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Baptism & Pool Party?

By September 8, 2010June 20th, 201410 Comments

As a church plant, we run into unique situations all the time. Here is one I would like some input on.

We are making plans for our first baptism as a church plant. Since we have no permanent facilities, we will likely be using a rented location (park district poolhouse, hotel, etc.). The question I have is whether or not it is appropriate for a pool party to accompany the baptism. Is this appropriate? What steps need to be taken to make it appropriate? Should we maintain the sacredness of baptism by refraining from adding a pool party to the mix?

Help me think this through. Thanks!

10 Comments

  • Jim Peet says:

    Without being dogmatic, I suggest that it would be prudent to separate the baptism service from recreational swimming.

  • Jamie Hart says:

    I think 1 Cor. 8-10 would have you ask “Who will be there?” Is it possible that having a pool party would hinder someone listening to the gospel? Or would not having a pool party be offense to some? “I do it all for the sake of the gospel” (1 Cor. 9:23).

    The reverence of the event would not be my main concern, however. If the stats are true, half your guys will have viewed some type of porn in the last month…could a pool party be stumbling block to them? Even with certain precautions (everyone wears a shirt over the suits), this could still be a struggle for some. IMO, I would avoid the pool party for that reason.

  • Mark Mincy says:

    I like the idea of holding a baptism in a public place. In fact, we have a baptistry at our church but I would seriously consider having a baptismal service in a more public place. I’ve read some on this in recent days and the aspect of identifying with Christ publicly (i.e. outside the walls of the church) stands out to me more than ever. Stories told of Christian baptisms in public places that resulted in strangers ultimately coming to Christ. Wonderful! Still thinking these things through.

    With regard to your question, I concur with both Jim and Jaime. Baptism is a joyous yet solemn occasion in my view. We are identifying publicly with Christ. We are publicly “taking up our cross and following Him”. That isn’t the time for a pool party. I believe the occasion calls for joyful sobriety. It is a time of serious contemplation and yet joyful testimony about the life-changing power in Christ.

    God bless you as you seek His wisdom on these things.

  • John Colyer says:

    Wow, I would have a city wide celebration. Announce refreshments, free food, and a pool party, and invite everyone out. Baptism is a joyous celebration, public time to hear tstories of saving Grace. It is not a somber, funeral like service. Rejoice like the angels in heaven do when someone comes to Christ. The entire city could see this and hear the testionmonies of salvation. Then have some refreshments and open up the pool for swimming while you teach your people to mingle in the crowd and be “Jesus” with skin on. Never know, someone might get saved. Oh yea, bathe the event in prayer before hand, and watch what God is going to do. What an opportunity.

  • Greg Linscott says:

    Think about it this way- how difficult would a pool party immediately following make it for people to focus on the baptism and its significance? If you are following the letter of the law, no, there would be no law that forbade it. That being said, nothing would expressly prevent scheduling a “kiss cam” segment every Sunday randomly interspersed as part of your morning services. If you have a bunch of kids who can hardly wait to do a cannonball as soon as the pastor finishes his last prayer, their minds have not likely been intent on the significance of anything that took place the last several minutes preceding. Now they may not have been anyway due to circumstances outside of your control- but this one is in your control. I say nix the pool party idea- or at the very least, make it very distinct- say, service, meal, and activities that might include a pool time later in the day (provided the obligatory hour after meal before swimming… 🙂

  • Jim Kester says:

    For the past few years we have held an outdoor baptismal service at the Big Fish Lake in Ortonville, MI during one of the summer months. It is a First Baptist Church of Oxford event that includes a picnic, praise service, devotional and then a public baptizing of believers who have professed their faith in the risen Savior. Some attenders come early and some stay late and enjoy the water.

  • Mike Paris says:

    The holiness is not in the elements men. A pool party is appropriate family celebration at the pool in the same way that eating a meal after a communion ceremony would be okay. And just so we don’t misunderstand the issues of elements and their significance, David did eat the showbread! While I am not about to suggest that our baptismal tank be filled with warm water, suds and a rubber duck creating the first baptist hot-tub, I believe the tank is just another piece of furniture, intended for special uses, but not holy. To be consistent, I do not shrink from using the communion table for a drama prop or a display table for missionaries, etc. It is after all just a table, just crackers and grape juice, just a building, just an internal gathering of “much water”.
    SO… separate the baptismal service from the swimming with explanation, with a celebration song, an appropriate Scripture, a meal, or even prayer. Talk about the difference between just swimming and baptizing. Church planting gives both great challenges and great opportunities to teach.

  • Josh Byers says:

    We are going into our fifth year as a church plant and for baptisms we have used the baptismal at our mother church, used a private pool at a home, went to a local hotel with an indoor pool and have gone to lake in the area.

    Without a doubt the best services have always been the ones we do at the lake. There is something about being in God’s creation and in an environment that people are not normally in. It has fostered what I describe as a camp-like experience where people are away from the culture and everything around them is focused on the purpose of the baptism. We have seen numbers of people trust Christ either at the actual baptism or soon after as a result.

    Obviously when it gets cold you have to move indoors and we have used a hotel pool. I would say if you are going to use a hotel pool and if you have a choice of hotels really scout out for acoustics. Most hotel pools are a nightmare for sound.

    We have had a pool party after our services. We’ve promoted it as a family swim time and what normally happens is that all the dads and kids get in the pool. The ladies are not very likely to want to swim.

    Whatever you do afterwards, I would encourage you to do something. It is a great time to fellowship and talk however and there are lots of opportunities to talk with unbelievers who may have come to see someone baptized.

  • Thanks for all of the replies so far; keep sharing! I appreciate your experiences, advice, cautions, and humor. We are still working through the details including the date which will impact our location. We are planning on definitely having some type of celebration activity after the baptism. The person getting baptized has family that needs to get home before dark so we will be having the baptism right after our morning service and then a lunch. Other activities are still up for debate ;-). I’ll post our final plan when we have one.

  • Audrey Cahilly says:

    If you go with the swim, make sure the baptism is done in full clothing to highlight the difference between the two.

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