This has been a very joyful week for me as I reflect on everything that God is doing in our midst. On Easter Sunday nine people stood up in front of our church and professed their faith in God, sharing with us their stories of how Jesus has worked in their lives up to this point. Five were baptized for the first time and two participated in a remembrance of their baptism. This was a day to remember for our church as we have been regularly praying for revival and are excited to see how God is answering those prayers.
The preparation for this day began last fall when I started hearing from some of the youth in our youth group that they were thinking of being baptized and professing their faith. I was also working on preparing materials for a change to our communion policy that would allow all baptized believers, including children, to participate in the Lord's Supper. It seemed like the Lord was leading to have a class of preparation that would be available to our youth and anyone else in the congregation who wished to profess their faith and be baptized if they hadn't been already.
Twelve people took the class, and the preparations for it and the Easter service when we would celebrate their professions and baptisms kept me very busy this spring. We studied the foundations of our faith including getting to know God the Father, Jesus the Son, and The Holy Spirit. We learned what it looks like to have a vibrant relationship with God, living as a new creation and using our gifts to build up the church and to share the gospel with those who don't know Jesus as their Lord and Savior. Each person taking the class had a mentor who walked with them through it and helped guide them through the many questions and faith building exercises. It was a blessing to be able to lead this class and to be a part of their discipleship.
On the big day we started out with wonderful worship, singing praises to God.
Pastor Dave then led the time of Profession of Faith, where each person who had gone through the class was able to share their faith story and to affirm their relationship with God (three youth are waiting to do theirs at a later date when more family will be able to join them).
We love that we had such a diverse group. We pray on a continual basis that God will bless us with more diversity as a church so that we can be a welcoming place for all who come here.
One of our youth had the great joy of professing her faith and being baptized together with her dad, we are so thankful for how the Lord has brought their family to our church!
Pastor Gina gave a wonderful sermon on the gospel which tied in most of the faith stories that had been shared during the professions of faith. There was an invitation at the end that many responded to, we praise the Lord that he was working in powerful ways.
You can listen to the sermon and follow along just like these guys by clicking the picture below.
Then followed the remembrances and the baptisms.
I was very blessed and privileged to be able to take part in the baptisms, it was a first for me but I'm praying that there will be many more to come. Please join me in praying for all those that took this step of faith on Sunday, for God's blessing, protection and leading in their lives.
To close out the service we celebrated communion, welcoming the children for the first time. As we remember Jesus' sacrifice for us through communion, we come before him with thanksgiving and gratitude for the grace that he poured out on us. Jesus welcomed the children to come to him and it was really special to see that welcome extended to participating in communion along with the adults.
Praise Jesus for all He has done here! Thank you for praying for us and our ministry, we continue to ask for prayers for God's blessing, protection and leading in our family, church, and ministry. Happy Easter!
