What is Baptism? Baptism is a sacrament. In a sacrament, God uses common elements -- in this case, water -- as means or vehicles of divine grace. Baptism is administered by the church as the Body of Christ. It is the act of God through the grace of Jesus Christ and the work of the Holy Spirit.*

 

All persons who profess faith in Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior are welcome to be baptized at Royal Oak Community UMC.  We encourage a professing Christian to connect with our church body so we can help nurture and guide the spiritual walk that he/she has chosen.  

 

In all forms of Christian baptism, God claims those being baptized, whatever their age or ability to profess their faith, with divine grace. Clearly an infant can do nothing to save himself or herself, but is totally dependent on God's grace, as we all are -- whatever our age. Included in the baptismal ceremony for infants is the vow of the parents/sponsors and the congregation to raise the child in the Christian faith so one day, the child will claim the name of Christ for himself/herself. 

As professed during the baptism ceremony, the parents/sponsors will agree to the following vow:

The congregation will agree to the following:

 

Since the baptism of an infant assumes that the child will be nurtured and formed in the faith at home and at church, we must require the parents or guardians attend worship for at least four services and meet with the pastor for at least one hour before scheduling a baptism. Infant baptisms will only be conducted for children of active members, children of non-member congregants who attend regularly, or children sponsored by a member of this church.  Sponsors must me attending members of the church who will do all in their power to support the faithful upbringing of the child.  The pastor will take requested dates into consideration but has final authority in regards to scheduling.

 

Baptism is a public profession of faith and as such, will be conducted within a Sunday church service or special church event.

  

 

 

From Pastor Chris Pettit: "I will only perform wedding ceremonies for members and regular worshippers of Royal Oak Community UMC.  A regular worshipper is someone who attends the church frequently and participates in the ministries of the church. The reason is two-fold: first, as a bi-vocational pastor (a pastor who holds a job outside of the church), husband, father, and seminarian - I must guard my time.  The second reason: I feel strongly that I must know the people I am marrying before God and that only comes from establishing relationship before and after the wedding ceremony. The vow is far greater than the desire for a wonderful ceremony, so I require at least two (2) pre-marriage counseling sessions before the wedding."