Baptism at apch
The American Protestant Church of The Hague (APCH), along with whole Christian church, recognizes baptism as the sacrament or ordinance by which God’s people are formally received into the Christian church. Our Lord Jesus Christ gave this assurance and command to His church before His ascension into heaven: “...Go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you...."(Matthew 28L18-20).
As an international church, APCH rejoices in God’s gift to us of Christians from around the world and from diverse denominations and communions. As a result, this congregation has said that we will not let baptism divide us. Quite the contrary, Christian baptism in the name of the Father, Son and Holy Spirit unites us as people young and old, under the blessing and authority of Triune God (Ephesians 4:4-6). Therefore, we welcome and administer both “infant baptism” and “believer baptism” in the life of the church, and do so in the manner chosen by the family (infant baptism) or the youth or adult (believer baptism). We encourage our members to prayerfully and carefully discern their own understandings of the sacrament. This is often done in the context of the denominations or communions through which God has formed them. But then we ask them to hold their positions humbly, respecting other understandings held by brothers and sisters of the catholic (universal) church worshiping here.
At APCH, the baptized infant or believer is never a believer all alone; the whole church rejoices and supports them in this. Therefore, at baptisms, the whole congregation promises to receive the infants and believers with joy and support them in our mutual life in Christ. In this, we rejoice to be God’s people together, worshiping God the Father, growing in the grace of the Lord Christ Jesus, and serving in the power of the Spirit. Whether you've been following Jesus for a long time and never got baptized or are a new Christian, we would be honored to baptize you!
For a fuller explanation of baptism and our practice at APCH [see here]
© 2019 APCH – The American Protestant Church of The Hague. All rights reserved
As an international church, APCH rejoices in God’s gift to us of Christians from around the world and from diverse denominations and communions. As a result, this congregation has said that we will not let baptism divide us. Quite the contrary, Christian baptism in the name of the Father, Son and Holy Spirit unites us as people young and old, under the blessing and authority of Triune God (Ephesians 4:4-6). Therefore, we welcome and administer both “infant baptism” and “believer baptism” in the life of the church, and do so in the manner chosen by the family (infant baptism) or the youth or adult (believer baptism). We encourage our members to prayerfully and carefully discern their own understandings of the sacrament. This is often done in the context of the denominations or communions through which God has formed them. But then we ask them to hold their positions humbly, respecting other understandings held by brothers and sisters of the catholic (universal) church worshiping here.
At APCH, the baptized infant or believer is never a believer all alone; the whole church rejoices and supports them in this. Therefore, at baptisms, the whole congregation promises to receive the infants and believers with joy and support them in our mutual life in Christ. In this, we rejoice to be God’s people together, worshiping God the Father, growing in the grace of the Lord Christ Jesus, and serving in the power of the Spirit. Whether you've been following Jesus for a long time and never got baptized or are a new Christian, we would be honored to baptize you!
For a fuller explanation of baptism and our practice at APCH [see here]
© 2019 APCH – The American Protestant Church of The Hague. All rights reserved
