Baptism and Admission to Communicant Membership for Adults
(to take place as part of a regular Sunday service.)
The minister shall say:
Our help is in the name of the Lord, the maker of heaven and earth. (Psalm 124:8)
Friends in Christ, the Lord Jesus, before his ascension into heaven, instituted the sacrament of baptism when he said:
All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptising them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I will be with you always, to the very end of the age. (Matthew 28:18-20)
This sacrament is a sign and seal of God's promise of salvation. As you confess your faith and are baptised into Christ's name, you are assured that you are united to Christ, the true vine, that your sins are forgiven, that you are adopted into God's family, and that you will be raised to eternal life on the last day.
Since you wish to be baptised, it is necessary that you answer sincerely before God the following questions:
Do you believe in one God, Father, Son and Holy Spirit?
Response: I do.
Do you repent of your sin, and with a humble and grateful heart put your trust in the mercy and grace of God and in Jesus Christ whose sacrifice on the cross takes away your sin?
Response: I do.
Do you promise to share regularly with your fellow Christians in worship on the Lord's Day?
Response: I do.
Do you promise to be faithful in reading the Bible, and in prayer?
Response: I do.
Do you promise to love God with all your heart, all your soul, all your mind and all your strength and to give a God-honouring proportion of your time, talents and money for the Church's work in the world?
Response: I do.
Do you promise to confess Christ before others, to serve him in your daily work, and to walk in his ways all the days of your life?
Response: I do.
Do you acknowledge your dependence upon the Holy Spirit to equip you and to enable you to be faithful to this your confession?
Response: I do.
Do you promise to submit to the authority of the Session as they exercise pastoral oversight of the congregation?
Response: I do.
At this point the candidate for baptism may be invited to give a brief testimony to the grace of God in his life and his faith in Christ.
Then the minister shall say:
O God our Father, we thank you for your promise to wash away the sins of all who call upon the name of our Lord Jesus Christ. We pray that from the fullness of his grace N....... may receive every spiritual blessing in union with him. Amen.
Then all the Congregation standing, the person or persons to be baptised shall kneel at the font and the minister, saying his Christian names, shall pour or sprinkle water on his head, saying:
N....... I baptise you in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.
The minister shall add:
He will keep you strong to the end, so that you will be blameless on the day of our Lord Jesus Christ. God, who has called you into fellowship with his Son Jesus Christ our Lord, is faithful. Amen. (1 Corinthians 1:8,9)
The congregation may say or sing:
The Lord bless you and keep you.... (Rejoice! 352)
The minister, addressing the congregation, shall say:
We now admit N....... into the membership and privileges of God's church and commit ourselves to love, exhort and encourage him in the Christian life.
N....... now joins us in confessing the faith of Christ crucified, and is committed with us to serve Christ faithfully to his life's end.
The minister and elders welcome the new member.
Let us pray:
O God our Father, as this baptism with water signifies the baptism of your Spirit, increase in N...... the spirit of wisdom and understanding, the spirit of counsel and might, the spirit of knowledge and the fear of the Lord.
Empower him by your Spirit to proclaim the gospel clearly and to attract others to Christ by his godly life.
Since you have begun a good work in him, we pray that you will bring it to completion on the day of Christ Jesus. Strengthen him to fight the good fight, to finish the race and to keep the faith to his life's end. Amen.
A hymn or psalm may be sung.