Administration around baptisms

Going Deeper

• 'Baptism' vs 'Christening' - read the article mentioned in the video, here on the Church Support Hub
• The Parishes Resources website has a section on baptisms administration which may be helpful for both you and your clergy - it includes a list of frequently asked questions about baptisms.
• The Church Support Hub offers an inspiring article about attracting and welcoming families who are considering having a christening. 

Resources

• On the Church House Publishing website, there are lots of high quality ready-printed resources to help publicise christenings.
• The CPO website offers a similar range of resources which can be customised with contact details and other information, before you buy.
• Signpost families enquiring about a christening to the christening pages on the Church of England website where there's a wealth of information about what baptism means, godparents and more about the service itself.
• There are two resources available from Church House Publishing which may be of interest to your clergy and PCC if they are keen to grow ministry around life events:
  • A book Life Events: Mission and ministry at baptisms, weddings and funerals, by Sandra Millar, offers research findings, biblical reflection, practical ideas and questions for reflection - all to help enrich the quality and depth of pastoral support offered at these highly significant moments.
  • This Life Events PCC Discussion booklet by Sandra Millar is a short booklet which helps churches respond effectively to those they meet through life's big moments. With questions, reflections, practical ideas, research insights and helpful resources, it is 'designed to help PCCs discuss what a parish church might do next'.

The Life Events Diary

• The Church Organiser is online software to help with church administration. The Church Organiser incorporates the Life Events Diary, which helps manage Weddings, Baptisms, Funerals and Banns. It is funded by the Church of England, making it completely free for Church of England churches to use and can be integrated with their church site on achurchnearyou.com. The integration means that the contact form people see for your church on achurchnearyou.com will change if they select a life event as the topic of their message. They will automatically see fields for all the information you need to know to respond well to their enquiry, and this will automatically appear in your Church Organiser account.