We believe that baptism is an important step of obedience for every Christ-follower. If you've made the decision to follow Christ but have not been baptized, we invite you to do so.

Baptism is a public declaration of three very important things:

• You are a follower of Jesus Christ.
  “Those who accepted his message were baptized.” —Acts 2:41a

• You are beginning a changed life in Christ.
  “We were therefore buried with him through baptism into death in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead through the glory of the Father, we too may live a new life.” —Romans 6:4

• You are part of a new family.
  “So in Christ Jesus you are all children of God through faith, for all of you who were baptized into Christ have clothed yourselves with Christ.” —Galatians 3:26–27

Your baptism should have signified you becoming a follower of Jesus, beginning a changed life, and uniting with a new family. If your baptism did not reflect this change of life, we encourage you to have a conversation with one of our pastors.

We will baptize anyone who has trusted in Jesus and understands what baptism symbolizes, and wants to make a public declaration of their faith through baptism. We encourage any parents to partner with our Canaan Kids and Canaan Students ministries to guide your children through these decisions of faith.

Throughout the New Testament, the Bible teaches that baptism is a public expression of worship symbolizing the new life we have when we follow Jesus. In the Bible we see that Jesus' parents dedicated him to the Lord (Luke 2:22–40), and he was later baptized as an adult (Matthew 3:16–17).

We understand that some churches practice “baptism of confirmation” for children. This ceremony is intended to be a commitment between the parents and God on the behalf of the child. The parents promise to raise their child in the faith until the child is old enough to make his or her own personal confession of Christ. This custom began about 300 years after the Bible was completed and is different from the biblical examples of new believers being baptized to publicly profess their faith in Jesus.

At Canaan we provide opportunities for child dedication and believer's baptism. See when the next Child Dedication is coming up.