Questions about Baptism
Who should be baptized?
All those who are willing to repent of their sins and confess their belief in Christ should be baptized (Matthew 28:19; Acts 2:38-39).
How should we be baptized?
The word for "baptize" in the New Testament is the Greek word baptizo, which means "to immerse in water." The New Testament says that baptism represents the death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus Christ (Romans 6:1-5), and it serves as a symbol of the burial of the old self that walked in sin and the resurrection of the new self that walks with Christ. Therefore, at Alameda, we baptize people by immersing them in water.
When should we be baptized?
In the New Testament church a person's baptism was always the first expression of faith, not separate from it. So baptism was not just a symbol or a memorial of faith, but was intended to offer a means of union with Christ and a benchmark of transformation, marking the place and time a person made a commitment to Christ (Romans 6:1-8). This is why we ask a person to be baptized the moment he or she is ready to become a Christian.
Why should we be baptized?
A person should be baptized to follow the example of Christ (Matthew 3:13-17), to obey Christ's command (Matthew 28:18), to accept forgiveness of sins (Acts 2:38; 22:16), to receive the Holy Spirit (Acts 2:38), to express trust in Christ (Acts 8:12-13), and to testify to God's work in his or her life (Romans 6:1-8; Galatians 3:27).
Must a person be baptized during a worship service?
No. Baptisms at other times are acceptable (Acts 8:38; 16:33).
Questions about Music
Why don't you use instruments in your worship service?
The word “a cappella” means “in the style of the church” because the New Testament church worshipped God without the use of musical instruments. We at Alameda are happy to be part of a group that preserves this wonderful style of worship.
Questions about Communion, or The Lord's Supper
Why do you have weekly communion?
We have weekly communion because that was the practice of the church when it began, and so we believe that it should be the practice of the church today. We point to passages of Scripture like Acts 20:7 and 1 Corinthians 11:17-22 which clearly demonstrate that the principal purpose of the church’s meetings was the sharing of the Lord’s Supper.
In his well-researched book Come to the Table, Dr. John Mark Hicks sums up the church of Christ’s belief in weekly communion this way: “The coordination of the first day of the week, breaking bread and resurrection gives theological substance to the weekly celebration of the Lord’s Supper as it bears witness to the living presence of Christ within the community. Given that early Christians met every first day of the week (1 Corinthians 16:1), and that they gathered to eat the Lord’s supper (1 Corinthians 11:20; Acts 20:7), there are good historical reasons for believing that Christians met every first day of the week in order to eat the Lord’s supper. More importantly, there are theological reasons for affirming this due to the intersection of the first day of the week, resurrection and breaking bread. The first day of the week is the day of remembrance, the day of our deliverance, because it is the day on which God raised Jesus from the dead and created his new community, the church. The same reason the church gathers every first day of the week is the same reason it should eat the Lord’s supper every first day of the week… If the Lord’s supper is a celebration of the resurrection, why omit the very ordinance God has given us to celebrate the resurrection? If gathering every first day of the week to celebrate our redemption through the gospel is appropriate, why is not the use of God’s gift of the Lord’s Supper equally appropriate? The church as a whole should return to the early Christian practice of breaking bread every Sunday.”
