Kate writes: I don’t visit people at home I get them to come and see me. I invite them to another service usually family and they can talk to me over a tea/coffee after the service. I do one short session with them then and it is practical i use the service to explain what it is about. Then I explain through the actual service what each bit means and I don’t preach (you can tell by the glazed eyes it’s pointless). but they leave with a simple explanation of what they have just done. I make them welcome, keep it light and short. I have had some success with them coming back to the family service. Which is the least liturgical thing we do in a month.

Moira writes: I use First Steps as well and have done in a working class area – worked well. I also do two visits per family (or use a baptism visiting team for the first one, then they’d show the DVD). First one is just the DVD, talking through the service, checking details – this can be done as a joint prep with other families. I use the second one (in their home or mine) to ask about whether they need prayer for anything, ask what they thought about the DVD & about their own experiences of God and church. Trying to get in a sense of already belonging and being important.to us, IYSWIM?

Kate writes: My baptism visits are much more pastoral and much less catechesis these days. We talk about the child and how parenthood is going. We chat through the service and I translate the Lord-of-the-Rings-esque imagery. I say that I know it is hard to bring children to church but these promises mean that they are bringing their child up to know they are part of God’s family, so even if they could make Christmas, Easter and Harvest that would be a good start. I give a small children’s bible to each child I baptize and ask parents or older siblings to read it to them (and I have repeatedly been told that the children often pick them to be read themselves!)

Ally writes: I wrote my booklet ‘Making the most of your child’s baptism‘ as a tool for use with families; it’s a useful way of talking through the service and making it feel relevant to their lives.  We give all our baptism families a copy to keep.

Gemma writes: I have watched my colleague doing group baptism prep rather than one to one visits and i think that’s the way I would prefer to go. It’s an afternoon or two with food and drink in her house, kids are welcome and included in the discussions if they are old enough and she keeps it very simple.

Kate writes: I don’t visit people at home I get them to come and see me. I invite them to another service usually family and they can talk to me over a tea/coffee after the service. I do one short session with them then and it is practical i use the service to explain what it is about. Then I explain through the actual service what each bit means and I don’t preach (you can tell by the glazed eyes it’s pointless). but they leave with a simple explanation of what they have just done. I make them welcome, keep it light and short. I have had some success with them coming back to the family service. Which is the least liturgical thing we do in a month.

Moira writes: I use First Steps as well and have done in a working class area – worked well. I also do two visits per family (or use a baptism visiting team for the first one, then they’d show the DVD). First one is just the DVD, talking through the service, checking details – this can be done as a joint prep with other families. I use the second one (in their home or mine) to ask about whether they need prayer for anything, ask what they thought about the DVD & about their own experiences of God and church. Trying to get in a sense of already belonging and being important.to us, IYSWIM?

Kate writes: My baptism visits are much more pastoral and much less catechesis these days. We talk about the child and how parenthood is going. We chat through the service and I translate the Lord-of-the-Rings-esque imagery. I say that I know it is hard to bring children to church but these promises mean that they are bringing their child up to know they are part of God’s family, so even if they could make Christmas, Easter and Harvest that would be a good start. I give a small children’s bible to each child I baptize and ask parents or older siblings to read it to them (and I have repeatedly been told that the children often pick them to be read themselves!)

Ally writes: I wrote my booklet ‘Making the most of your child’s baptism‘ as a tool for use with families; it’s a useful way of talking through the service and making it feel relevant to their lives.  We give all our baptism families a copy to keep.

Gemma writes: I have watched my colleague doing group baptism prep rather than one to one visits and i think that’s the way I would prefer to go. It’s an afternoon or two with food and drink in her house, kids are welcome and included in the discussions if they are old enough and she keeps it very simple.