r/Protestantism • u/Visible_Technology_1 • 15d ago

QUESTION: Communion BEFORE baptism?

At a church I had been going to, they believed in believer's baptism for adults generally. So none of the children there were baptized. However, all the children were invited to take communion.

Is this a common practice??

(Cross posted on other groups to try and get more responses)

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u/itbwtw 15d ago

No.

Well... I'd be very surprised if this was common.

The general idea is that baptism is the initiation ceremony for Christianity. This is pretty universal.

Communion is intended for Christians, not for everyone.

I'd be curious as to how that particular group justified having unbaptised people taking communion.

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u/Visible_Technology_1 15d ago

The pastor seemed shocked when another pastor said he would never do it that way. He said he might need to reevaluate how he does it. It doesn't seem that common, at least from what I can tell in the responses I have received. 

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u/Subdued-Cat 15d ago

The church I grew up in did extend communion to the kids but only if they had been baptized. There isn't a specific verse in the bible that says you have to be baptized before you can participate in communion. I think its mostly a tradition that has evolved from the idea that communion is supposed to be a way to remember the sacrifice that Jesus made for us. It wouldn't make much sense for someone to participate in that if they had not accepted the sacrifice already.

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u/creidmheach 11d ago

In terms of classical Protestantism (Reformed, Lutheran, Anglican, Methodist), this would be pretty much the reverse of how we'd do things. Infants would be baptized, and children (who would have already been baptized) would receive communion only after having received some sort of catechizing on its significance and importance with basic Christian teachings. But unbaptized people, whether children or adults, would generally not be partaking in the Lord's supper prior to their being baptized. This still holds true for today, though no one is generally quizzing people as to whether they've been baptized before receiving it, and not everyone would believe in such a restriction (albeit this would still be more a minority position I'd imagine).

Adult-only baptism is a hallmark of the Anabaptists and later on the Baptists, along with reconstructionist movements from the 1800s.