The Use of the Means of Grace provides these key points in the church's understanding of Holy Baptism.  If you are interested in Baptism we encourage you to read through these points and then click here to request Baptism at CtK.

• In Holy Baptism the Triune God delivers us from the forces of evil, puts our sinful self to death, gives us new birth, adopts us as children, and makes us members of the body of Christ, the Church. Holy Baptism is received by faith alone.

• Baptism was given to the Church by Jesus Christ in the Great Commission, but also in his own baptism by John and in the baptism of the cross.

• A person is baptized once. Because of the unfailing nature of God’s promise, and because of God’s once-for-all action in Christ, Baptism is not repeated.

• By God’s gift and call, all of us who have been baptized into Christ Jesus are daily put to death so that we might be raised daily to newness of life.²⁸

• God, whose grace is for all, is the one who acts in Baptism. Therefore candidates for Baptism are of all ages. Some are adults and older children who have heard the Gospel of Jesus Christ, declare their faith, and desire Holy Baptism. Others are the young or infant children of active members of the congregation or those children for whom members of the congregation assume sponsorship.

• Baptism includes instruction and nurture in the faith for a life of discipleship.

• Both adults and infants benefit from having baptismal sponsors. The primary role of the sponsors is to guide and accompany the candidates and, so far as possible, their families in the process of instruction and Baptism. They help the baptized join in the life and work of the community of believers for the sake of the world. 

• Candidates for Holy Baptism, sponsors, and an ordained minister called by the Church gather together with the congregation for the celebration of Baptism within the corporate worship of the Church.

• An ordained minister presides at Holy Baptism.³⁶

• In cases of imminent death, a person may be baptized by any Christian. Should sudden death prevent Baptism, we commend the person to God with prayer, trusting in God’s grace.

• Holy Baptism is administered with water in the name of the triune God, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. Baptism into the name of the triune God involves confessing and teaching the doctrine and meaning of the Trinity. The baptized are welcomed into the body of Christ. This is the community which lives from “the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, the love of God, and the communion of the Holy Spirit . . . .”³⁹

• We seek to celebrate Baptism in such a way that the celebration is a true and complete sign of the things which Baptism signifies.⁴⁵

• Water is a sign of cleansing, dying, and new birth.⁴⁸ It is used generously in Holy Baptism to symbolize God’s power over sin and death.

• A baptismal font filled with water, placed in the assembly’s worship space, symbolizes the centrality of this sacrament for faith and life. 

• The laying on of hands and prayer for the Holy Spirit’s gifts, the signing with the cross, and the anointing with oil help to appropriate the breadth of meanings in Baptism. Other symbolic acts also are appropriate such as the clothing with a baptismal garment and the giving of a lighted candle.

• In Baptism people become members not only of the Church universal but of a particular congregation. Therefore all baptisms are entered into the permanent records of the congregation and certificates are issued at the time of the administration of the sacrament.

• The public rite for Affirmation of Baptism may be used at many times in the life of a baptized Christian. It is especially appropriate at Confirmation and at times of reception or restoration into membership.