Faith Journey

Jesus is the center of our faith community . Accepting Jesus for who He is and believing that to be true is the first step as your walk as a Christian. Here's the path:

1. Our Condition.

Recognize that you, like all of us, are sinners. And sin means missing the mark. Whether it is a little lie at work, an angry outburst at your spouse, or running a red light, it still is sin. The Bible states it simply,

All have sinned and fall short of the glory of God (Romans 3:23).

2. Our Problem.

Understand that sin separates us from God. Because He is God, His standard is perfection. Anything less than perfection cannot be part of Him. The Bible again describes it,

But your iniquities (sins) have separated you from your God... (Isaiah 59:2).

3. The Solution.

Jesus Christ, who was God in the form of a man, died on a cross about 2000 years ago to pay the penalty you owe because of your sin. Jesus wiped the slate clean. He offers His forgiveness for ALL of your sins: past, present and future. And Jesus restores our relationship with God.

For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life
in Christ Jesus our Lord (Romans 6:23).

For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not parish, but have everlasting life (John 3:16).

4. Your Action.

Believe Jesus Christ is who the Bible says He is. And accept the free gift (Eternal Life) Jesus is offering to you right now. A gift is not a gift until it is unwrapped and received. The Bible provides simple guidance to do this:

...if you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe
in your heart that God raised Him from the dead you will be saved;
for with the heart man believes, resulting in righteousness and with
the mouth he confesses resulting in salvation (Romans 10:9-10).

You can pray through these four items. Your prayer may go like this, and you can use this as a guide:

God, I confess I am a sinner. I have sinned against you
and that sin has separated me from you. I believe that
Jesus Christ is God and came to earth as a man to die
on a cross to pay the penalty/fine for my sins.
I believe Jesus rose from the dead to give me eternal life.
Lord, forgive me. Lord, save me. Amen

5. Visit or Call us.

If you just prayed that prayer and would like to talk or learn more,
please call 630-553-0200. We would love to help you in your spiritual journey.

Water Baptism

Frequently Asked Questions about Baptism

1. When should I be baptized?

Many people were baptized as babies or as children and wonder if they should be baptized again. Some people have recently decided to follow Jesus Christ with their life and wonder how much they need to know or how much they need to learn before they are baptized. What does the Bible say about that? Here are some examples of progression of events in the Bible. First in Acts 8:13, it says “Simon believed and was baptized.” Notice the order of events: first he believed, then he was baptized.

Secondly, in Acts 18:8 it says, “...many of the Corinthians who heard…believed and were baptized.” The pattern is obvious and found consistently throughout the New Testament. People would first put their faith in Christ, and then they would express it publicly with Baptism. In marriage, people make their commitment to one another and then mark the significance of those vows with the exchange of rings. How soon after your commitment to Christ should you be baptized? In the New Testament people did it immediately. In Acts 16:25-34, one man was baptized with his entire family in the middle of the night right after he came to faith.

You do not have to wait to get your spiritual act together before you take the public step of baptism. Waiting until we grow up in the faith is not a requirement of baptism. The simple requirement is to have the faith of a child-to put your trust in Jesus. If you have been serving Jesus for years, but you haven’t been baptized either because no one has taught you or you just put it off, when you understand that you need to be baptized, just follow! Whether you made your decision 5 days ago, 5 months ago, 5 years ago, or 50 years ago, just do it!

Some say that their parents had them baptized when they were a baby or very young. Isn’t that good enough?

Often parents want their children baptized primarily as a sign of their dedication and commitment to God, expressing their intent that one day they hope the child becomes a follower of Jesus. If your parents did that for you, their motivation was pure and you ought to be thankful for their concern. However, at the same time, if you look at the Bible, baptism always came after someone came to faith. If you decide to be baptized as an adult because you’ve come to your own sense of faith now, that does not repudiate the baptism you received as a child. You may look at it as a fulfillment of your parents hopes and prayers that you would follow Jesus one day with your life.

2. When are my children ready to be baptized?

At New Life Church we have child/parent dedications where parents pledge to do their best to point their child toward Jesus. We do not baptize small children at New Life Church. Some may ask why do so many Christian groups baptize babies and young children if it’s not in the Bible? A couple of hundred years after the original church began, the doctrine of original sin got distorted and teaching became skewed. Some taught that the moment a child was born, God held them accountable for their sinful nature and if they were to die, they would spend eternity away from God. The Bible never teaches this thinking.

Jesus said in Mark 10:14 “...the kingdom of God belongs to such as these (children).” In 2 Samuel 12:22, David is grieving over the death of his infant child. Notice what he says, “ But now that he is dead, why should I go on fasting? Can I bring him back again? I will go to him, but he will not return to me.” David wasn’t concerned about his baby going to hell. He was confident that he would go to him one day in heaven.

The distortion of the doctrine of original sin led to a distortion on the doctrine of baptism. People came up with a doctrine called baptismal regeneration. This taught that if a baby is baptized it saves them from spending eternity apart from Jesus if they die. The Bible is clear however, that a baby’s soul is not in danger in the first place.

So, when should a child be baptized? From scripture we understand that it should be after they have made the decision to follow Jesus as their forgiver. They need to be ready to express outwardly what has happened inwardly. Usually children should be between 9-12 years old where they have a more adult-level cognitive ability.

3. Can I follow Jesus without being baptized?

This is a puzzling question because anyone who truly wants to follow Jesus would be willing to do the first thing that Jesus asks them to do as a follower. Your Savior asks you to take this plunge. Baptism was never intended to provide salvation for an individual, but rather to publicly identify a person with Christ. You do not have to be baptized to have Christ in your heart any more than you must exchange rings to be pronounced man and wife. However, if the inner commitment to trust Christ alone for salvation has been made, then the outward symbol of baptism should be as valued and as visible as the gold ring on a newlywed’s finger. 1 John 5:3 says, “This is love for God: to obey His commands. And His commands are not burdensome.”

4. Why do we encourage people to be immersed?

There are many different methods of baptism practiced in different Christian circles. Some sprinkle, others pour, some completely immerse, and some have the tradition of dunking three times in the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. We only immerse once. In both Matthew 3:16 and Acts 8:38-39, it states “came out of the water.” This seems to be the biblical pattern. Ultimately, we know that it’s not the water or the amount of water that saves anybody; Jesus does the saving as you follow Him.

5. What are the logistics of being baptized?

People have lots of question about the actual baptism even though it is just practical and pragmatic. These questions will be answered at a brief information meeting preceding the service that you have chosen to be baptized. There is great power to be experienced when you decide to just follow Jesus!