Matthew 28: 19-20 - Jesus commands his followers to “Go therefore, 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 that I have commanded you.  And remember, I am with you always to the end of the age.”

In this passage, Jesus links discipleship, baptism, teaching and obedience, all important elements in the Outtatown Discipleship School program.  It is no wonder then that students who are studying the Bible, growing in faith and being discipled, will want to consider baptism if they have not already done so.

The Outtatown Discipleship School program is a Christian ministry that is rooted in the Anabaptist faith tradition, moved and transformed by the life and teachings of Jesus Christ (CMU mission statement).  As such we would affirm “believer’s baptism” and the “priesthood of all believers”.  In other words, baptism is a symbol that expresses one’s commitment to follow Jesus Christ and to be a disciple; for life.  The person who has discipled this person, or the spiritual leader of the Christian community where this takes place, is a natural and appropriate person who can perform the baptism.

However, the symbol of baptism is not just a personal commitment to God, but a commitment viewed or witnessed by others.  Much like a wedding vow, the new believer is joining the body of Christ, the Christian community.  In the Anabaptist Church tradition, a person becomes part of the body of Christ by joining the local Church; where we hold one another accountable and grow together in faith and obedience to God.

A group of students and leaders on the Outtatown program form a very close community that models what the Church should be like, but it is a temporary community, not “the Church”.  If a student in the Outtatown program professes his/her faith in Jesus Christ and wants to be baptized, we want to make sure that this new believer (newly committed believer) has a place to “belong” in the body of Christ.  We want this person to continue to grow and to be a member of a group of believers, a Church, where discipleship, accountability and continued faithfulness to Jesus Christ will be taught and encouraged.

As a result we do encourage baptisms in the Outtatown program where it is sincere, genuine, and serves well the purpose of witness and long term growth and commitment.  It can be an amazing experience, a very powerful witness in the Outtatown community and is well linked to what is intended in scripture.  However, in doing so we would encourage the following:

1.  Students wishing baptism need to write a short testimony and include in that a commitment to tie into a local home church upon returning to their own community.  If there is a natural place of belonging from the past, that should be encouraged.  However, since students are often in transition during this time in their life, it may require “finding” a Church to belong to upon their return.

2.  Students who have a “home Church” should be encouraged to seek their blessing prior to baptism. The church needs to know that we are baptizing on their behalf and that students will return, ready to serve and join in the life of the Church.  When contacting a “home Church” it would be good to ask for any helpful information such as a Baptism Policy, Membership Policy or a Confession of Faith.  These can be used as instructional guides preparing the student for a baptism that reflects their own Church context.  (Please inform the Director of the Outtatown Discipleship School so that at CMU, the President and others are aware of these things when visiting various churches.)

3.  Students should invite the blessing of their parents.  In some cases this will simply not be possible because families may not be active followers of Christ.  But wherever possible, this should be done, providing strengthened support in some cases and an important witness in others.

5.  A Site Leader who mentors the student would be a natural candidate for preparing the student for baptism and may wish to perform this event (priesthood of all believers).  Other team leaders, country partners, or various instructors (for example: Blayne Greiner, Gareth Goosen, etc.) may be called upon to assist, and would be very helpful in providing baptismal instruction to students being baptized.  It is important that the student knows what this important symbol signifies, and is helps to assure our constituent churches that the baptism is being carried out with some depth of thought and spirit.  It must not be a last-minute/shallow decision.

6.  When students return home, it would still be very important for them to share their testimony in their new/home Church context, taking steps toward membership and accountability.  We would want the Site Leaders who mentors this student to encourage this process following the Outtatown program.

The following Bible passages may be of some help in this process:  Mt 3: 1-17, Mt 28:19-20, Mk 1: 1-28, Lk 3: 1-22, Jn 1: 1-34, Jn 3: 1-36, Acts 16: 25-40, and I Cor 1: 1-31.

Final Thoughts:
Please be aware that this policy may be in tension with some Church traditions.  In fact, it is in some tension with both of CMU’s supporting denominations, the Mennonite Brethren Church and Mennonite Church Canada.  In both cases, baptism is understood to be linked directly to membership in a local congregation, taking place in community.

We need to consider is the possibility that a student has been reluctant to be baptized in a local Church due to various issues that require counseling; requiring both grace and forgiveness.  These should be discussed if there is any willingness to do so.

There is a current tendency to have negative attitudes toward all institutional systems, especially the institutional Church.  Students will need to be taught how to love the Church of Jesus Christ despite the many very real issues that may stand in the way of arriving at this position.