What’s up with Baptism and can you spell it Baptizm? Turns out (at least according to google) that ‘baptise’ is British and ‘baptize’ is American. This good Canadian crew will have to go with the ‘s’ but ‘zeds’ are more fun aren’t they? To appeal to all audiences we will use both 😉
We believe that when someone has encountered Jesus in a life-altering way and they are committed to trust and follow Him, baptism is an act of obedience. Baptizm follows a personal confession of faith. Walking in the Way of Love with Jesus means that we are committed to being in a community with other believers. No going it alone.
Why even belong to a church? It’s a good question. We think of our church as a community group and even more, like a family. So we get it, there are all kinds of different people and personalities who make up the group but we are committed to each other and a common purpose. Like a body made of many different parts each having a different role, we are a body of people, all unique and with different talents, abilities and roles. We also believe we belong to the wider spiritual community of the ‘Church’ all across the globe. In that sense, our church is a visible, local representation of Jesus and His Kingdom. We also recognize that we need a place in which to grow. Church and all of its activities offers authentic relationships and a supportive environment in which to mature in character and grow in faith.
We celebrate our membership and belonging in and to Christ’s church through both baptism and through the joining together to take Communion/The Lord’s Supper which we usually commemorate on the first Sunday of each month.
We view both baptism and membership as an integral part of our Christian experience. Those who have membership in a different church and have moved to the area and are now attending River of Life can simply contact their prior church and have their membership transferred.
You might have more questions or things you’d like to discuss. Contact us as we look forward to continuing this conversation.