An encouragement and plea to parents to let their children get baptized young if they get saved young

**This post is written by my wife, Jessica Shoemaker, in reflection upon the recent miracle of our 5 year old Eva professing faith in Christ**

Today (writing this on August 30, 2026) our daughter, Evangeline Joy (namesake meaning bringer of the good news of great joy – Luke 2) got baptized after giving her life to the Lord on August 16th. There’s so much I could say and so many thoughts of praise I want to give to God, words don’t suffice. But thanks be to God for our Lord Jesus Christ and His work in Eva’s little life.

Since we first learned of her life on November 18th, 2020, we have prayed that the Lord would save her at a young age. Eva is only 5 years old and to many, that may seem too young to fully understand, to fully know the weight of what Jesus did for us. We came to the conclusion that you do not have to understand something fully to understand something truly.

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Jesus says “let the little children come to me”

“but Jesus said, “Let the little children come to me and do not hinder them, for to such belongs the kingdom of heaven.””

Matthew 19:14 ESV

“But when Jesus saw it, he was indignant and said to them, “Let the children come to me; do not hinder them, for to such belongs the kingdom of God. Truly, I say to you, whoever does not receive the kingdom of God like a child shall not enter it.””

Mark 10:14-15 ESV

These were the words in my mind for the past year or so as we talked with Eva about salvation and she seemed very close to being ready to give her life to the lord. There were a few things she seemed hesitant about but she kept bringing really wonderful questions up and comments up that led me to feel she was close. She said about 6 months ago that she wanted to be saved but wasn’t sure yet.

Whenever I’d question her age I’d feel these words “let the little children come to me and do not hinder them” brought to my mind. Would telling her she’s not ready because she was too young to know for sure that she was saved be hindering her if she seemed to earnestly want to give her life to the Lord (when the time came) ? I think so.

Did I believe that a child could be saved?

I do. Because I believe the gospel is simple on purpose so that even a child can understand it. All you have to do is believe in your heart that Jesus is Lord, turn from your sin, and want to live for Jesus doing things His way your whole life long. So I believed she could be saved.

What about baptism?

I listened to a podcast by someoene we’d consider very reliable and trustworthy when I was wondering if whenever (hopefully/prayerfully) Eva would give her life to the Lord she should also get baptized. I had heard many people say they had their kids wait a couple years til they were older. (This is no shame to them. I felt this question and hesitancy too but it just wasn’t sitting right with me and I didn’t know why. I also believe that it is good for parents to take time to discern what is truly in the heart of a child when they begin to talk about these matters, and kids may not be ready even when they think they are.)

In the podcast this person said some very helpful things but also ultimately concluded that she had her kids wait a couple years after they got saved to get baptized. In this case, she truly believed they were saved but wanted them to wait to be sure they really were until she had them get baptized. Listening to this is when it clicked to me why I didn’t agree with it.

Baptism is the first step of obedience that Jesus asks believers to make. He asks that we do it as the very first thing, to publicly tell others we’re following Him. Don’t be ashamed of Him. Tell others. Confess Him as Lord.

I felt as if I were to tell Eva “okay I believe you’re saved but you have to wait to tell others” that would be misleading her to believe either that baptism means something it doesn’t, it isn’t that important, it’s not “really” the first act of obedience Jesus asks of us, or I don’t really believe her that she’s really truly saved. What kinds of confusion could stem from that?

Now, I understand the hesitancy in wanting to make sure my daughter really truly grasps the gospel and really truly believes and taking your time to have those conversations and searching for evidence that this is truly their desire is good. However, we need to keep in mind that we won’t ever FULLY understand the weight of all Christ has done for us. You can grow in that understanding as you draw closer to Him. A 5 year old can’t possibly understand the depth of God’s love for her as much as a 30 year old. Just as I probably cannot understand it as much as say a 90 year old who has been following Jesus since they were 5. Again, you don’t have to understand something fully to understand it truly.

I probably can’t understand how much Jesus means as much as a missionary in a region where people are being persecuted for their faith. Or someone who has gone through great suffering and learned the depth of God’s riches of love as they leaned on Him is much more understanding of that depth than someone who has had a very pleasant life and only just begun to follow Jesus. Just as I won’t understand it fully until heaven.

But does all this mean no 5 year old can ever truly be saved? At what age then if not? I don’t believe we can say that a 5 year old doesn’t earnestly love God and want to follow Him. They may not fully understand what all that means and what it will cost but I don’t fully understand either. I can understand better. Just because it’s not full doesn’t mean it isn’t true. She truly loves God and truly wants to commit to live for Him. And so she should. My job then is to disciple her after her salvation.

A big fear for getting kids baptized young is “what if they don’t remember it or feel it wasn’t genuine or feel they need to get baptized when they’re older because they understand the gospel better now?”

And to that I realized that 1. To be saved, all one has to do is believe and repent of their sins and choose to want to live for God. A kid can do that. They don’t have to know all the things yet. That will come. 2. Baptism is the first act of obedience a believer should take. 3. If they’re able to get saved, they should also be able to get baptized.

In the podcast the person talked about how what she sees in cases where a kid grows up to question their salvation when they were young is sometimes likely a lack of discipleship. A lack of being reminded of what God did for them, being reminded of when they got saved and their earnestness. being reminded of how life has seasons where you can feel close to God and distant from God for many reasons but it doesn’t change that He’s always there.

How in their life they will have times where their understanding of the weight of what God did for them will be more apparent to them. This doesn’t mean he hasn’t already saved them. This means they’re growing—sometimes significantly! Growth looks like deeper understanding. Sometimes they’ll be doing the wrong thing and feel distant from God and then when they turn back to him they’ll wonder if they ever really had him there. He never left even when they tried to walk away.

And when all is said and done, No, We can’t predict the future. What if they still after all our efforts one day wonder or don’t believe it was genuine way back then. What if? Let them recommit to the lord and get baptized to have that assurance.

Should we not allow them to get baptized now out of our fear of a “what if” in their future? If their faith seems genuine, don’t let your fear hinder them.

““Can anyone withhold water for baptizing these people, who have received the Holy Spirit just as we have?””

Acts 10:47 ESV

Baptism, to me, seems it is immediate in the Bible.

“On hearing this, they were baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus.”

Acts 19:5

“Now John wore a garment of camel’s hair and a leather belt around his waist, and his food was locusts and wild honey. Then Jerusalem and all Judea and all the region about the Jordan were going out to him, and they were baptized by him in the river Jordan, confessing their sins.”

Matthew 3:4-6 ESV

“One who heard us was a woman named Lydia, from the city of Thyatira, a seller of purple goods, who was a worshiper of God. The Lord opened her heart to pay attention to what was said by Paul. And after she was baptized, and her household as well, she urged us, saying, “If you have judged me to be faithful to the Lord, come to my house and stay.” And she prevailed upon us.”

Acts 16:14-15 ESV

“And with many other words he bore witness and continued to exhort them, saying, “Save yourselves from this crooked generation.” So those who received his word were baptized, and there were added that day about three thousand souls.”

Acts 2:40-41 ESV

They weren’t telling people to wait a couple months or years to test their faith.  Their attitude was if you would be saved, get baptized. They weren’t even waiting to go gather everyone up from the church or gather up their whole family to watch. They just did it upon getting saved. It seems to me that baptism is an urgent matter. It’s important to immediately get baptized because you’re now saved and so you need to obey.

Lastly, I prayed this prayer for Eva since I knew of her existence and I should not doubt the answer to my prayer but be thankful and praise God. All of these things led me to allow Eva to get baptized. Far be it from me to want to hinder my daughter from going to Jesus! She’s His little child first and foremost and my job as a fellow believer is to disciple her and lead her in the way to go. That started with baptism. Praise God! She did it! Praise God He did it!