A few years ago, Brittany and her family attended Immanuel’s ‘Round-the-Clock Prayer Experience. At one of the stations, there was a card to fill out, a simple prompt asking where you might want to serve. As she held it, she thought back to the day her children were baptized. She remembered the team of people who had everything handled, who answered every question, who took pictures and video so she could just watch. “All I had to do was simply be in the moment,” she says. “That meant so much to me.”
She filled out the card to join the baptism team.
What the Role Actually Looks Like
One Sunday each month, Brittany is there early, arriving 15 to 30 minutes before the service to go over the details with her team. They review who’s getting baptized that morning and what order they’ll go in. When those being baptized arrive, she walks them through everything: where to change, which direction they’ll enter the baptistery, how to stand, and when to come back down to get ready. Once the moment comes and they come up out of the water, she’s the one handing them their towel.
Her toddler helps with that part.
“I love watching my toddler help hand them their towels as they come out,” she says. She also mentions watching him dry the floor and gather towels with the kind of seriousness only a toddler can bring to a job. After the baptisms, she helps clean up the tables, puts the snacks away, and takes pictures of families celebrating together.
It is, on the surface, a behind-the-scenes role. But Brittany doesn’t see it that way.
“You get front row seats to them going from death to life. It never gets old.”
Something That Never Gets Old
Ask Brittany what the role means to her and she’ll tell you it never feels small, even though she knows it might look that way from the outside. “Getting to watch those who at one time felt so lost and had no hope, give their life to Jesus and make that public profession of faith is just so amazing,” she says.
She gets to hear their testimonies before the service. She watches their faces as they come up out of the water. She takes pictures of families hugging in the hallway afterward. Month after month, it’s the same, and somehow that’s exactly the point.
“Every single Sunday we get to do it, it is so rewarding.”
Serving on the team has also become something more personal for Brittany. It keeps her connected to her own story. “It is a reminder of my own testimony,” she says. “I am reminded of how lost I once was until I surrendered my life.” Sharing those moments with others has also made her more comfortable having spiritual conversations in everyday life, something she credits directly to the consistency of serving.
Jump In
If you’re sitting on the fence about serving, Brittany’s advice is short and direct: don’t think about it, just go.
“If it ends up being something you do not like, try another spot to serve in until you find what fits you,” she says. She also has one more word for parents, specifically: bring your kids. Let them hand out towels. Let them see what it looks like to celebrate someone’s next steps. The blessing, she’ll tell you, goes both ways.
“I can guarantee you will get such a blessing out of it.”
God wants you to use the gifts that He’s given you to serve others! Learn More About Serve Teams →