For Baptists, there is one pivotal moment following our commitment to Jesus – and that is the moment in our journey of discipleship, when we are called to follow Jesus through the waters of baptism. At Easter time, as we commemorate Christ’s death and resurrection that brings new life, we celebrate with the many Victorians who have recently experienced His renewal and restoration, and look forward to the many more who will experience this joy over the Easter period. We also celebrate with all of our churches who are praying for people to be open to Christ, faithfully sowing seeds of faith, and discipling people.
Nine people attending Port Campbell Baptist Church were baptised in the ocean on a cool Sunday in February, as Pastor James O’Brien shared. “It was a wonderful time. The catalyst for this event has been the ministry of our youth group, led by Kim and Enoch Peterson. Over the past two years they have steadily built up a group of a dozen or so young people who come along each week on a Friday night. Kim and Enoch also do a lot of encouraging and discipling during the week through online chat groups. Last August, we took 12 young people to Youth Alive in Melbourne, where nine of them went forward for prayer. Seven of these people wanted to be baptised, which grew to nine after a youth camp held at Anglesea in January.”
The group who were baptised consisted of six young people and three adults. The church held baptism classes in the lead-up, and continues to disciple these young believers as they grow in their faith. “Two of the young people who were baptised come from non-Christian families, so we recognise the challenges they face.”
At Catalyst Baptist Church in Werribee, 19 people have been baptised across several services so far this year, with several others preparing for baptism after Easter. “It has been incredibly encouraging to see more people choosing to publicly declare their faith in Jesus each year,” says Simon Young from Catalyst. “Baptisms have become a powerful moment in the life of our church, not only for those being baptised but for everyone who witnesses the stories of changed lives. We are seeing people from different backgrounds discovering faith, reconnecting with God and taking steps of commitment. It’s a joy to celebrate these stories and watch hope multiply as more people respond to Jesus.”
Simon says baptisms often sparked more baptisms as people publicly declare their faith and share their story. “It helps others realise that following Jesus is personal, real, and something they can respond to as well. Testimonies are powerful. At Catalyst we share testimony videos, celebrate the stories during services, and regularly share baptisms on social media so others can see what God is doing. We also highlight certain Sundays through the year as baptism opportunities and run regular information sessions to help people explore the step. Through these moments many people recognise that God has been working in their lives and feel ready to take the step of publicly declaring their faith.”
Regular dedicated baptism services are also a feature at The Wave Ocean Grove Baptist Church. The church had 16 baptisms last year, plus three in January, four in February, and two planned for Resurrection Sunday this year. “We always keep the first Sunday of the month set aside for baptisms,” says Associate Pastor Lena Johnstone. “For us, it is keeping a Sunday free so that when people feel ready, we have space set aside for them. We promote it every month, but when we know we have someone keen we promote it more strongly that month!” Combined services with a variety of denominations across the Bellarine and Surf Coast have been a huge encouragement to people in the area recently, with 300-400 people attending these services. Last year 40 people were baptised at these combined events.
At The Terminal Baptist Church in Dallas, Victoria, a married couple who came from diverse faith backgrounds, and a man who connected with the church through online bible classes, were baptised in February. The service was conducted by Senior Pastor Rev Petone Toelieu, who baptised them in a friend’s backyard pool. Discipleship brought healing and restoration of relationships to the married couple who became “stronger together by drawing closer to Christ”. The third person to be baptised had been in prison and had joined Petone’s online bible classes to learn about faith. “As we studied, he arrived at John 11 where Jesus wept, and this brought home the fact that Jesus has emotions just as we do. It made the scriptures real to him.”
What an extraordinary term of commitments and baptisms – This is just a small sample of the many churches that have held baptisms during the first quarter of the year. It is encouraging to see how God is at work in people’s lives, and also how He has worked through churches as they actively shared Christ’s love and salvation in various ways. We are excited to see many more people’s lives transformed over the Easter period and the remainder of this year.