Baptism and Confirmation: What’s the difference?

At The Billabong, adults, teenagers and even children who have made a decision to follow Jesus can choose to publicly affirm their faith in Jesus through baptism or a reaffirmation of their baptism.

Some parents choose to have their newborn child baptised, sometimes referred to as a “christening”. However some churches hold a ‘blessing’ or a ‘dedication’ for infants, leaving baptism for a later time in the child’s life. At the Billabong, some of us were baptised as a baby and some were ‘dedicated’, but all are invited to take the next step of baptism or reaffirmation of baptism when they become a follower of Jesus.

Baptism is for those who have never been baptised before. If you weren’t ‘christened’ or baptised as a baby, then baptism as a follower of Jesus is for you.

If, on the other, hand you were baptised/christened as a baby, then you can reaffirm your baptism as a follower of Jesus. This is most often called “confirmation”.

On the next page, we’ll be talking about “baptism”, who it's for, what it is and things to consider, but the same principles apply if you wish to reaffirm your baptism (confirmation).

Questions for Reflection:

1. Were you baptised or 'christened' as a baby? If so, what significance does that hold in your life?

2. What questions do you currently have about baptism or confirmation? Get a piece of paper or notepad, write them down and be ready to add any other questions that may arise as you read on.

Click here to proceed to "Who is Baptism for?"