Holland Methodist Church

Statement on Baptism

THE METHODIST CHURCH IN THE CARIBBEAN AND THE AMERICAS (MCCA
BAPTISM

1.  THE MCCA: WHO ARE WE?

The Methodist Church in the Caribbean and the Americas (MCCA) is a connexion of Methodist churches which claims and cherishes its place in the Church Universal (the Body of Christ). The Methodist Church was raised up by God to spread scriptural holiness and to reform the nation and proclaims an evangelical faith. We accept the Bible as the rule of faith, the fundamental tenets of the historical Creeds of the Church (the Apostles’ and Nicene Creeds) and the fundamental principles of the Protestant Reformation. We recognise two sacraments, Holy Baptism and the Lord’s Supper, DCO 3(1)[1].

2.  WHAT IS THE SACRAMENT OF HOLY BAPTISM?

A sacrament is a religious ceremony that confers the grace of God. It is exemplified and commanded by Jesus and places a perpetual obligation on the church.

The Sacrament of Holy Baptism marks the bestowal of grace by God and is God’s reception of the baptised person into the fellowship of Christ’s Church. The expectation is that through the working of the Holy Spirit and Christian nurture, the person will be a faithful disciple to the end of his or her life.

This contrasts with some churches that do not consider baptism as a sacrament but simply as an Ordinance. In the Methodist Church, however, Baptism is more than an ordinance. It is sacramental. In an Ordinance the intention is to symbolically re-enact an event such as the Baptism of Jesus and the emphasis is on the initiative of the individual while, in a sacrament the emphasis is on the work of God in the life of the individual.

3.  WHY DO WE BAPTISE

     i) We baptise in obedience to Christ’s Command (Matthew 28:16-20; Mark 16: 15-16).

 Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, 20and teaching them to obey everything that I have commanded you (Matthew 28:19-20).

From earliest times, the Church has embraced this continuing obligation to baptise in the name of the Triune God, and to live according to the demands of God’s Kingdom.

     ii) We baptise because Baptism is an initiatory Sacrament.

In the early church individuals were welcomed into the community of faith by baptism and distinguished themselves by being in communion with Christ, the Head of the Church (1 Corinthians 1:12-13, 12:13). The baptised person is received into the believing, worshipping community (“the congregation of Christ’s flock”, Ephesians 2:19). The person receives the initiating sign and seal of the new covenant of grace in Jesus Christ. (Acts 2: 42-27).

      iii) We baptise because Baptism as a sacrament is of significance in the life of the church.

Baptism is not just the isolated act defined by the experience of sprinkling, pouring or immersion, when baptism is proclaimed in the name of the Triune God. It is part of a process of formation in Christ which lasts throughout the life of the baptised.

Baptism is significant, but it is not salvation nor necessary for salvation. It affirms the invaluable function of the community in the life of the believer, however, in cases where baptism is not possible or practical, it does not discredit a person’s salvation.

4.  WHO DO WE BAPTISE?

We baptise persons of any age who were not baptised before

i)  We baptise infants and children:
a) Because of the provision of the grace of God.

Methodists believe that the grace of God (God’s undeserved love) is free, sovereign, unconditional and prevenient. It extends to all and on account of that grace one becomes a part of the family of God. (Ephesians 2:8-9; Titus 3:5). While there are times when an individual makes a decision in response to and in order to access God’s grace, reception into the community of faith is entirely an act of God’s grace. For this reason, infants/children were embraced by Christ as legitimate members of the Kingdom of God. We have full confidence that through the church’s ministry of witness and faith, grace is made available to them and to those who have the care of them.

“For the promise is for you, for your children, and for all who are far away, everyone whom the Lord our God calls to him.”  (Acts2:39).

b) Because of the Promise of the Gift of the Holy Spirit.

The Holy Spirit enables us to become and live as believers in Christ. In baptism, we affirm the presence and the work of the Holy Spirit in the life of the child (Acts 2:17).

c) Because of God’s New Covenant Relationship with Humanity

God’s covenant with Israel was a covenant of faith, where all who believed became children of Abraham and therefore children of God. Infants and children were included in this covenant with circumcision as the initiatory rite. Baptism is, for the Church, the initiatory rite which represents coming into this relationship with God (Galatians 5:6).

d) Because Baptism is a Means of Grace

It is a means of grace by which faith can be awakened and nurtured in infants, parents and the faith community as well as to strengthen a sense of responsibility in parents and the church for the Christian nurture of the child.

e) Because it is Consistent with Biblical Principles and Practice.

There are several references to household baptisms which suggest the baptism of infants (1 Corinthians 1:16, Acts 16:14-15, 31-33), as John Wesley commenting on the baptism of Lydia and her household says, “who can believe in so many families there was no infant.” Additionally, Paul in speaking of the crossing of the Red Sea makes reference to the baptism of infants and children (1 Corinthians 10:1-2, Exodus 12:37).

iii) We Baptise Adults Who Were Never Baptised

Baptism, as an initiatory rite, does not take into account a person’s age, however adults are baptised as they become part of the faith community. Such persons are required to make a confession of faith in Jesus Christ and  embrace the role of the community in the continued nurture of their faith. It is on the assurance of what God does for us that faith rests and not in the act of baptism.

The common practice of adult baptism in the New Testament was a natural outcome of the new and evangelistic context of the Faith. The growth of the community provided opportunity for the reception and nurture of infants and children in the faith. Today, it is not either ‘adults’ or ‘infants’; a church gaining new converts will have adults to be baptised and a church growing the community of believers will have children to be received in baptism.

5. HOW DO WE BAPTISE?

i) We baptise with water, as practised in Scripture, because water is an element which symbolises cleansing, purification and our spiritual rebirth and receiving the empowerment of the Holy Spirit. [John 3:5, Acts 2:38]

ii) We baptise using any one of the three modes (methods) of baptism: sprinkling, pouring and immersion. While there are different interpretations in the scripture as to how baptism was practised, we believe that there is symbolic value and biblical support for all three modes once done using the Trinitarian formula – “In the name of the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit.” This emphasizes God’s grace, the work of redemption through Jesus and the new life initiated by the Holy Spirit in the act of baptism. It is rooted in the Great Commission of Jesus:

“Go therefore and make disciples of all nations baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit.” (Matthew 28:19)

iii) We baptise by sprinkling because we believe that it is a legitimate and acceptable mode which symbolises the work of the Holy Spirit in the continued purification of the individual’s life. (Ezekiel 36:25; Hebrews 10:22).

iv) We baptise by pouring (affusion, effusion) because pouring signifies God’s pouring out of the Holy Spirit upon the individual (Matthew 3:16, Mark 1:9-10: Luke 3:21-22; Acts 2:38; 19:1-7). The pouring of the water upon individuals is symbolic of the descent of the Holy Spirit which scripture also refers to as the baptism of the Holy Spirit.

v) We baptise by immersion because the practise of immersion has been traditionally identified with Romans 6:3-5 where the understanding of buried and being raised reflects the dying and rising to a new life in Christ

vi) We do not practise ‘second baptism’ nor re-baptism because baptism is a ‘once and for all’ transforming experience. We affirm God’s grace imparted at the ‘first baptism.’ To have a ‘second baptism’ is to infer that the first baptism was not valid. (See 6:iii)

6. HOW DO WE NURTURE BAPTISED CHILDREN?

i) We require Parents to make commitments consistent with their covenantal obligation with God to bring up a child to a personal knowledge of Christ as their Lord and Saviour. Thus, parents take the sacred vow “to bring up the child in the nurture and admonition of the Lord.”

ii) We require Sponsors/God-parents to be persons of faith who embrace the practice of infant baptism to make a commitment to support the parents in the Christian upbringing and nurture of the child and also to serve as a link between the immediate family of the infant and the wider church family.

iii) We require the members of the church to make a commitment to ‘maintain the common life of worship and service that all the children in the congregation may grow in grace and in the knowledge and love of God and of his Son Jesus Christ, our Lord.’

iv) We place baptised infants/children on a Cradle Roll in each congregation to ensure that as many infants and children as possible who have been baptised, are eventually enrolled in the church school and a class for Members-in-Training, to ensure that oversight of such children is maintained, and suitable instruction given as they are able to receive it, to engage them for Christian discipleship.

v) We prepare baptised children to participate in the Lord’s Supper because this is a privilege afforded by the grace of God to all members of the Methodist Church and therefore welcome all baptised children who have received preparation by the church and parents.

vi) We place children in Members-in-Training Classes to further the process of making disciples as commanded by our Lord Jesus Christ (Matthew 28:19, 2 Timothy 3:14-16).

vii) We hold Confirmation Classes to prepare the baptised to make a public affirmation of faith in Christ and personal commitment to the way of Christ. Confirmation is not primarily about becoming a member of the church, since that was done at baptism, but gives those confirmed an opportunity to publicly profess their faith in and commitment to Jesus Christ.

viii) We affirm our baptismal vows
When we are confirmed and declare our personal acceptance of and commitment to Christ, whom we acknowledge has been at work in our lives even before we recognized it.
When from time to time we renew our commitment/Covenant to the Lord

Re-Affirmed by the MCCA Faith and Order Commission
November 07, 2018, 4.49 p.m.
Jamaica Methodist District Office, Kingston, Jamaica).