Baptism doesn’t have to divide us
Reformists and Anabaptists choose grace over grievance, and move from division to unity.
After the 1517 Reformation, the relationship between mainstream Protestant Reformers and Anabaptists was characterized by bitter hostility and systematic persecution. What began as theological disagreement escalated into violence that would define centuries of Christian division.
At the conflict’s center lay a seemingly simple question: when should Christians be baptized? While reformers like Luther and Calvin retained infant baptism as the foundation of Christian society, Anabaptists (“re-baptizers”) demanded adult believer’s baptism. This wasn’t merely ritual preference – it challenged the very structure of Christendom, where church membership equaled citizenship.
In 16th-century Europe, the Anabaptist position carried revolutionary implications. By rejecting infant baptism and embracing pacifism, Anabaptists appeared to create a separate society within existing political structures. Their refusal to bear arms or swear oaths was interpreted as sedition by both Catholic and Protestant authorities.
Rather than recognizing Anabaptists as fellow Protestants, mainstream Reformers branded them dangerous heretics. Calvin’s Geneva, Zwingli’s Zurich and various Lutheran territories systematically imprisoned, exiled and executed Anabaptist believers. The persecution was justified theologically as preserving Christian unity and politically as protecting legitimate government.
A remarkable reversal
Fast forward to August 2025, in Richmond Hill, Ontario. In a small church, history quietly rewrote itself.
Two years earlier, a declining Christian Reformed (CRC) congregation began sharing worship space and time with a small emerging Anabaptist community. Though they separated physically for their times of teaching, they united in worship and providing leadership in youth ministry and community engagement – an experiment in kingdom unity transcending denominational boundaries.
Significantly (500 years since the origins of Anabaptism), Sunday August 10 marked something extraordinary. In a joint service, Community Church (CRC) and Mosaic BIC (Brethren in Christ) baptized three young adults by immersion during the worship service. The very issue that had sparked centuries of violence became a source of profound unity. No dogmatic posturing, no ritual disputes – simply two traditions acknowledging their oneness in Christ and celebrating young people’s commitment to follow Jesus.
The baptismal waters that once divided now united. In a small corner of God’s kingdom, the barriers history had erected crumbled before the simple truth of shared faith. Where 16th-century Reformers saw heresy, 21st-century believers found harmony.
Perhaps this is how healing happens – not through grand theological reconciliation but through ordinary believers choosing unity over division, grace over grievance. In that Richmond Hill sanctuary, God’s smile was almost visible as his fractured body experienced a moment of beautiful wholeness.
Thanks for this encouraging story.
I think my memory is correct. . . The late Dr. Al Greene of Bellevue, Washington, pastored a Baptist church that honoured both views of baptism, too.
“Baptism,” says a traditional formulary, “whether by sprinkling or immersion”. . . . And Calvinist churches practice both infant baptism and adult (believer’s baptism). I am very happy that you can report on churches that have found a way to see the ordinance/sacrament as uniting rather than dividing. Please send more stories like this one!