Posted on 07/25/2007 7:20:45 PM PDT by Ottofire
Here’s a list of some simple things we do that almost any church can do:
1. Mention the value, purpose and benefits of baptism regularly in sermons.
2. Videotape some of your baptisms. Prepare a music video of baptisms to show in your worship service so people who’ve never seen a baptism can witness one.
3. Have clothes ready for people who decide spontaneously to be baptized after a service.
4. Make it a party atmosphere. It’s a celebration, not a funeral. Applaud baptisms!
5. Invite small group members to witness the baptism and identify them before each baptism.
6. Prepare a beautiful leatherette-bound baptism folder to hold their certificate.
7. Have a required membership class that explains the meaning or baptism in detail.
8. Always baptize on special days when relatives may be in town – Christmas, Mother’s Day, New Year’s Eve, etc.
9. Always baptize on special days of the church. (We baptized over 400 on the day we opened our Worship Center.)
10. Allow entire families (after confirming that all are believers) to enter the pool together.
11. Hug each person after they have been baptized!
12. Interview all candidates at the water’s edge to hear their story of how Jesus changed them.
13. Build a Baptism Team of volunteers who assist with all baptisms. Have matching shirts to identify the Baptism Team and the pastors leading the service.
14. Have a professional photographer there to capture the moment and include a picture of their baptism along with their certificate of baptism.
15. Print a “Why Be Baptized?” brochure. Use scriptures and lots of testimonies.
16. Put the brochure information, baptism pictures, and even videos of baptisms on your website, so people can forward it to others.
17. Have pre-printed invitations for the baptism candidates to use in inviting lost friends and relatives to a service and to witness their baptism.
18. Make the baptism pool and surrounding area beautiful and inviting and non-threatening. (Many baptisms are perched up so high inside the church that it feels distant and disconnected. Our baptism pool is outside in our patio area so people can gather up close around it for a more intimate feeling.)
19. After the baptism service encourage people to go out afterwards for coffee or dessert to celebrate and find out what the experience meant to the person baptized and to the family and friends who watched it.
20. Publicize the baptisms with posters around your church. Elicit “one line” testimonies from people who have been baptized, take an 8×10 photo of that person, and mount their photo and quote on a 2’x3’ foam board sign. Put this on a tri-pod in a visible area after the service where people can sign-up to be baptized.
21. Have all small groups get people in their group to sign up in the group for the next baptism.
22. Identify and celebrate other special moments at the water’s edge (birthdays, anniversaries, spiritual birthdays, etc.)
23. Train your Baptism Team volunteers to greet and make everyone comfortable.
24. Provide a sound system that will allow spectators gathered to hear the testimonies.
25. Always have the baptism pool warm and chlorinated before services.
26. Have a corporate prayer of celebration at the end of each service to thank God for those baptized.
27. Sing a great chorus or hymn about the power of God to change someone’s life.
28. During warmer weather offer baptisms at the beach or lake or slow-flow river.
29. Develop a “Baptism Party in a Box” kit that includes ideas for a family party following baptism.
30. Have outdoor heaters if you baptize outdoors in the winter.
31. Set up good lighting if you baptize outside after evening services.
32. Have hand towels available as a gift with the church’s logo as a memory keeper.
33. Ask each small group in your church to take a week where each person shares their baptism experience and what it did for their Christian life.
34. Use banners and signs the week prior to baptisms to draw interest, especially beach or lake baptisms.
35. Build a baptism service into an extended spiritual growth campaign (like Saddleback’s Millennium Member Campaign). Build on momentum.
36. Constantly emphasize baptism as the next step after committing your life to Christ. Have sign-ups everywhere.
37. Give a follow-up booklet, a button, and a free gift for those who obey Christ’s command to be baptized.
38. Have a special Christian’s baptism class as a requirement for baptizing children. Insist that at least one parent attend with their child.
39. When baptizing grade school children, have the baptizing pastor hold their hands lifted high after they come out of the water, like you would with a winner in game.
40. Address Frequently Asked Questions in a brochure they can walk away with, and deal personally with every fear or hang-up about baptism.
Do these 40 things and the number of people wanting to publicly demonstrate their faith through baptism will rise dramatically. Rick _________________ Pastor Rick Warren, Saddleback Church
(Hat tip to fide-o blog - http://fide-o.blogspot.com/ - )
That’s a great list!
I love baptisms, they’re so fun. I can’t put my finger on it, but there’s something so powerful and indescribable about it.
18. Make the baptism pool and surrounding area beautiful and inviting and non-threatening.
One of the ways of looking at baptism (per Michael Horton, following probably Meredith Kline) is as a covenant ratification ceremony involving a symbolic ordeal. "As many of you as were baptised into Christ Jesus were baptised into his death."
That’s a great list. Each and every one of those brings you a little closer to Jesus.
What I would recommend is that you keep a couple people on hand to keep the riff raff out. I know some local churches in my area have had problems with homeless people attending church just so they could get some free bread. Obviously, you don’t want that.
Purpose driven baptism ping.
42. Change the name of Baptism to something like Dunking for Jesus.
“Men are God’s method. The church is looking for better methods; God is looking for better men.” - E. M. Bounds
What ran though my head as I read this was that it is a great list of marketing tips. Years ago, I had marketing company which was linked to a very successful international company where I taught people how to better market themselves, mostly through networking, getting other people from other types of business to bring you business while you do the same for them.
The suggestions here were much like what the things we taught as successful ways to influence other people to do what you want them to do. The reason they work is based on pride. People will do more things for simple recognition than for money. Want to increase your small business from referrals? Don't pay for referrals, but put up a plaque in your waiting room listing the top 5 people who gave you referrals. This works well for professional practices, Dr's, lawyers, etc. Human nature is such that people will jump through lots of hoops for their 10 seconds of fame. For recognition. For pride. It is one of the best motivators.
As I went through the list, it was very easy to spot those things where recognition was the key motivator. Other good marketing or sales techniques to get people to "buy what you are selling" are emotional responses (which include fear of loss) and overcoming their objections. Almost every suggestion in the list fit into one or more of those categories:
Emotional motiviations - #'s; 1, 4, 7, 10, 11, 12, 13, 15, 18, 19, 21, 23, 29, 34, 35, 36, 37, 39, and maybe 27 and 33.
Recognition - #'s: 2, 4, 5, 6, 8, 9, 12, 13, 14, 16, 17, 20, 22, 24, 29, 31, 32, 33, 34, 37, 39.
Overcoming objections - #'s: 3, 18, 25, 30, 40.
Baptism is not a party. It is not an emotional high. Why did he come up with these? I suspect it is because he can boost his baptism numbers (and teach others to do the same). To what real "purpose" - to make Warren look successful. But true baptisms are of God. He doesn't need marketing to "boost" His numbers.
Bottom line - why try to "help out" the Holy Spirit? Especially when it is made into an emotional affair? Why does Gode need help from lowly man in convicting people to be baptized? Why did people flock to John to be baptized? Not because he videotaped them and made things all warm and fuzzy, but because he preached repentance. Quite the opposite of warm and fuzzy and "look at me".
1. Because Jesus said to get baptized.
If that one isn't enough... then you probably shouldn't get baptized; you should get saved.
Then get baptized.
How so? Would you be willing to go down the list and explain how each of them brings a person closer to Jesus? Do you have biblical support for that? How does scripture reveal to us how to "get closer to Jesus?" I would venture to say it isn't about night lights, or parties or videotapes, but I am not you and I did not make the comment.
If you don't want to list the reasons for each here, I would be willing to read them via Freepmail with no arguments. I am just curious as to why you say that and where your biblical support is.
And you say it in a lot less words than I do. haha
....statistics from the nation's largest Protestant body paint a picture of evangelism in decline. Baptisms in 2006 dropped 1.89 percent, to 364,826, from 2005, according to a church study. Those figures contrast sharply with the goal of 1 million baptisms that was set by the denomination's immediate past president, Bobby Welch. ........"I was surprised that we still fell 7,000 or more short," he said. "Once this thing gets into a nosedive, it's hard to pull it up. That's what we're fighting right now."
#42, Tell people baptisms only last 1 year.
I wonder if Rick's ideas are related to this?
I suspect the Saddleback's Southron Baptist label is nominal.
Since we're sprinklers, only a towel is needed.
CC&E
But true baptisms are of God. For sure.
The free gift ought to be the draw!
In my experience, those I have met that have had a true conversion are eager to be baptised in the name of Jesus and have no hang-ups or reservations about it whatsoever...
CC&E
Dog and Pony Show Ping!
41. Install a giant water slide leading into the olimpic size baptismal pool.
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