Baptismal Renewal Service with Revisions from 2008 General Conference

THE BAPTISMAL COVENANT IV (Revised, 01/01/2009)

This form replaces Baptismal Covenant IV – UMH Page 50

Among the many actions taken by the 2008 General Conference were revisions to paragraphs 217 and 225 of the 2004 Book of Discipline that changed vows for all professing members in The United Methodist Church and clarified the process for receiving members from other denominations. The changes in the vows in the Discipline also affect the official ritual of the church in Baptismal Covenants I, II, and IV (UMH 33 ff., UMH 39 ff., and UMH 50 ff.).

Why These Changes?

The mission of The United Methodist Church, affirmed at the 2008 General Conference, is “to make disciples of Jesus Christ for the transformation of the world.” Board members and staff believed improvements could be made to the existing vows to strengthen the connection between professing membership and discipleship to Jesus Christ.

The prayer for Thanksgiving over the Water has been adopted from a form used in the 1992 United Methodist Book of Worship, page 101 with the changes for Baptismal Covenant IV.

CONGREGATIONAL REAFFIRMATION OF
THE BAPTISMAL COVENANT

This service is for use by a congregation when there are no candidates to be baptized, confirmed, or received into membership.

INTRODUCTION TO THE SERVICE

Brothers and sisters in Christ:

Through the Sacrament of Baptism
we are initiated into Christ's holy church.
We are incorporated into God's mighty acts of salvation
and given new birth through water and the Spirit.
All this is God's gift, offered to us without price.

Through the reaffirmation of our faith
we renew the covenant declared at our baptism,
acknowledge what God is doing for us,
and affirm our commitment to Christ's holy church.

RENUNCIATION OF SIN AND PROFESSION OF FAITH

On behalf of the whole church, I ask you:
Do you renounce the spiritual forces of wickedness,
reject the evil powers of this world,
and repent of your sin?

I do.

Do you accept the freedom and power God gives you
to resist evil, injustice, and oppression
in whatever forms they present themselves?

I do.

Do you confess Jesus Christ as your Savior,
put your whole trust in his grace,
and promise to serve him as your Lord,
in union with the church which Christ has opened
to people of all ages, nations, and races?

I do.

According to the grace given to you,
will you remain faithful members of Christ's holy church
and serve as Christ's representatives in the world?

I will.

Let us join together in professing the Christian faith
as contained in the Scriptures of the Old and New Testaments.

Do you believe in God the Father?

I believe in God, the Father Almighty,
creator of heaven and earth.

Do you believe in Jesus Christ?

I believe in Jesus Christ his only Son, our Lord,
who was conceived by the Holy Spirit,
born of the Virgin Mary,
suffered under Pontius Pilate,
was crucified, died, and was buried;
he descended to the dead.
On the third day he rose again;
he ascended into heaven,
is seated at the right hand of the Father,
and will come again to judge the living and the dead.

Do you believe in the Holy Spirit?

I believe in the Holy Spirit,
the holy catholic church,
the communion of saints,
the forgiveness of sins,
the resurrection of the body,
and the life everlasting.

THANKSGIVING OVER THE WATER

If water is to be used for reaffirmation, the water may be poured into the font at this time, and a prayer offered:

Eternal Father, your mighty acts of salvation
have been made known through water—
from the moving of your Spirit upon the waters of creation,
to the deliverance of your people
through the flood and through the Red Sea.
In the fullness of time you sent Jesus,
nurtured in the water of a womb,
baptized by John, and anointed by your Spirit.
He called his disciples
to share in the baptism of his death and resurrection
and to make disciples of all nations.

Pour out your Holy Spirit,
and by this gift of water call to our remembrance
the grace declared to us in our baptism.
For you have washed away our sins,
and you cloth us with righteousness throughout our lives,
that dying and rising with Christ
we may share in his final victory.

Amen.

REAFFIRMATION OF FAITH

Here water may be used symbolically in ways that cannot be interpreted as baptism, as the pastor says:

Remember your baptism and be thankful.

Amen.

The Holy Spirit work within you, that having been born through water and the Spirit, you may live as faithful disciples of Jesus Christ.

Amen.

THANKSGIVING

Let us rejoice in the faithfulness of our covenant God.

We give thanks for all that God has already given us.
As members of the body of Christ
and in this congregation of The United Methodist Church,
we will faithfully participate in the ministries of the church
by our prayers, our presence, our gifts, our service,
and our witness,
that in everything God may be glorified through Jesus Christ.

The pastor addresses those reaffirming the Baptismal Covenant:

The God of all grace,
who has called us to eternal glory in Christ,
establish and strengthen you
by the power of the Holy Spirit,
that you may live in grace and peace.

Signs of peace may be exchanged.