Baptism is for those who come to saving faith in Jesus Christ as their Savior. Therefore, the real question is, can youth come to repentance and faith in Jesus Christ? If the answer is yes, then they may be baptized. If the answer is no, then they should wait until they do come to have saving faith in Christ.
Saving faith can be defined as a gift from God that allows a person to understand and to believe that God does in fact forgive, and that he gave his Son Jesus Christ in sacrifice for sins so that sinners can be forgiven and made right with God. The repentant sinner is one who accepts Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior, committing his or her life to him in allegiance and obedience, accepting his sacrifice for sin and his resurrection for eternal life.
When a person has been given the gift of faith in Jesus, that person will usually seek to be baptized. When a pastor is approached by a believer seeking baptism, regardless of the person's age, the pastor should review the meaning of baptism with the individual and help the believer prepare for the ceremony. If the person is a minor still living at home, the pastor should also seek the involvement and the counsel of the parent or guardians.
After the believer is baptized, the pastor should offer him or her continuing discipleship training so that the new Christian may grow in the grace and knowledge of their Lord and Savior.
A degree of maturity is needed, but we should keep in mind that Scripture does not set forth adult maturity as a criterion for baptism. Apparently, Daniel, David and Samuel were among those God called while they were still in their teen years. Polycarp, the disciple of John, was apparently baptized before he was a teen.
Some teenagers profess faith and then eventually fall away. Perhaps their original profession was not genuine. That happens with adults, too, no matter whether they are 20 years old or 60 years old. Age alone is not what guarantees sincerity.
Pastors should discuss the matter with each person to ensure that
the person understands that he or she is a sinner in need of salvation,
the person knows that Jesus Christ died for him or her,
the person has repented of his or her sin, and
the person accepts Jesus Christ as his or her own Savior.
Question: Where do we stand on the controversy over infant baptism? Do we have guidelines as to when a person is sufficiently mature to repent of sin and make a life-long commitment?
Answer: The controversy over the age of baptism need not become a conflict in our fellowship. It can be handled within the context of individual families. For example, some parents allow their children to date when 14 years old or earlier, while others don't permit it until 17 years old or later.
Baptism of a young person is a decision made with the involvement of the minister, parents and the young person. We would not baptize a young person if the parents are telling us that they believe their child is not ready. However, we would if the parent is approving of the baptism and the minister feels the child has come to faith in Christ and has professed that faith. It is appropriate to baptize any person who has faith in Christ as Lord and Savior.
We do not practice infant baptism. In our tradition, we have a different ceremony for young children — the blessing of the children. We lay hands on the child and ask for God's intervention, protection and blessing — and we leave out the water. In the rare instance where a member really wants an infant to be baptized, the minister can explain that infant baptism is not in our tradition, and he may let the member know that the baptism could be done at a church that practices it. The minister might wish to attend the baptism with the parents to support them, even though it is not in our tradition. To date, we have not heard of any such requests.
Copyright 1996, 1997 Worldwide Church of God
