• Welcome to Baptist Board, a friendly forum to discuss the Baptist Faith in a friendly surrounding.

    Your voice is missing! You will need to register to get access to all the features that our community has to offer.

    We hope to see you as a part of our community soon and God Bless!

Baptism - Sprinkled or Dunked?

rockytopva

Well-Known Member
Site Supporter
I was baptized three times in my teenage years...

1. GARBC Baptist - In a Baptistry
2. Freewill Baptist - In a River
3. Pentecostal Holiness - In a River

As a teenager my main thought was that it was fun. As that was many decades ago I would probably prefer to be baptized by sprinkling had I wanted to do it in my older years.
 

Walter

Well-Known Member
Site Supporter
My church would never 'sprinkle'. The candidate can be baptized by immersion or pouring. I believe only the Presbyterians and Reformed 'sprinkle'. I remember watching Robert Schuller in his Garden Grove 'Crystal Cathedral' (now a Catholic Church) 'sprinkle' baptismal candidates using a chalice full of water.

As I have mentioned before, in the Baptist church I grew up in the pastors son was baptized multiple times between the age of seven and eighteen. Each time he was baptized the pastor would explain that 'yes, he professed his faith in Christ in the past, but he just didn't really mean it.

One Faith, one Lord, ONE baptism . . . . .
 

Deacon

Well-Known Member
Site Supporter
The most memorable baptism I attended happened many years ago during a church picnic at a local state park.

The summer was hot, with very little rain; a drought had significantly lowered the water level of the lake.
After the sermon the pastor waded into the water,
...and walked way out through the mud, to water that was not quite waist deep.
It was baptism by immersion, with a bit of sprinkling/splashing to cover the dry spots.
All those baptized were covered with mud, looking like they had been buried and rose again.

Rob
 

Dr. Bob

Administrator
Administrator
Baptized (full immersion in church baptistry of the Fourth Baptist Church of Minneapolis) on Easter Sunday (April 5, 1958) a year after I was born again.

My wife Teresa was baptized by immersion THE SAME DAY 860 miles away in the baptistry of Calvary Baptist Church of Casper, Wyoming.

Always smile when I see artists' portrayal of John baptizing Jesus standing waist-deep in the Jordan River and John dribbling a few drops on Jesus' head. Defies imagination how a dribble on the brow replaced going down into the water, buried, rose again and up out of the water. :)
 

atpollard

Well-Known Member
Funny story (God has a sense of humor):

1962
Born to Atheist Father, Methodist (Lily & Holly) Paternal Grandparents & Roman Catholic (Italian-American) Maternal Grandparents. Maternal Grandparents DEMANDED that their Grandchild be baptized (to avoid hell) and Paternal Grandparents ADAMANT that their Grandchild be raised Protestant rather than Catholic [this was the 1960's]. My Atheist Father just wanted peace and quiet in his life, so I was baptized in a Lutheran Church that I attended TWICE in my life (including the day I was baptized). So "sprinkled" and raised "atheist".

1995
I was saved by God via a supernatural encounter in 1980 outside of any organized Church. So it came to pass that I was attending a small "Church of God of Anderson Indiana" when someone from the youth went up to be baptized. I casually mentioned to a deacon that I had never actually been baptized since I was not saved in a church and that was something like 15 years ago, so it seemed sort of a 'moot' point. The pastor freaked out when he heard and sat me down to have a talk. I had no particular objection to baptism. I just figured that 15 years ago I was part of a gang and set my rivals on fire, and today I attended church and Sunday school and had a job as an Architect ... so I figured there was plenty of evidence of a transformed life. To make them happy, and because the Bible DID say to do it, I went and got immersed. I told them that I sure pitied the fish downstream that had to swim through MY SINS that were washed away. ;)

So the way I see it, God used clueless people to mark me as an infant as someone that He would be coming back to claim later. Then Jesus came "Road to Damascus" style and snatched me out of the world. Eventually, the Holy Spirit circled back to dot all the (i)'s and cross all the (t)'s.
 
Last edited:
Top