You don't need a church to get baptised in, any river, sea, lake, bathtub, or pool will do. If you have believing friends, get them to do it with you.
I was baptised in the sea on a freezing midwinter's day. I have baptised people in rivers, the sea, ponds and pools, and as far as the church is concerned, I am a complete nobody.
Contrary to what most Christians imagine, when John the Baptist started baptising people, he wasn't starting a new trend.
If you have been there, you will see that Israel is full of ancient Mikvah (mikveh). These are usually stone cisterns with steps going down into them and were used for the purification ceremonies of religious Jews by full immersion a process called baptism!
Do a google search for Mikvah, and click images and you will see that these look remarkably like modern day Baptist church baptismal pools.
Here's what Jesus thought about it.-
Mark7v1Then the Pharisees and some of the scribes came together to Him, having come from Jerusalem. 2Now when they saw some of His disciples eat bread with defiled, that is, with unwashed hands (Grk- Nipto, wash/rinse), they found fault. 3For the Pharisees and all the Jews do not eat unless they wash (Grk-Nipto, wash rinse) their hands in a special way, holding the tradition of the elders. 4When they come from the marketplace, they do not eat unless they wash (Grk- Baptizo, bathe, submerge). And there are many other things which they have received and hold, like the washing (Grk- Baptizo, bathe submerge) of cups, pitchers, copper vessels, and couches.
As can be seen, baptism was a known thing, merely referring to putting pots and pans (or yourself) in a bowl of water to cleanse them. The word
baptizo itself is not in the least spiritual unless its context show it such.
If you read on, you will see that Jesus derided their ritualistic cleanliness.
5Then the Pharisees and scribes asked Him, “Why do Your disciples not walk according to the tradition of the elders, but eat bread with unwashed hands?”
6He answered and said to them, “Well did Isaiah prophesy of you hypocrites, as it is written:
‘This people honors Me with their lips, But their heart is far from Me.
7And in vain they worship Me, Teaching as doctrines the commandments of men.’
8For laying aside the commandment of God, you hold the tradition of men—the washing of pitchers and cups, and many other such things you do.”
etc etc...
The reason that John went outside the institution to do his baptisms of repentance was that the church of the day was so filled with tradition that the ceremonies themselves had completely taken over what should have been going on in the heart.
Many churches today make such a great and laborious ceremony around Holy Communion, with the expensive robes and regalia of the ministers, the glorious designs of their fancy chalice for the wine/juice and plate for the bread/wafer, and the great rigmarole around the procedure around the bread and wine, and woe betide anyone who puts his foot wrong.
The great sadness being that the true purpose of taking the bread and wine gets completely buried under religious garbage. The religious institution has stolen the glory for themselves.
Likewise baptism.
John was in the priestly line of Aaron as his father Zechariah was, and should have been wearing glorious priestly robes, but we find him clothed in camel hair standing in a river in the middle of nowhere.
People flooded to him and were baptised in the river with no "ceremony" attached. It was an action of testimony before God and the angels, and whatever onlookers there might be around.
