How to Know When a Child is Ready to Be Baptized

It is an exciting time when a child starts asking about baptism.  It can also be a challenging time.

How do you know if the child is ready?

How can you make sure they understand the decision they are making?

Have they truly invited Jesus into their life?

Is there a minimum age for a child that wants to be baptized?

Let's talk about these questions.

A child needs to have made a clear salvation decision before they are baptized.

This is where it should start.  Can the child clearly tell you about asking Jesus into their life? 

One big thing that helps with this is having two separate classes. One class should be about what it means to follow Jesus/salvation.  The second class needs to cover why we should be baptized. 

You should involve parents.   

No one has more influence in a child's life than his or her parents.  I believe that parents should lead the way, while you provide resources, tools, and support.  You should never baptize children under 18 without the consent of their parents or guardians.

FYI - I have seen some parents who push their child to get baptized.  Their child is 5-years-old and the parents are asking for them to be baptized. That is not what God has called us to do. 

The flip side is parents who hold their children back from being baptized. Their child is 10-years-old and they are asking their child to wait until they are 13 or older. 

God has not called parents to push their children. He has also not called parents to hold their children back.  I believe God has called parents to walk along side their children. Have Gospel conversations with their child.  God does the work.  He draws kids to Himself.  As parents walk alongside their children, God will draw them to himself.

There is not a set age of accountability.

It is different for each child.  But I have found that around the age of 7 1/2-to-8 years old children start grasping the truths of salvation and baptism.

Want to versus need to.

There is a difference. "Want to" says "I want to get baptized because my friends are and it looks fun." "Need to" says this is something I know I need to do. See the difference?

If a child continually brings up their desire to be baptized, it is a good sign that God is working in their life. 

Help kids understand that baptism in the Bible was always done when the person was old enough to understand and make the decision for themselves.  This is why we do not baptized babies.

Another thing you can do is have children write down why they are wanting to be baptized.

Read this and make sure it lines up with what the Bible says about baptism.

I have two great resources for this.  One is called "Starting Point" and covers what it means to become a follower of Jesus.  You can get more information at this link.

The second class is called "Baptism for Kids" and covers what it means to be baptized. You can get more information at this link. Hundreds of churches across the country are using these resources.

As a children's pastor, I was able to see over 430 kids and dozens of parents go through these classes and get baptized in one year.  

Seeing kids and parents come to Christ and then follow Him is the most important thing that we do.  As we are faithful to share the Gospel we will see kid's and families' lives changed.