The Bible doesn’t just emphasize when a Christian is baptized but also how it happens. And so, we believe the mode of baptism is deeply significant.

First, let’s be clear: baptism isn’t what saves us. Some traditions teach that it has a salvific effect, but we believe the Bible is clear that salvation comes through faith in Jesus alone. That said, just because baptism doesn’t save us doesn’t mean it’s insignificant or something we can reshape however we want.

Think about Communion. We don’t believe the bread and cup become the literal body and blood of Jesus, as some Christian traditions do, nor do we believe taking Communion earns us salvation. But we also wouldn’t replace the bread and wine with milk and cookies. Why? Because Jesus gave us specific practices as acts of obedience, and they matter. Baptism is no different—it’s not just a ritual, but a God-given ordinance full of meaning, meant to draw us relationally toward God.

Most importantly, our belief that the way baptism is practiced really matters stems from the Bible itself. Specifically, our conviction that baptism should be practiced by immersion—after one’s profession of faith—stems from three biblical truths:

The Greek word used for baptism in the New Testament (βαπτίζω - baptizo) literally means "to immerse or submerge.” In line with the historical tradition of biblical interpretation, which states that “the simplest interpretation of a biblical text should always be the preferred interpretation unless there is compelling evidence to believe otherwise,” we believe that when people were baptized in the early church, they were doing the very thing the word means: they were “immersed” under water.

The consistent practice of baptism throughout the New Testament is people being immersed in water. In other words, we see the way Jesus was baptized replicated by His first disciples as they welcomed people into the faith. For example, when Jesus Himself was baptized, the text says:

And when [Jesus] came up out of the water… (Mark 1:10).

It is difficult to come up out of water that one hasn’t first entered into. We see this again in the book of Acts when Philip baptizes the Ethiopian eunuch. The text says:

Then Philip opened his mouth, and beginning with this Scripture he told him the good news about Jesus. And as they were going along the road, they came to some water, and the eunuch said, ‘See, here is water! What prevents me from being baptized?’ And he commanded the chariot to stop, and they both went down into the water, Philip and the eunuch, and he baptized him. And when they came up out of the water… (Acts 8:35-39).

The practice of baptism by immersion is the best reflection of the gospel that baptism is meant to proclaim. Paul writes in Romans 6 in reference to baptism:

Do you not know that all of us who have been baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into His death? We were buried therefore with Him by baptism into death, in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, we too might walk in newness of life. For if we have been united with Him in a death like His, we shall certainly be united with Him in a resurrection like His. We know that our old self was crucified with Him in order that the body of sin might be brought to nothing, so that we would no longer be enslaved to sin. For one who has died has been set free from sin. Now if we have died with Christ, we believe that we will also live with Him. We know that Christ, being raised from the dead, will never die again; death no longer has dominion over Him. For the death He died, He died to sin, once for all, but the life He lives, He lives to God. So you also must consider yourselves dead to sin and alive to God in Christ Jesus. (Romans 6:3-11).

Ultimately, what we see here is that the act of baptism is more than just getting wet—it is a sign, a sign that speaks. It is a physical proclamation of a spiritual reality: Jesus Christ has died and resurrected in your place. The sign itself says, “This one is united to Christ. This one has been buried and raised with Christ. This one has passed from death to new life in Christ.”

Simply put, we believe that baptism by sprinkling fails to fully capture and proclaim the violence, magnitude, and sacrifice of Jesus in our place. His death was our death—His resurrection was our resurrection—and we believe the physical plunging and rising from water is the most faithful way to portray and publicly proclaim that beautiful reality.