With smiles and sometimes tears of joy, four people at Mooroolbark Baptist Church (MBC) shared how the Lord had been at work in their lives, and then followed Him through baptism at a celebration service on November 30.
The service was one of thanksgiving for God’s blessings and the ways He has worked through the church over the past year, including through a new Alpha course. Three of the people who were baptised had attended this course, and several other attendees have also inquired about baptism classes.
“This girl who once thought love had left the world, has found it in Christ,” one Alpha attendee said before her baptism. “I am a testimony to Christ’s love and power. MBC, I have found love that I never thought I could ever feel since losing my parents. This love of God has taken away my anxiety and depression, and has kept me from the trauma and crippling pain in my heart. I no longer just survive, I now live!”
Another person said God had gently guided her to faith through a friend with whom she could talk openly about faith, and who later invited her to Alpha. “As a young adult I drifted into a kind of atheism but something was missing. During Alpha evenings I began to open up, to share and to discover so much. Here I received my first Bible! One morning around 4.30am I was reading John 13:34 which says, ‘A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another just as I love you.’ I burst into tears and the warm overwhelming presence filled my heart. For the first time I felt the pure, unconditional love of Jesus. In that moment, the inside of me changed forever.”
Another person being baptised said: “The joy and love God has shown me and given to me these past few months has been amazing. I had put my faith on autopilot, just by focusing on things other than God. I felt the urge to start turning my focus towards Jesus, and later at State Youth Games I fully committed my life to him.” The fourth person shared: “I was raised in a Christian household but the seriousness with which I’ve taken my faith and the realness of God’s presence have been gradually growing over time – for instance, at times I have become suddenly aware of how wonderful God’s creation was and how well God has blessed me.”
MBC Lead Pastor Jon Coombs said hosting Alpha had encouraged people’s faith both inside and outside of the church. “It was a privilege to see people who were not connected to church or faith have the courage to step into our building and have space to think through faith, and ask hard questions. It has been wonderful to journey with them, to hear their stories and to now see many of them wanting to go public in their faith. It has also been very encouraging to see the friendships that have grown and the ways these have strengthened intergenerational ties throughout the church. Alpha has been encouraging for everyone at MBC, not just those who were involved in leading or attending the course.”