Worship Spaces: Down to the Water

Image Source: Renaissance Architects (www.renaissancearchitects.com/religious). In this photo, the octagon is partially covered by a portable stage.

Worship Spaces is a series of "favorite things" I've seen done in churches. These could be rituals, physical setups, or something else that worked really well. 

Today's post discusses using a centralized, low-level location for a baptismal pool, to allow members to gather around more easily.
One year during my undergrad years, some friends and I traveled to the Tulsa Workshop. That Sunday, I attended the Garnett Church of Christ.

Image Source: http://www.newson6.com/story/15601504/one-traditional-one-modern-two-tulsa-churches-come-together

The Garnett auditorium was originally built to sit 3,000 seats in a full-circle design. In the center of this circle sits a small octagonal stage. I'd never seen a stage like that before, but what I didn't realize was that it was more than a stage.

It was a baptismal pool.

During the worship service, the praise team began singing "Down to the River to Pray". Immediately, kids started running from their seats toward the stage. Parents and other adults followed. Some men came and pulled up the center of the stage, revealing water underneath. The kids sat on the steps, with the younger kids sitting on the higher steps so they could see better.

And then came the preacher and the new convert, dressed in gowns, stepping carefully through the crowd. They climbed up the steps, then down into the water. And then, inches away from children's faces, someone gave their life to Christ.

I had never seen anything like it. Before this, the only baptismal pools I'd seen were elevated, usually set into the wall at the back of a church auditorium. The baptism was performed for all to see, but at a distance, removed from the congregation.

I've seen, of course, outdoor baptisms involving swimming pools, rivers, and lakes. (And once, a crocodile-infested lake in Zambia, Africa...talk about commitment.) And I love seeing people gathering around waters, much as I imagine first-century Jews gathered around the Jordan river.

But this got people even closer. It got kids closer. It gave them a glimpse of a future that could be theirs.

Not only this, but the song "Down to the River to Pray" served as a congregational trigger. When the church sang this song, you knew what was going to happen. The kids knew, immediately, and they responded with the joy that we so often lose. They were excited to see a baptism!

As a minister, I've learned just how complicated it is to build and maintain a baptismal pool. I can imagine that it's even more complicated to maintain a pool that rests inside your stage. (How did they keep kids from pulling up the stage after worship? Did they lock the floor panels down?)

But for me, it would be totally worth it.

Since then, I've seen other baptismal pools with greater accessibility. Some churches have created a fountain area out in their lobby, which not only looks nice but also reminds people about part of our Christian mission while they visit with each other. I've seen baptismal pools on Christian university campuses, designed in spaces to intentionally draw us closer to God.

The pool-inside-a-stage is still my favorite. And I believe such a setup is possible with almost any stage, as long as the stage is elevated enough. It might require some creativity, and it would require significant investment...but it would be worth it.

Postscript:

The Garnett Church of Christ was never able to achieve the attendance hoped for with its large auditorium. It has changed over the years, and ultimately left its building and transformed into The Journey: A New Generation Church of Christ. The building was demolished in 2016 so that an elementary school could be built in its place.