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Charles Judd from Crossroads Fellowship Church in Berea, Kentucky brings us this awesome portable baptistry idea.
Because they are in a leased facility, they wanted a portable option for baptizing people. Plus they wanted a modern looking baptistry that would match with their modern stage designs. So they purchased an 1100 gallon water tank from Tractor Supply and cut off the top with a reciprocating saw. Then they simply filled it with water and lit the tank from behind with a Par64 can and aqua color gel.
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It looked incredible in person! Definitely an awesome feel to our sanctuary!
We’re can I purchase one of those tanks?
Great idea!
We bought this tank at Tractor Supply, but they are widely available at many farm stores. They come with a top made onto them but we removed it with a reciprocating saw.
Where can i purchase one from and how much is it?
How do folks get in?
How high are the sides on this tank? Did you need steps for people to get in and out? If so, what did you use? Also, how did you heat it? Thanks so much! Love the look of this!
Charles would be able to answer these questions more fully, but I believe the sides were above waste level from what I remember (i’m about 5’11″), and they had something like a pool ladder for people to get in and out. Our stage is elevated a lot more than it looks like in this picture and they came off of the stage down the ladder into the baptistery.
Charles would have to answer about the heating, not sure about that.
Hey guys! We did in fact use a pool ladder. We got a nicer looking plastic one, rather than one of the flimsy tube steel jobs. Our tank was placed on the ground in front of the stage as you can see in the picture. We bought a pool ladder that was made to be bolted to a pool deck. In other words, the steps were only on one side of the ladder, as opposed to above ground A-frame ladders. They stepped down from the stage onto the ladder and then into the water.
We heated the water with a submersible baptistery heater. The heater simply clamps to the side of the tank and the submersed metal bands heat the water. It’s safe and low temp, powered from a regular 120v outlet. It features a dial to set the heat. Takes about 24 hours to properly heat the water. We ordered it from an online distributor. They are pretty common and easy to find.
Hey Charles,
the top part of story says the design called for 1100 gall tank.
The link gives a 550 gallon link.
Can you confirm the size in pic?
paul
My church (in Lexington, KY) has been using that same idea for 12 years now. We take black fabric and wrap it around the tank, securing it with binder clips. It looks great and we have three we use for when we baptize 50 or so at a time.
Paul
Great job, this looks really cool. Can you tell us about the material and its application that is covering the raw edge that you sawed off?
Jamie
We actually didn’t have to treat the edge at all. We were prepared to possibly cover the edge with rubber but it was surprisingly dull, even with the reciprocating saw cut.
How did you deal with water getting on the carpet?
We bought several large, rubber mats and placed them under and around the baptistery tank. Once the baptism was ready to begin, our stage hands also placed several of these on our carpeted stage, creating a wide rubber mat walkway for everyone. We also had stage hands help with towel distributing.
How did you drain it?
It came with a threaded hole on the outside of the tank, near the bottom. They are made to accept piping by design. We simply found a fitting that would screw in and accept a drainage hose. Ours has a quick-release design and an on/off valve, so you simply put the hose on, clamp it down and release the water. There are many options as long as your threads match. Got the supplies from Tractor Supply. We ran the hose outside and drained it. Most all of it will drain without tipping the tank up, but not all of it.
How many people will it fit inside? I need room for 3 people. Would that be possible?
The one we use at my church has had up to 5 (two pastors, mom, dad, teen) in it. It looks like they made one the same size. For reference here’s a pic of one with four people in it. http://bit.ly/n53aHK
Paul
I noticed you’ve got a wired mic going to the tank in that picture. Do you not have one wireless that you could use instead?
Great idea with the tank…
The pastor has a wireless that he uses which you can see on his left ear and which we gaff tape to his shoulder (one of our members is related to a guy who invented a waterproof mic for surfing competitions), but when it comes to the people getting baptized (baptees? baptizees?), we can’t mic them all with wireless so we use a shotgun or the mic you see. I’ve never used that mic myself, so I don’t know which one it is off the top of my head.
As you might guess, the pastor likes to bring up little pieces of their testimonies so that anyone watching gets the pieces that he wants to emphasize. That’s why both mics.
The link to the picture is no longer working
What’s on the outer edge of the baptistry?
Black sheet held on with binder clips (silver part removed).
I have looked for this on Tractor Supply’s website but can’t find it. What exactly is it? I’m assuming some type of food or water storage tank?
They are a special order item in many Tractor Supply stores. Because of the large size, they often don’t keep many in stock. If you contact them, they will gladly help out.
They’re water tanks. Try this: http://www.tractorsupply.com/storage-tank-550-gal-42-in-h-x-67-in-dia–2137332
Paul
hey paul,
the top story says it is a 1100 gall tank in pic.
your link says 550 gallon.
Can you confirm size in pic?
How thick is the tank? I’m looking at a tank that’s 1/4″ thick and seems too thin to me…
We’ve used ours every other month or so for 13 years without a problem. If you look at the portable swimming pools (with the blow up ring on top) they hold about the same amount of water and have a much thinner wall (just a few millimeters). Our church now owns four of these (including the original), so I’d say we’re satisfied with this solution.
BTW, we tried the swimming pools for an outdoor baptism and abandoned that idea in favor of returning to these.
Paul
The picture above appears that the pool is clear (see-through)… Is is actually see-through ?
Look at the sides above the water. That’s the color of the plastic. It’s translucent, not transparent.
So the person being baptized do they squat kneel or what ? And is pastor inside with them or outside? Realy love the idea just trying to get all views. Thanks
Dwayne Harbison
Cathedral of Praise
Nope. Person stands up. Pastor with them. I’ve seen 5 people in one at once (pastor, family of three, and worship pastor who helped the pastor). I guess if you’ve got someone who’s really tall they could kneel, but 6 1/2 feet tall and below should be fine.
Paul
Thanks so much
How/where do you store it?
It’s really light (when there’s no water in it). You can roll it on its side or even pick it up, although it’s a bit ungainly b/c of its size. For our original campus, we put them backstage (we use up to four at a time). For our satellite, we store it behind the church, upside down. That’s not ideal in all locations, but this one is a little rural, so it works fine.
How did you drain it when finished?
There’s a drain plug at the bottom, you could siphon it out, or use a sump pump.
Excellent idea! We are definitely doing this! Thank you so much! One question… Where did you get the submersible baptistry heater?
This looks great what type of light do u have behind it to light it up and where can I find one I’m doing this I love the look
Shane, I don’t know where the heater came from. I’m not sure the one we use is a “baptistry heater” per se, but some sort of submersible heater. It’s probably 3-4 feet long.
Raymond, the picture isn’t from my church, but we use the same thing. I’d use a par can with a blue-green gel on it pointed from the back at the baptismal and I bet you get the same effect.
How much did everything cost? The 1100 gallon tank, pool ladder, and the submersible baptistery heater?
My pastor saw this idea and we acted immediately! We purchased a 1500 gal tank and cut the top with a reciprocating saw like you suggested. The edge had a few rough edges. As much as we tried to cut it right at the seam, the saw “got away from us”. This resulted in a couple of notched edges. I wrapped the tank with nylon ratchet straps. The kind that you used to secure loads on a truck. I used it as a guide for a straight edge. I used the angle grinder with a sanding wheel to take off the high spots. Once I was satisfied with the level, I used an orbital sander with an 80 grit sand paper to get a smoother edge. The edge is really smoothe all the way around the tank. This is a great idea for ministries on a strict budget! It is such a blessing! We lighted it with the same type of lighting and achieved the same result in the picture! Thank you so much!
It looks like there are two v-notches on the lip, one on the front and one on the back. What are those?
That’s part of how the tank is built. I think it provides support. for the top, but once cut, it doesn’t do anything.
The tank we bought is 7’3″ diameter and side wall is 44″ tall. After the top is cut off, is the tank flexible enough to get it thru our double doors into the Sanctuary which are 6’8″ high?
Yes it is. We had the same “dimensional” problem. If you take it in on its side, the tank is flexible enough to “flex” in the middle to clear the top of the doorway. Once you clear the top, you can push and slide through with a little force. God bless.
In our portable church plant, we are currently in a school gymnasium. We are concerned about the weight on the gym floor. Any thoughts?
We fill our baptismal to 900 gallons. At 8.35 pounds per gallon that a little over 3.75 tons. We place ours inside out sanctuary on the carpet. Surprisingly enough, there is not even the hint of an indentation in the carpet after we empty and remove the tank. Gym floors are typically made of hickory hardwood. My best guess is that with the floor clean and clear of any small debris from under the tank, the weight would be distributed evenly enough to leave no mark or marring. However, there are no guarantees. That would be a decision you would need to make. I would place one large piece of scrap carpet under the tank to absorb some of the force. In my personal opinion, doing that would prevent any problems.
David C.
Thank you for your thoughts. God Bless
This looks fantastic. Another simple and inexpensive solution that solves a difficult problem. Now when can we project some moving lights into the water???