Through baptism into Christ we enter into newness of life and are made one with the whole people of God. In addition, Disciples see the use of the specific form of baptism, immersion , as powerfully symbolic. At the conclusion of a Disciples baptism, the congregation most often is asked to pledge support of the newly-baptized person in her or his faith journey. Disciples typically are baptized when they can express as a personal choice their desire to become part of the Body of Christ. As the believer is immersed, he or she is baptized in the name of the Trinity.
Infant dedication is a common Disciples tradition.
A baby is brought into the environment of a loving church where parents and congregation pledge themselves to nurture the child in the love of Christ. Most Disciples today recognize other forms of baptism as valid. Generally each week there will be the singing of hymns, prayers, the reading of scripture, and a sermon. A marked characteristic of Disciples is an emphasis upon the importance of the Lord's Supper as a basic part of weekly worship. The Disciples movement, stemming from impatience with sectarian church divisions on the American frontier in the early 1800s, from its beginning sought to stress the fundamental place of the Lord's Supper in worship and to observe it each Lord's Day.