Book Review: "Am I Ready to Be Baptized" by Kyle Butt and John Farber

I rarely read and/or review children’s books, but this one intrigued me a lot. This short book is helpful and will aid you as you work with children who are starting to ask questions about baptism and salvation.

Often, children hear lessons in Bible classes or at Christian camps that cause them to think about becoming a Christian. While that is a wonderful thing, we still need to make sure that child is ready. This book helps with that dilemma.

The best part, to me at least, is that the book is written for the child. It is written on a lower reading level and is beautifully illustrated. It walks children through the steps of salvation and asks them to answer some very hard questions.

Finally, after reminding children about the steps, the book ends with some of the questions again. It asks children to honestly answer questions about their willingness to give up certain things or face certain difficulties if they decide to become a Christian.

After the final chapter, there are a couple of pages dedicated to having the children fill out reasons why they did or did not decide to be baptized at this point in their life. This can be especially helpful if they DO decide to be baptized, because they can look back at that form later and realize that they knew the reasons why they did. This will help reassure the teenager or young adult who thinks that he or she did not “know enough” and is wanting to be baptized again.

The book contains 10 short chapters that a child or family could easily read and study. You may order the book by calling Peaceful House Publishing at (334) 272-4994 or (334) 201-4362. If you have a children’s library at the congregation where you worship, this book would be a great addition to it. Some elderships, youth ministers or Bible class teachers may even wish to keep several copies on hand to give away to young children as they begin to ask questions.