Every October, churches across Australia celebrate National Baptism Week. National Baptism Week is an opportunity to talk and teach about Baptism. It’s a prompt to be on the front foot in inviting people to take this step of publicly proclaiming their faith, and it’s a moment to remember, celebrate and pray for Baptisms across our movement.
This year, churches across NSW and ACT participated in National Baptism Week. Youth groups joined with local and regional churches, ethnically diverse churches, simple churches and country churches to share in the joy and encouragement of Baptism!
Springwood Baptist Church in the Blue Mountains was one of the churches that participated in National Baptism Week this year. “This was the second year in a row that we’ve chosen to have a Baptism Sunday in our calendar,” reflects Nate Thackray, Senior Pastor at Springwood Baptist Church, “across the two years we have had around twelve people come forward to be Baptised. This is a huge improvement on recent history.”
Setting a date for Baptism Sunday doesn’t mean just talking about Baptism in October each year. Having a date in the calendar gives a church a timeline over which to build understanding, momentum and enthusiasm for Baptism Sunday.
“Building towards Baptism Sunday means we talk about Baptism throughout the year and give people plenty of time to think about the decision to get Baptised,” explains Nate, “we do an annual sermon series that is essentially a basics series that calls people to become followers of Jesus. During this series has been a really natural time to reference Baptism Sunday and the opportunity to declare belief in the Lord Jesus through Baptism.”
“This Baptism Sunday we Baptised six people and we Baptised a further two people at a youth service some weeks before,” shares Nate, “all six people had a wonderful camp of visitors who were there to share their joy and commitment. We chose to have only one service on the day and made the Baptisms the centre of the occasion. Everyone shared their story and chose who they’d like to Baptise them. They each chose someone to pray for them as well. There wasn’t room for much else in the program that week!”
Springwood Baptist has also included running Alpha in their church’s rhythm and having Baptism Sunday shortly after their last Alpha group concluded made Baptism a natural conversation following someone’s journey through Alpha.
“I used to have a bad misconception of Baptism in the sense that I didn’t feel worthy enough because I never had everything 100% right,” explains Ryan, one of those Baptised on Baptism Sunday, “but through being part of the Alpha group, connecting with the pastors at Springwood Baptist and the support from Solid Men, I come to understand that Jesus meets me where I am. That gave the courage to proclaim my faith publicly and move forward with my Baptism.”
Having a Sunday gathering focused on the stories of how people came to have a personal relationship with Jesus filled the church family with joy and encouragement. “Across the six people who got Baptised there was so much variety in their stories of how they came to know and follow Jesus,” reflects Nate, “we had a mum who baptised her two daughters and her niece and then afterwards the Grandma of the three of them then prayed for them! Every story was wonderful in its own unique way. The community were so encouraged with so much positive feedback pouring in afterwards. It was a warm occasion that connected us as a church to our core identity and mission.”
“The spirit in the room was amazing,” reflects Ryan, “from the testimonies to the prayers and joy of family members and friends.”
Ryan was able to encourage others by sharing his testimony before being baptised. “Growing up, I wanted to run my own life,” summarises Ryan, “my unwillingness to give up my own free will, lead me to many addictions from gambling, drug use and high abuse of alcohol. After losing my wife, family home, friends, job and most of my family, I hit my rock bottom. I was completely powerless, and my life was unmanageable. I walked myself into an Alcoholics Anonymous (AA) room and heard about the hope of having a relationship with my higher power. I knew then and there that Jesus had been walking with me through all my ups and downs, asking me to let go and follow Him. It was so clear to me that I needed to pass on my addictions, my character defects and my fears to Jesus, and in return He promised His salvation, love, mercy and peace.
“Within the first two months of my sobriety, God placed two key things in my life – an invitation to Springwood Baptist through a member in the AA group and a Christian men’s fitness group called Solid Men, whose goal is to strengthen and equip communities of like-minded men through promoting physical, spiritual, emotional and mental health. These two groups, have strengthen me spiritually and continue to walk with me in my journey of following Christ.”
Ryan got to share his Baptism with not only his church family, but also the people he invited from his AA group, Solid Men and biological family. “Their feedback was amazing,” says Ryan, “my sponsor from AA, who isn’t a believer, said he felt something that day which he couldn’t fully express. My prayer is that feeling will encourage him to ask more about Jesus and what He offers.”
Does your church dedicate time in the church calendar to talk about Baptism? “In a short space of time Baptism Sunday has become something that will be a mainstay at our church for years to come!” shares Nate.
Whether you’re setting a date for your own Baptism Sunday next October or looking for resources to use in a variety of contexts all year round, check out Crossover’s Baptism Hub.
And if you’ve got your own Baptism story to share – head to the National Baptism Week webpage to “share a story”!
*FEATURE IMAGE A mother has just Baptised her two daughters. There grandmother stands on the stage and prays, having prayed for this moment for years.
