Baptism: an Interview with Doris Herrero

As we prepare to celebrate baptism as a church family in the coming months, I had the opportunity to chat with Doris Herrero, the Children’s Ministry Director at Summit Orlando. In addition to teaching our baptism class for kids, she and her husband, Javier, have walked through baptism as parents with each of their three kids. The wisdom that has come out of their experiences is so rich, and I’m so excited to share Doris’ insights about guiding kids through faith decisions with you! 

Let’s start with you, Doris! What was your experience with baptism like growing up? 

When I was young, my family didn’t attend church regularly, but we participated in the Catholic sacraments. So I was baptized as a baby and did my first communion and confirmation as a child. In high school, I began asking a lot of questions about faith. Javier, my husband, and I were dating at the time, and we started attending a non-denominational church together. Through our experiences in the youth ministry, Javier and I both made the decision to accept Jesus as our Lord and Savior. And it changed the trajectory of our relationship, our lives, and our family. 

Like me, Javier was baptized as a baby. We viewed that as a commitment our parents had made, whereas we saw believer’s baptism as a public declaration of our decision to follow Jesus for ourselves. So shortly after trusting Jesus, we made the decision to be baptized. We did it together, one after the other, in a baptismal pool at our church. It was an awesome experience, and such a huge celebration. 

Ten years and three kids later, we found ourselves in a different season of life. We hadn’t had faith role models as we were growing up, and now that we were raising kids of our own, we were looking for support in our parenting journey. That led us to Summit. Right away it was clear that Summit really cared about children’s ministry. The communities we have found through Summit and through our kids’ school have had a huge impact on our family.

How have you approached baptism with your kids?

All three of our kids made the decision to be baptized when they were in third grade, but it was a very different process for us with each of them. 

I’m being honest, with our first child, it felt like we were checking spiritual boxes. In kindergarten and first grade, Gabby began asking a lot of questions about salvation, and she made the decision to trust Jesus as her Savior. A couple years later, we heard that Summit had a baptism class, so we took her. She said she wanted to get baptized, and so we did it. It was similar for Ailani, our second child. She was following what her sister had done, though this time we waited for her to be the one to initiate the conversation. Both of our girls were just starting to understand what baptism meant when they were baptized. It wasn’t a wrong decision by any means. Their baptisms were beautiful and so special, but they happened very early in their spiritual growth. The blessing out of that is that we’ve been able to see how God has built on that foundation of faith over time.

How did your approach to baptism change with Jonathan? 

By the time Jonathan, our youngest, started asking questions, our approach to baptism had shifted. I think it was in part due to the fact that we’d gone through the baptism class already twice before, and also because Javier and I had grown as parents. I think there’s a temptation to treat baptism as a milestone, like potty training, or learning to read. But it’s not a parenting milestone. It’s a decision for our children to make at the time that is right for them. We’d learned that our kids are the Lord’s and wanted to entrust their faith journeys to him. 

When Jonathan expressed an interest in baptism, we went to the baptism class, and then we talked about it together. We tried to ask him meaningful questions and answer the questions he had. After that conversation, he told us he didn’t feel ready. We thought that was awesome! There’s no shame in waiting, because it’s not a box to check. We didn’t want to rush the decision, and so we didn’t even attend the second week of the class. Six months later he started asking us more questions about following Jesus. There was this very intimate and divine moment when Javier and I were both at the dining room table with him, and we could feel God’s presence when he really got it. He understood that he was choosing to follow Jesus. It was a significant and emotional moment for him, one that I know he’ll always remember. 

 I felt incredible peace about moving forward with him after that experience. The next time the baptism class came around he said he was ready, and we knew he was.

What moments stand out most to you from the days of your kids' baptisms?

The first thing that comes to mind is what a blessing it was to witness my husband be part of baptizing our kids. We both came from very broken places, so to see him baptize our kids alongside our pastors was so special and such a beautiful reminder of God’s redeeming grace.  For me, it symbolized the new legacy was being written for our children and our future generations. 

The other moment that stands out to me is from Jonathan’s baptism. His small group leaders, Mike and Austin showed up to cheer for him. They had both played a very special role in Jonathan’s spiritual growth. Their conversations on Sunday mornings were a big part of his desire to learn more. It meant the world to me to have them come out to see him be baptized and celebrate him the way they did. It reminded me of why we came to Summit in the first place, so we would have that church community, supporting us on this journey of parenting, and celebrating with us.

You have a unique perspective, because in addition to experiencing baptism with your own kids, you also lead the baptism class for families at Summit. What insights have come out of that?

I often find when I’m teaching the baptism class that a lot of kids confuse baptism with salvation. Choosing to put your trust in Jesus, accepting Christ, that’s what saves you. Not baptism. Baptism is an outward declaration that you want to follow Jesus all the days of your life. But a lot of kids are still learning what following Jesus means, and that can take time. 

When I say we didn’t want to rush Jonathan, I don’t mean that we wanted to discourage him. We were so excited and we welcomed his questions! But we recognized that it was just the beginning of the conversation. As kids are learning, they’re constantly building on what they know. As they grow, their brains can understand new concepts developmentally that they couldn’t before. I’ve seen firsthand the power of repetition and continual, ongoing conversations in building kids’ faith.

What would you say to parents whose kids are expressing an interest in baptism?

First of all, praise God! Embrace and celebrate that moment. Even if you don’t have all the answers, even if the conversation doesn’t lead to baptism right away, it’s a wonderful thing that you child wants to learn more about following Jesus. I’d start by sharing your baptism story with them, and asking questions about their motivation for baptism. And if you and your child want to learn more, I think that the Why Believe class is a great next step. 

Can you tell us more about the Why Believe class? 

Why Believe is our baptism class at Summit. The first session is designed for you and your child to go through together, and is focused on the gospel. Session two is split into a small group time for kids, led by children’s ministry staff, and a class for caregivers, led by pastors.

Taking the full class is a requirement for believer’s baptism for kids at Summit, but going through the class doesn’t mean you’re committed to baptism. You can do what our family did, and use the class as a resource, revisiting it as needed until your child is ready.

Regardless of the timing for your child’s baptism decision, my advice would be the same: Keep talking about your faith. Take advantage of the support from your church community. Continue to pray and ask God for wisdom and guidance. And celebrate each step as your child owns their decision to follow Jesus. 

Thank you so much for sharing your experiences and wisdom with us, Doris! 

Doris, her husband, Javier, and their three kids have been part of the Summit church family since 2008. Doris has served in the past as the Waterford Children’s Director, and now leads children’s ministry at Summit’s Orlando location. As a family, the Herreros love serving in children’s ministry, on the worship team, and are huge fans of Summit’s musicals!

You can reach out to Doris at: dherrero@summitconnect.org.