Get Your Own!

We had an awesome time in Church yesterday as 6 people were baptised and made that public declaration that Jesus is the Lord of their lives and they want to follow Him. I really enjoyed the service; it is always encouraging to see the Bourne Chapel completely packed with standing room only at the back and their was a really great atmosphere of faith present throughout the entire morning. Those being baptised had also invited friends and family along and seeing some new faces amongst the 'regulars' was also extremely encouraging. Many congratulations to all those who were baptised; it is such an important expression of faith and a must for all Christians who mean business with God. There were two things which stood out for me over the course of the baptism service which I wanted to blog about today...

The Impact of Faith Camp
Did you notice how many of the youth/older children being baptised cited Faith Camp as an important contributor towards their own spiritual awakening? All of them stated that there had been some very significant moments in their meetings at Faith Camp which had made God real to them. For example, one was baptised in the Spirit and began to speak in tongues, another responded to an invitation to give their life to Jesus and still another simply 'felt' God's presence in a meeting in a way he had not done so before that confirmed an encounter with God that had taken place at Soul Survivor some years previously. I have always been impressed with the kids' and youth work at Faith Camp, not least because it is uncompromising in what it delivers and does not pander to this dumbed down spiritual culture that can infect so much of Church life today.

A Living, Personal Faith
It has been a privilege to know most of these young people and kids since they were born or from a very young age. They have had their ups and downs but what matters is all of them have their own faith in Jesus. I have observed that those who stick it out in this Church (i.e. the place in which God has strategically positioned them) will see the Lord achieve His purposes in and through them. All of the younger baptism candidates had developed their own, personal, living relationship with Jesus. It is so important that kids grow up to secure their own faith in Jesus that is independent of their parents' belief. Baptising them from that position of personal faith is an awesome testimony to the work of God in BCC and His grace over those long suffering parents who have all done a great job bringing up their kids to know and love the Lord.

Bring on the next baptisms!