Matthew 28:19 — "Baptize in the Name"

The Church of God (Cleveland) affirms Matthew 28:19 as the dominical command establishing Trinitarian baptism. Believers are baptized 'in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit,' invoking the Trinity in the baptismal formula. This Trinitarian formula expresses the Church's foundational theology: the one God eternally existing as three persons, and the centrality of all three in the believer's entry into the covenant community.

The Trinitarian baptismal formula is understood as identifying the new believer with the Triune God, both in terms of their confession of faith and their incorporation into the body of Christ. The Church of God (Cleveland) practices immersion baptism for believers who have confessed faith in Christ, with the Trinitarian formula as the standard invocation.