takes part during the first part of a Morning Service and includes the following promises:-

Promises of Parents

Do you promise, with God’s help, to be good and loving parents to N?

Do you also promise to bring N up in the spirit of the Gospel? 

Do you promise also to remain faithful to N whatever the future may bring, respecting him/her wherever (s)he may go, remembering always that your child is a gift of God?

Promises by Members As the members and congregation of this Church, do you also acknowledge that this child is a gift of God, and do you promise that you will always stand by N and his/her parents in love and friendship?

Weddings As a general rule, weddings are conducted only in cases where either one of parties being married is a church member or is already in regular attendance at Sunday services, or is related to a member or regular worshipper at the time of the request to be married.

In the case of marriage where the bride or groom has been divorced, the Minister cannot give a firm undertaking to conduct a wedding until he has seen and checked the appropriate divorce papers

Couples will normally be required to meet with the Minister on several occasions, a typical programme being as follows:- 1. Initial Interview 2. A session on “Knowing and Understanding Ourselves and Each Other” 3. The Christian Faith (usually included where neither of you attends a church) 4. “Christian Marriage” (a look at the words used in the Marriage Service) 5. Wedding Rehearsal (usually on the Thursday evening before the Wedding Day)

Funerals  Arrangements can be made for a funeral service to take place in Fuller Baptist Church, or for the Minister to conduct a funeral service at the local Crematorium. These arrangements are usually best made, in the first instance, through a funeral director (details of funeral directors may be found in the Yellow Pages or by carrying out a search on www.yell.com) For further information on the above services or any other enquiries, please contact the Minister - Revd Graeme Stockdale by email - Graeme@fullerbaptist.org.uk or by telephone - 01536 514789