Yes to greeters with towels, testimonies, choosing a hymn and having someone in the water to help baptise. in terms of questions, i like the look of gathering - a bit more flesh on the bones; but i would guess most people use patterns and prayers.

I'm with Andy. In our church, the greeters with towels are friends of the candidates that they choose; I let the candidates choose most of the music for the service, I like them to give a testimony and I like someone in the pool with me - preferably someone the candidate knows well. I use the questions in gathering for worship because they are fresh and new and seem to evoke something more 'baptisty' than other liturgies (but I'm no expert on these things)

I was at a baptism service last Sunday and the two people being dunked were asked different questions - one was pretty much what you've identified in your post and the other covered most of the same ground but was in a long form of one question.

Of course there was absolutely no reason not to do it that way but it felt weird. If anything it was probably a good thing though, as it communicated to people there that it wasn't the ritual itself that was important but the public confession of faith and the significance of the ritual.

I also sometimes wonder if the dunkee dared to say "Yes" instead of the standard "I do", would the dunker refuse to dunk them?! (Obviously not, but it feels like that sometimes)

Thank you all - this is really helpful.

Tim F - my minister told me the answer to each question was just 'yes' and I still got dunked, well and truly! Indeed, I seem to recall that for £5 he offered to leave me underwater - charming!! That, and that there was nothing magical or special about the water, it was 'the same water that we'll use later to make the tea' (I hope not).

But God's presence does change things and people!!

Ah yes, the famous water into tea miracle, how could I forget! ;0)

Looks like we're set for 26 October as the chosen venue wasn't available on 5th.

The big question you forgot was does she wear a white gown with lead weights? I always havea co-dunker usually soemone significant to eht person eg youth leader or housegroup leader. I use the Gathering for worship questions. They choose as many hymns as they liek then i cannot get the blame foir a week! Testomonies yes.

I use different question depending on which book I can find.

I don't go in the water but use two of the candidates friends, I ask the questions then pray for them while they remain in the water.

They choose all the songs.

We have a towel greeter as well.

Nearly always do interviews instead of testimonies.

I too, use the questions in Gathering. I'm minister in a Union Church, of Baptist and URC variety, and I've used the same questions for confirmation as well as for the baptism of believers. On one Sunday morning we had both a baptismal and confirmation service, and it was great to be able to use the same questions to ask both candidates. I think it's important to have a question about the church, as we are baptising into the church. That's the question that was missing when I was baptised (over 35 years ago), and seems to have been missing at your baptism as well.

I have normally baptised by myself, although the last baptisms I did, of two teenage girls, were with the help of the youth leader who had invested a lot of his time in their discipleship.

Yes to the other questions, about towel greeters, the candidates choosing hymns and also giving their testimonies - although, if they prefer, I'm happy to engage in a dialogue with them.

Two memories to share with you. Firstly, I was extremely nervous for my first baptism, and my church treasurer volunteered to let me practice on him. So on the night before the baptismal service I baptised him half a dozen times, to make sure that I got it right! I must be an Anabaptist!

Secondly, I baptised a very dear 70+ woman in my last pastorate, and only discovered afterwards how disabled she really was - she needed careworkers to help her get into the bath at home. If I had known that beforehand I think I might have had someone else with me in the baptistry.

Many thanks one and all. This is very helpful -and suggests a good coalescence of Baptist thinking. How scary is that!!!

The questions we use will derive from those in 'Gathering' but I still want to add the 'own volition' one because it feels right in this context. In terms of testimony, we may have it verbal but possibly written as this woman gets very nervous, and some of it is quite emotional/emotive (one of the key people in her story was the woman who died 2 weeks ago). She is going to ask her husband to be her greeter, and I am mulling over who is an appropriate co-dunker. I keep coming back to her step-son-in-law and widower of the woman mentioned, but have not finally decided yet. There will be NO white gowns with lead weights because I accidentally-on-purpose lost them when we cleared the building.... I have suggested lightweight trousers that aren't too long (as evidently people have been known to trip over their own trouser legs!). I have checked out health/mobility and water-phobia issues (could be interesting one mild water-phobic dunking another...) and told her to choose at least one hymn she'd like. I think that covers all bases!!

It promises to to be a great service - my only regret is that the only viable date at the chosen venue means I have to miss the post-service tea (as in food) to fulfil a very long-standing preaching engagement at a church in rural Leicestershire. And just in case you wonder, we won't use the same water for the tea, no matter what God may be up to!