We bring them lovingly to the baptismal font. We make promises and pray. The congregation says ‘Amen’ and then the moment passes.
The water dries. The certificates are tucked away. Family life races on.
And in most homes, baptism is rarely mentioned again.
Occasionally the subject surfaces when another baby is presented for baptism. “Was I baptised too?” is whispered from the pew. We tell them about the day, maybe even find a nice photo, before our focus drifts off to other things.
Why does that happen? Why do we go so quiet?
It’s strange, really because we keep their baby teeth in a box somewhere. We laugh again at the funny words they once mispronounced. But this monumental moment, when God’s covenant promises were spoken, we rarely recall at all.
Perhaps our confidence in baptism has quietly faded, or was never there! Few would ever say so, yet the silence speaks strongly. Maybe it’s just that we feel we don’t understand the sacrament well enough to explain it and even fewer of us can find the appropriate words for a child. The mystery feels safer than the meaning, so it stays wrapped in reverence and slowly slips from view.
What Is Baptism?
Baptism isn’t just a nice family tradition or the baby’s first big day out. It’s not even a formal introduction to church life. It is a covenant sign. God has given it as a visible word of grace.
When the water touches the child’s head, God himself makes a promise. Not that the child believes, not yet, but that he claims them for his own. This is covenant baptism: God’s mark upon those he calls his people.
Of course the water doesn’t save, it can’t. But it points to the God who can. It directs our eyes to Jesus, whose blood truly cleanses and the Spirit who renews the heart. And here’s the beautiful thing. God binds himself to ordinary water and makes it speak extraordinary promises. He says, “You belong to me and to my people. What Christ has done is offered to you.” That’s the sign and seal of the covenant of grace.
When parents present their child, they shouldn’t be assuming faith, but rather be asking for it. They’re confirming that, “This child belongs among God’s people, and we will teach them of his mercy until they trust him for themselves.”
The Drift Toward Forgetfulness in The Church
Why has baptism become an event that fades in memory as quickly as it happens in our churches? The team prepares carefully for the day. They visit families, write prayers and plan the order of service, maybe even add the child’s name to the baptismal roll. But then relegate the sacrament to the past like a ritual relic.
No one reminds the parents of their vows, or holds them to account. Few help them explain baptism to their growing child. And the child is allowed to understand baptism as something that happened once upon a time.
Except that’s precisely backwards, isn’t it? Baptism is supposed to be where discipleship starts, not where it stops.
The Church’s Responsibility
The church must do more than host the service. She must help parents live out the promises they made. That begins with understanding. Parents need clear teaching about what baptism means.
When a child asks, “Why was I baptised?” a parent ought to be able to say, “Because God’s promise of salvation is for us and for our children. Because Jesus is Lord and we long for you to know him.”
If they can move from talking about an event to talking about a reason, something fundamentally shifts. They begin to see baptism not as a memory but as a marker of God’s continuing grace.
What Churches Can Do:
- Schedule post-baptismal visits
- Train parents to use baptismal language in everyday conversations with their children
- Train children’s and youth leaders, and other leaders to use baptismal language in everyday teaching
- Help leaders connect themes of belonging, forgiveness and faith back to baptism
- Dedicate a specific Sunday each year to discuss baptism and baptismal vows
- Prepare resources that make covenantal conversations easy for families
Equipping Families with Resources:
- Cards with baptismal vows printed clearly
- Simple prayers to say on each baptism anniversary
- Age-appropriate questions and phrases for discussing the purpose of baptism
- Guidance on how to talk about God’s promises during everyday moments
Ideas for Families at Home:
- Display baptism photos where children can see and ask about them
- Celebrate on baptism anniversaries
- Tell the baptism story each year
- Write annual letters to children about their baptism
- Use moments of doubt or difficulty to remind children “God claimed you”
Keeping the Promises
The congregation makes promises as well. We stand together and declare that we will support these parents and this child. That is not ceremony. It is covenant.
To pray for a baptised child is to keep that vow. To encourage their parents, to show kindness, to model a life of faith before them, is to honour that vow.
Imagine a church that actually remembers the names of its baptised children. That speaks often of God’s covenant mercy. That sees baptism not as a beginning that ends but as a beginning that endures.
Recovering the Story
Let’s recover the significance of baptism. Let’s help parents speak of it with clarity and confidence. Let’s teach our congregations that the God who made promises at the font is the same God who keeps them now.
Baptism isn’t about sentiment. It is about saving grace. It points to the God who rescues. It declares that his mercy reaches from one generation to the next.
We must keep talking about it because it keeps meaning something. The promise hasn’t expired. The water on their head was never the end. It was the beginning of the story of faith we are still called to tell.
And that’s worth talking about. Again and again. Until, we pray, they believe it for themselves.
