When Your Children Ask about Baptism

The conversations have started, but they are still very sporadic. With a 10-year-old and a soon-to-be 9-year-old, we are not surprised that our children have started asking questions from time-to-time about baptism.

If you raise your children going to church and Bible classes, the questions are going to start, and likely, they are going to start quite early in life. After all, they hear preachers extend the invitation constantly. Hopefully, they have been present to see people put Christ on in baptism. And probably, they have studied God’s plan of salvation in Bible school, at least a time or two. Their classrooms may even have a chart that is always there, constantly showing them the plan of salvation.

So, it is in their mind, and that’s a good thing!

How are parents to handle these conversations? While this is not meant to be a perfect list, I want to share some principles that we are trying to adhere to as our children ask about baptism. We certainly are not exact in this, but we are trying.

1. Treat Every Question Respectfully and Seriously. Even if your child asks what you might consider to be a silly question, they are still talking about the most important decision that could ever be made. Treat it with respect, and show them Scripture to point out either their truth or the error of what they are saying.
2. Let Your Children Bring It Up. Too many parents of smaller children are so concerned with “getting their kids baptized” that they force the conversation. Your child, most likely, will bring it up when it is on his/her mind. Let the conversations happen at their pace. But always–and I mean, always–be willing to talk about it when it is brought up!
3. Always Appeal to Scripture. This should go without saying, but if anyone–including your kid–is considering becoming a child of God we dare not take them anywhere but to the standard of God’s Word. These do not have to be hour-long explanations of passages, but a look at Acts 2:38; Mark 16:15-16; Matthew 28:19-20; Romans 6:1-4; and other verses needs to always stand as the basis of our conversation.
4. Talk Clearly about Sin. One of the most difficult things for many parents to do is to talk about the actual, Biblical purpose of baptism: to liberate us from our sins. While children make mistakes and even do things that are “wrong” at times, a person must have a clear understanding of the need for forgiveness of sins before he/she is ready to be baptized.
5. Ask about Repentance and the “Need” for Baptism. Especially when I was a youth minister, I would often have a very young person ask to be baptized. I never tried to push them away, but I always tried to talk about if they needed to “repent.” If they said, “No,” I knew they weren’t ready. Also, ask about when they think they might want to be baptized. If they say, “Maybe next week,” or “in a few days,” they simply aren’t prepared. When one knows his/her need for salvation and to turn from sin, only then are they ready–but they are ready right then!

The final tip I will give is one that I have borrowed many times from the excellent little book Am I Ready to be Baptized? by Kyle Butt and John Farber. When a child is seriously considering being baptized, have that child write down why he or she is preparing to be baptized, and write date the paper (or notecard). Remember, let the child write this in his/her own words. Once they have written this down, put the paper or card away.

One of these days, that child will likely question his/her baptism. Did I know enough? Was I sure what I was doing?

When those question arise, simply pull out that paper or card and read. The language may be child-like, but it will let him/her know if they were ready. Typically, if a child is willing to write it down, they are ready, because, in a child-like fashion, they can express just what they needed to do, and it lines up perfectly with the simple plan that God has in place to save people.

It is hard to think of anything that is holier as a parent that the honor and privilege of talking to your children about becoming a brother or a sister in Christ. Treat it as the important thing that young person will ever talk about, because it is!

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AUTHOR: Adam Faughn