One of the questions we get asked regularly in Children's Ministry is, "Is my child ready to get baptized?"
We have seen parents with a wide range of ways that they deal with this question. Some parents have encouraged their Kindergarten child to get baptized whereas others want to wait until their child is a teen or adult and they see persistent fruit in their children's lives that would be evidence of belief and faith in God. In all of these, parents deeply care about their children's faith and about the decision their child is making.
Why do parent's struggle with this decision?
Most often there is a wrestle in parents as they want to be sure their child is truly saved, which can be hard to assess. Some parents struggle because they're not sure their child fully understands the importance of the decision to be baptized and they don't want to rush their child into something that might be more meaningful later in life. On the other hand, if the Holy Spirit is truly impressing on my child that they are saved and in obedience should get baptized, who am I to stand in the way of God's work in the life of my child? All of these questions are valid and not easily answered.
Here are some things that might help you in your decision:
- Children are included in the promise of the Holy Spirit for those who repent and are baptized (Acts 2:38,39).
- Repentance is a prerequisite for baptism. In Acts, we see the phrase "Repent and be baptized." (Acts 2: 38, 39) In order to repent, your child needs to know what sin is. Does your child know what sin is? Will your child admit that he or she is a sinner? Has he or she repented and turned his back on that sin?
- Does your child believe in Jesus? (John 1:12, Romans 10:9) Can your child tell you who Jesus is and why He died on the cross? Can your child explain why Jesus had to die? Many kids will say they love Jesus and want to be baptized but can't say why Jesus died for them.
- Children can get really excited about something one minute and lose interest in the next minute. Is the desire to be baptized something that keeps coming up with your child (without your prompting)? This may indicate the Spirit's leading in their lives. Or is there any other external motivators, like a friend or relative that has done it and they want to copy what they've seen?
- Abstract thinking does not usually develop until the middle elementary years. Because baptism is symbolic, it is difficult for a child, whose abstract thinking is not yet developed, to fully understand baptism.
Some questions you could ask your child that may give you a lot of insight about their understanding of baptism:
- "Pretend your friend from school wants to know why you want to get baptized. What would you tell him or her?"
- "Why do you love Jesus?"
- "What are some sins you are sorry for?"
- "What does it mean to get baptized?" (Some children want to get baptized because they think it will save them, this is an inaccurate view of what baptism is).
At GPAC, we recognized that parents are in the role as primary spiritual influencer over your child. We pray that these questions will help you to assess where your child is spiritually and determine if they are ready to be baptized. If you've talked with your child and believe that he or she is saved and ready for baptism, you may contact the church office to let us know. We have a baptism class for children and parents to attend together that we would encourage you to attend.