Vanessa Pacheco
ResourcesMy Story
A cancer diagnosis drove her to the arms of Jesus. Watch as Vanessa is baptized, proclaiming her devotion to Him!
When?
We typically baptize people during our weekend worship services, though we offer seasonal events for baptism as well.
How?
Fill out the form below and we will be in touch shortly.
Tell Me More
What is baptism?
Baptism is a physical demonstration of the spiritual reality of making Jesus Lord of your life. When a person is immersed in water, they are identifying with Christ in His death, burial, and resurrection. Baptism is a physical picture of the new life and washing away sins that we receive through faith in Jesus Christ. In Matthew 28, Jesus told his disciples to baptize everyone who comes into faith in Him. As Jesus publicly identified with us, we publicly identify with Him in our new life through baptism.
Why get baptized?
A person should be baptized after they have trusted in Jesus through faith; trusting fully in His death, burial, and resurrection for salvation. You don’t need to have it all together to be baptized nor do you need to wait to be baptized. Baptism is the public declaration of a decision you have made and marks the beginning of a life-long journey.
When should you get baptized?
Once you have accepted the saving work of Jesus in your life, and chosen to trust Him as Lord, the king of your life, you’re ready to go public with that new reality!
Are there steps to getting baptized?
It starts with filling out the simple form above. From there, we will contact you, hear where you’re at, and give you a short devotional experience to unpack your story with God. This will allow you to recognize your story in a way you can share it and truly celebrate the decision you made to follow Jesus. From there, we will outline the final steps of going public with that in baptism. We will walk with you relationally through this process, so there’s no need to fear!
What to expect?
At Crossroads, we practice full immersion baptism. The word baptism literally means complete submersion under water. Immersion symbolizes the spiritual reality that a person has died to his or her old life, and is resurrected in new life through faith in Jesus. It is a beautiful picture of the spiritual reality of faith and salvation! You will have an opportunity to pick who baptizes you or a pastor will be assigned to you. We have a perfect record of not drowning ANYONE!
What about baby/child baptism?
Crossroads embrace what is called “believer’s baptism,” which honors an individual’s personal decision to trust in Jesus, and their decision to walk in obedience to Him in baptism. Since babies and young children do not yet possess the cognitive abilities to comprehend this, we do not baptize children until they can clearly comprehend the basic idea of trusting and following Jesus, generally 6 years of age or older. If you were baptized as an infant, but now have made a personal commitment to follow Jesus we would encourage you to be baptized as an expression of the decision you have personally made.
Do I have to have my life together?
The requirement for baptism is accepting Jesus as Lord in the acknowledgment of His authority in and over our lives. For each of us this is an ongoing reality of submission, trust, and obedience as we walk out the Christian life. As it pertains to those seeking baptism, this does not mean they are perfect in obedience to Jesus, none of us are, but have a desire to follow Jesus as both Savior and Lord in the fullness of our lives.
What if I was baptized at another church?
That really hinges on what it meant to you. First, when you were baptized, was it your intention to identify with Jesus and the reality of the exchange of your broken life record for the record of Jesus? What did it mean to you? Second, were you baptized into the life of Jesus or into a specific church or denomination? Some churches baptize people into the latter and we believe Jesus called us to be baptized into Him (Galatians 3:27) as a demonstration of the exchanged life. If this is confusing or you don’t know, we would love to talk through it with you.
Will Crossroads baptize ANYONE?
Yes…and no. Baptism is a public display of an inward decision to trust in the work of Jesus (salvation). As we walk with you through this process we will discern together if this has happened for you. If there is confusion, we will unpack that with you or encourage you to make that decision before baptism. Second to saving faith, baptism is a display of our desire to live out and grow in our faith. It’s our desire that you would walk this out in community with us! If you are connected at another church, we will likely encourage you to be baptized there.
