Matthew 28:18-20 (ASV)
18 And Jesus came to them and spake unto them, saying, All authority hath been given unto me in heaven and on earth.
19 Go ye therefore, and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them into the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit:
20 teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I commanded you: and lo, I am with you always, even unto the end of the world.
The great commission gives us the last marching orders from Jesus to all His followers. We all have different parts to play in this. All the things Jesus Christ instructed us to do are not done by our own authority using our own abilities but we are to do them under and in His authority and by the abilities, gifts and talents He gives us. He is the one working through us. He is the head and we are His body i.e. His hands and feet.
Today let us look at “baptising”, the 3rd part of His instructions.
Here it talks about the baptism in water. There are 3 baptisms one is into the body of Christ when we are born again, then there is the baptism in water and then there is the baptism in the Holy Spirit. One day I might talk about them or each one of them or we will publish some thing on the website.
The baptism in water is full immersion in water. “Acts 8:38-39 (ASV) And he commanded the chariot to stand still: and they both went down into the water, both Philip and the eunuch, and he baptized him. 39 And when they came up out of the water, the Spirit of the Lord caught away Philip; and the eunuch saw him no more, for he went on his way rejoicing.”
It is very important to understand that water baptism is not salvation which some people teach talking certain scriptures out of context. One is saved on believing in Jesus Christ. “John 3:16-18 (ASV) For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth on him should not perish, but have eternal life. 17 For God sent not the Son into the world to judge the world; but that the world should be saved through him. 18 He that believeth on him is not judged: he that believeth not hath been judged already, because he hath not believed on the name of the only begotten Son of God.”.
We baptise in the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit.
I believe any follower of Jesus Christ, who understand what baptism is, can baptise a person. The question is when do we baptise? In the bible we see after people believe and are in a location suitable to be baptises they got baptised. In that time people understood the significance of baptism. Nowadays most people who come to know Jesus don’t and the doctrine of baptisms is one of the foundations that needs to be taught. “Hebrews 6:1-2 (ASV) Wherefore leaving the doctrine of the first principles of Christ, let us press on unto perfection; not laying again a foundation of repentance from dead works, and of faith toward God, 2 of the teaching of baptisms, and of laying on of hands, and of resurrection of the dead, and of eternal judgment.” Therefore I believe when people understand what water baptism is, why it is done and want to be baptised then they can be water baptised. I encourage you to learn more about water baptism by reading all the examples in the New Testament where people were baptised. There is also a document called “christianfoundation1.1.pdf” (it is a work in progress) on the Resources page https://missioncommunities.network/resources/, it has a section on baptism.

NOTE: Here is the list of all the devotions on the great commission so far:
The great commission – GO – 2024.06.10 https://missioncommunities.network/2024/06/10/the-great-commission-go-2024-06-10/
The great commission – MAKE DISCIPLES (not mentoring) – 2024.06.11 https://missioncommunities.network/2024/06/11/the-great-commission-make-disciples-not-mentoring-2024-06-11/

The great commission – baptising – 2024.06.12 https://missioncommunities.network/2024/06/12/the-great-commission-baptising-2024-06-12/