I am planning on having my children baptized in june, I am looking for non denomination baptism. I want to have it a park setting, is there a number or a place to find someone that will come to my location to baptize my children? Also is there any really good parks locations in south okc metro, we want to have a large picnic with family gathering afterwards and let the kids play. Any help would be great.

If your plan were for my children, I'd do a touch of sleuthing in my area for the main lines of a non-denominational congregation or three, and ask if a member of the pastoral staff would participate in the desire.

Of course, unless I'm overlooking something, and perhaps I am, but one could conduct their own baptism service for their children

like 'dunking a person in water' baptism? guess you're looking for a park with a pool, 'cause i'm pretty certain nobody will let you officially swim in a pond. if you're looking for a large picnic with swimmable water on the southside, then earlywine is probably your best bet.

not to turn this into a theological discussion... but if it's a 'non denominational' baptism, why don't you just do it yourself?

-M

oh no, my little niece was baptized at a park, and it was just a little water on her forhead, no not dunking.

I did not know you can do your own baptism for children? I thought you had to have a priest or something? We also wanted shown that we have godparents for our children. At my nieces there was a lady priest and she had documents for Godparents to sign. It was park setting. But i cant get her to do it because this was in california.

well... i guess that depends on what you believe is right.

personally, i wouldn't think a priest would be necessary... a professional minister is no more qualified than you are, especially if this is 'non-denominational'... think about it... if you have to have a professional priest with official church documents in order to make it an official baptism, then what you're doing is pretty much part of some denomination.

-M

thanks mmm

I dont know much about baptisms. I was bapized catholic. and my little niece at her baptism it was non denomination and my sister had a a person come out and do it with paper work that was to be signed by godparents. I thought thats is what i had to do.

Seems to carry with it no real significance if you're not even sure what its about. Why are you baptizing in the first place?

my wife wants our kids baptized, and yes it does carry significance.

What church do you guys go to?

I'd suggest that parents have a serious talk with their children when they are at an age to be able to understand religions and beliefs. Things shouldn't be forced onto the children. Most likely, they do what their parents say, of course, to their understanding, if they do not listen or do what the parents say or want, then they get a spanking or punishment.

Taking the children to church with the parents is okay, it sets the foundation for the learning process and when they have learned enough, they'll have enough knowledge whenever they decide to stick to such religion or switch to another one.

Baptizing children under this religion, but only to have them switching to another religion later on in life and be baptizied under that religion will only null the previous baptisim.

LUKE, I do not go to church at this time, our children attend school at Moore christian school at eastern avenue baptist church. My wife parents attend church at southern hills, is there anything else luke, letssee i went to school at moore christian graduated and then went to college at hillsdale free will baptist college then graduated, went to southgate baptist for awhile. I just want my kids to decide what denomination they want when they grow up, but i would like them to be baptized , I dont have to give you a reason why i want my kids baptized, all i asked on this board was for some advice on finding a minister or someone that will come to my location to baptize my children, and any really good parks locations in south okc metro! I didnt realize I was going to get such a negative reaction for wanting to baptize my children.

so out of all the adults who have switched religions , i guess there first baptism is nothing it is nulled, wow i guess no one should really get baptized till the last minute of life, you never know if they might change religions at the last minute!!!!

I wonder if felons in prison on death row are forced to be a Catholic?

Isn't that the choice of religion that all prisons put in place for the persons about to be killed by needles, chair, or gas? They're given the last rites the Catholic way.

Back to the topic, are bapistim really important? Many people think, "oh yeah, I'm baptized, so I'm saved"....which is seriously misleading!

Sorry to sound crass, but my view of baptism isn't like picking out clothes or which restaurant I feel like. It is a highly symbolic ceremony steeped in meaning. I believe it is a ceremony that should not be taken so lightly. The children should understand and agree to what the ceremony means. And it should be done with the support of the body of believers with whom you attend church. While I can't say for sure, it just sounds like you aren't taking it as seriously as it should.

/my opinion

I just asked for advice on who and where for baptizing my kids, they go to christian school they have bible class 5 times a week, they attend church with there grandparents or with there cousins, we are opened minded when it comes to other ways (catholic, baptist, non denomination,free will baptist, etc) My children know about jesus and god, they study the bible. I can give a rats a** if you think im not taking it baptism seriously, I guess to be serious about it, I should not have asked people on this board like LUKE and Thunder.. KevinPate was the only one who tried to answer my question with turning it around and questioning me on why..

Oh funny luke reading other things you post on other subjects on this board makes me laugh.. I can tell that you like to get under everyones skin, so i know now to just ignore your jabs lol..from private messages no one listens to luke here on the boards, man I got worked up for nothing, but i still added him to my ignore list, thanks for informing me we have a ignore list members

Oh funny luke reading other things you post on other subjects on this board makes me laugh.. I can tell you like to get under everyones skin, so i know know to just ignore your jabs lol..from private messages no one listens to luke here on the boards, man got worked up for nothing

While I may like to rile things up on the political board, I had no intention on riling you up. I really in all honesty had never heard anyone talk about a baptism like it was a sweet 16 party or something.

Maybe I'm the odd one out here. Wouldn't be the first time!
:) It's all good though.

Maybe you could check with someone at your kids' school for suggestions of someone who could perform the ceremony. They might have some suggestions to help you find a location, too.

thanks east okie, I asked brother harvey which runs the church there, he told me he no longer does baptism (which was odd to me) I will ask the teachers.

I wonder if felons in prison on death row are forced to be a Catholic?

Nah, it's probably all because the Catholic Church is the only one that really does any ministry to folks on death row. Hard to get any other sort of religious official to do something when the LifeChurches of the world can't spare ministers for those most in need of ministry.

As for the actual thread -- OP -- do whatever the heck you want. Have your kids baptized. If that Baptism isn't good enough for them, they can do it again later in whatever church they choose to go to. If they become Catholic or Episcopal or Lutheran, then they're going to probably have to get Baptized again. If they go to certain other Protestant churches, they might have to do other stuff to get Baptized again.

You can just control right now -- and if you want to Baptize the kids? Do whatever your faith allows you to do. Go to someone you think is a qualified spiritual adviser (probably not someone on OKCTalk) and ask them what the best course of action is for you. If it's classes and paperwork and you're down with that, do it. If you want to go down to the Illinois river and read some Biblical classes while dunking your kids (with their permission of course) in that smelly, murky water, go for it. I don't mean to trivialize what you're doing here, but really, this is maybe the worst place in the world to ask for this sort of advice because it's such a personal decision -- and it's your decision. I'm afraid OKCTalk will be unable to give you a perfect or even minimally adequate answer to your question.

Jesseda, baptism is a beautiful thing. I was raised in a presbyterian church but fell out of the habit of going. We recently went with some friends to a small presby church and fell in love with it. Very low key, not too formal, nice short sermons.... and our pastor did the baptism, although not at a park. It literally brought a tear to my eye.

Try and find you a church that you really like. Shop around, visit several. Denominations don't mean a thing to me. The people and the Pastor on the other hand do.

I applaud you on your decision tho whichever way you choose!

Jesseda, you're dead wrong with your attack on Luke. He's very much loved by many on this forum and locally in person.

I agree, Luke is a sweetheart but to get back to the baptism thing, I think there is just some confusion because most people who baptize are involved with a specific church and they have the pastor do it. Not saying that is the only way to do it, but I can't think of a time I've seen it done differently.

So many people get married outside of the church that there are plenty of people who can perform the ceremony. But marriage is a civil and a religious ceremony so that makes sense. Baptisms are purely religious so the state wouldn't be setting up a mechanism for out of church facilitators of baptism. So you're back to doing it outside the church by someone you trust (if your religious belief allows for that), or you'll need to get someone affiliated with a church to become involved.

Because a commitment to christian living is frequently an intrical part of the baptism ceremony, a lot of pastors might not be willing to baptize unless you are joining their church - I guess the idea would be that if you make that commitment, you ought to be in church. Dunno.

I commend you for wanting to take the effort to do this in a manner that means something to you. Like some of the others, I am a little confused by it but that doesn't mean I am being critical or second guessing you. It is just a different notion that needs to sink in.

I dinna write it, haven't verified it, ut FWIW, see also
Baptism - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Baptism)

Mid - funny you mention that, Lifechurch.tv and other churches I know DO have prison ministries. Before you criticize, maybe you should research or get involved. We also have inner city ministries here in OKC that cater to the homeless, poor and needy. We also work with the Food Banks, Homeless Shelters and Habitat for Humanity on a regular basis, especially on the weekends. I usually try to help out at least once a month. LC does plenty more than cater to the suburban crowd you often stereotype it with. Can we do more, yes, and we want to! Pastor Craig even had a meeting/special service last night where he talked about his vision for the year and wanted us to do even more with serving, etc. 330 people at the NW Expressway campus alone have been saved this year alone already! That NW Exp. campus alone is one of the top 3 fastest growing churches in the country if it was a stand alone church. Behind each of those names is a story and a family! Go ask Tulakes Elementary (poorest, most crime ridden elementary school in the state) what Lifechurch.tv has done for them. That location alone has gone from 0-3000 people in less than 2 years. That's not normal! If we were a church not doing anything in people's lives meeting there needs, we would be your average small church down the street that gets no press. We wouldn't give thousands of other churches free resources and tools each day!

I agree with Luke,and Jesseda this is not a criticism on your personal choice. Not that it matters to you, but I'll respect whatever you choose to do as a parent. As a nondenominational, I and most denominational churches I know still agree baptism is not to be taken lightly and is a symbolic act. I do however agree that as a non-denom, it doesn't have to be a pastor to do it, but that certainly doesn't hurt if one does.The baptized should understand what it means to be baptized, etc. Not sure if you've already done it or thought about it, but sounds like a child dedication ceremony might be more appropriate? Just a thought.

In my church it was a very important event. I had to join the church, which meant affirming my beliefs, and then had to be voted in by the elders.

Only then would the Pastor baptize my children. Cooincidentally, their baptismal records may be used as identification to receive a passport. It's a big deal, not only to the church, but apparently to the government as well.

Jesse, I'm glad you brought it up. The reason I like these boards are the different views that stretch my concepts, and make me think about things I take for granted.

The church that I attend believes that there is only one baptism. If you were baptised anywhere, anytime, then it counts, and there are no overs. (while I'm not sure they would honor this sort of ceremony, I would think they would) It seems as more of us fall away from organized religion, we find new ways to bring meaning into our lives. And it seems that what starts on our coasts eventually makes its way here.

For me, if heartfelt and given the significance it deserves, it sounds like it could be a beautiful ceremony. I have seen and heard of Christians not ordained who baptised an infant thought maybe not to make it and I'm sure it has happened in alot of other circumstances. I would go with its whats in your heart that counts. (but that's where other members are right - who am I to say?)

As to place, what comes to mind is Haefer (sp?) park in Edmond. There's water and nice picnic areas but maybe too crowded. I don't live South anymore but I keep remembering a private edition way south that had a nice pond. As to person, sounds like you already are connected to sources that might know someone. And if you don't find someone, then choose someone among your group and research how to do it. The problem with choosing non-church persons are the matter of official records being kept. But you can also draw up your own manner of record.

Just my worthless 2 cents. But thanks for bringing a different concept to light.