11. Hug each person after they have been baptized!
12. Interview all candidates at the water’s edge to hear their story of how Jesus changed them.
13. Build a team of volunteers who assist with all baptisms. Have matching shirts to identify the Baptism Team and the pastors leading the service.
14. Have a photographer there to capture the moment, and include a picture of their baptism along with their certificate of baptism.
15. Print a “Why Be Baptized?” brochure. Use Scripture and lots of testimonies.
16. Put the brochure information, baptism pictures and even videos of baptisms on your website so people can forward it to others.
17. Have pre-printed invitations for the baptism candidates to use in inviting lost friends and relatives to a service and to witness their baptism.
18. Make the baptism pool and surrounding area beautiful, inviting and non-threatening. (Many baptisms are perched up so high inside the church that it feels distant and disconnected. Our baptism pool is outside in our patio area so people can gather up close around it for a more intimate feeling.)
19. After the baptism service, encourage people to go out afterward for coffee or dessert to celebrate and find out what the experience meant to the person baptized and to the family and friends who watched it.
20. Publicize the baptisms with posters around your church. Get “one-line” testimonies from people who have been baptized.
21. Have small groups encourage people in the group to sign up for the next baptism.
22. Identify and celebrate other special moments at the water’s edge (birthdays, anniversaries, spiritual birthdays, etc.).
23. Train your Baptism Team volunteers to greet everyone and make them comfortable.
24. Provide a sound system that will allow spectators to hear the testimonies.
25. Always have the baptismal pool warm and chlorinated before services.
26. Have a corporate prayer of celebration at the end of each service to thank God for those baptized.
