I have heard it said that the wrong question is, "How can I grow my church?" and the right question is, "What is stopping my church from growing?"

In the area of baptisms I think this translates well.  The question is not "How can I get more baptisms?" – meaning what kind of man-made focus or energy can I expend to solve the issue.  Rather, the question is, "What are the barriers to baptisms in my church?"

One of the most commonly identified barriers to baptism is: "I don't have clothes to be baptized in with me today."  I hope you're already seeing how a quick run to your local dollar store could solve this.  Every pastor in America should run to a local big-box store RIGHT NOW and get ready for this Sunday by purchasing the following:

• A 3-pack of XL gray/dark colored t-shirts
• 3 pairs of XL men's shorts/swim trunks with a drawstring
• 6 XL beach-size or large bath towels

Put your new purchases up in the baptistry area or a closet close by if you use a portable (like us) and then you can freely announce from the stage that you've annihilated yet another of the barriers to Baptism.  "If you're here today – we're ready – even if you don't have clothes to be baptized in, we'll loan you some!"

Another idea I've implemented in the past was having some t-shirts printed up that candidates for baptism wore as they were baptized and also got to take home as a reminder and outreach tool.  I think this is a much better idea than framing a baptismal certificate that gets lost and has little outreach potential (not many people display these prominently in their home or business).

Rather, print a logo up on some shirts, add your church info, and all of a sudden you've got living testimonies walking around your community!  Cool!

The logo you see above was created for this purpose and you can download it for FREE below in PSD Photoshop format to change the church name to your own.

With your newly created logo there are several options:

• Have it screenprinted – any local t-shirt company should be able to do the trick.  It looks really good on a light gray "heather" type shirt.  Don't cheap out for a white t-shirt, especially if you want your candidates to wear it during the baptism – 'nuff said.
• Have it embroidered on a custom polo, t-shirt, or duffel bag.  The company I love for embroidered products is Queensboro Shirt Company – they convert your logo/image for FREE, only have a 4 piece minimum, and have some of the lowest prices in the industry.  I use them almost every month for promotional items and my own personal church-logo polos and hoodies!

Enter the information below to immediately download the Baptism Shirt logo: