Baptism

Everything you need to know about planning and scheduling a baptism.

Baptism in the Lutheran tradition is "grace-based."

Baptism is about what God does for us. God loves us unconditionally. It's the basis for why we baptize babies who can't yet make their own faith-based decisions. This means baptism is not a requirement for salvation; it's a celebration! Also part of our Lutheran baptism is the idea of promises. If you bring a baby or young child to baptism, you will be asked to make promises to raise them in the community of the church. The community also promises to help raise your child in Christian community - because let's be honest- it takes a village! Older children, youth, and adults make their own promises.

If you are interested in baptism for yourself or your child, the first step is to attend a Baptism Workshop. Workshops are usually scheduled each quarter on the second Saturday of January, April, July, and October and are held via Zoom. Individual counseling can also be arranged for extenuating circumstances.

Because of these promises, baptism isn't just a one-time event but begins a lifelong journey. If you yourselves are not yet members of Christ the King and have been baptized previously, we'd love to talk with you about joining our growing community of faith by an Affirmation of Baptism. Becoming members on the same day your child is baptized can be very meaningful!

If you have questions regarding baptism or membership, please utilize our Ask a Question form. When you are ready to schedule a baptism, please review the worship planning calendar. Some things to consider:

Family and friends who cannot attend in person may want to participate virtually. The livestream schedule has a column on the planning calendar.
You can pick any pastor that you want to officiate the baptism, but they need to be available on your day. The planning calendar shows which pastors will be in which worship space and who is preaching and presiding. If you have no preference, the presiding pastor scheduled that day will officiate the baptism.
We prefer to schedule baptisms on non-communion Sundays to keep the service length under 65 minutes. This is especially true for the early service, when classes start at 9:45. The communion schedule includes a column on the planning calendar.

When you have a couple of dates in mind, reach out to the Director of Worship by email, and we will get you on the schedule and work on the details!