I went for my first swim of the summer two Sundays ago. The Teapot Valley Camp pool was warmer than I thought it would be. I was grateful for that. I was swimming with my friend Andy. It was fun. He’d just got baptised, along with six others at our Parish Whānau Gathering. It was a wonderful time of celebrating what God has been up to in the parish – the wonderful combination of testimonies, baptisms, and a barbecue!
I’ve been asked to share a few words about this event – but rather than telling you about the baptisms, I’d like to share the “baptism backstories” of some of the newest members of our church family.
I encourage you to observe and reflect on the common themes in these stories.
As part of her role as a caregiver for an elderly client, Adrienne started attending the senior care Exercise and Games programme 18 months ago. The warm welcome she received and the Christian talks at the programme piqued her curiosity and touched on some sore spots in her life. This led to Adrienne having faith conversations with a few people.
At the final programme of the year, the speaker concluded a series on grace by asking “do you need grace?”, explaining the gospel, and – in a low-key manner – giving people opportunity to let God know if they need his grace. Adrienne told God she did!
Subsequently, she was invited to come to Sunday Live, a very relaxed service with a shared meal, Bible input, and discussion around tables. She bravely accepted the invite.
The first time she came, she waited in her car until she saw someone she knew arrive. A few weeks later, she publicly thanked the Sunday Live family for being so welcoming, saying that there’s a wonderful vibe about the place that made it easy for her to not only attend, but feel like she’s part of the family. At Sunday Live, she connected with Rita, who she knew from way back. Rita then invited her to the a women’s Bible study. Adrienne has been attending Sunday Live and the Bible study since then.
When she heard the teaching about baptism, she was ready.
Rita first connected with Leann a few years ago. Rita was part of the Wakefield Kai with Love team. Leann’s husband was dying of a brain tumour, and during this difficult season, Leann and her husband would collect food from the Kai with Love team. Rita began journeying with Leann during this time – phone calls and coffees.
Soon after Leann’s husband passed away, Rita organised a team from the parish to help clean up Leann’s front yard as part of one of the parish’s termly “Practical Needs Sundays”. This really spoke to Leann, and soon after she accepted Rita’s invitation to come to Sunday Live.
God used Leann’s friendship with Rita and Christian community to slowly transform Leann into a believer in Jesus and then into a follower of Jesus. Experiencing a healing miracle in her back was also quite helpful in this journey!
Leann’s spirituality is growing hugely, and she is learning to depend on God for all she needs in this new season of life. She plans to start a missional craft group next year, in the hopes that God will use that to draw people to himself.
When she heard the teaching about baptism, she was ready.
My friend Cory and I have been part of the local football club for a number of years.
We see ourselves as missionaries in this space. We love playing football. We really like our clubmates. We’ve been praying for years for God to do something at the Wakefield Football Club.
God started answering these prayers. 18 months ago, we began a Wakefield FC Bible Study, inviting some of our friends from the club along. Due to ongoing friendships, young Isaiah and not-so-young Andy attended, along with a few others. We use the Discovery Bible study method, which is both simple and profound, and is particularly useful with people who are checking out or are new to faith.
For Isaiah, being invited to and then attending the Wakefield FC Bible Study was a key moment of repentance for him. Isaiah grew up Christian and then effortlessly wandered away from following Jesus, despite always believing that Jesus was real. He has been following Jesus sincerely and faithfully since he was invited to the Wakefield FC Bible Study, and this year has also been part of the Kākano Local Mission Incubator – led by the diocese’s Pioneering Enabler Spanky Moore – where he continues to grow.
When he heard the teaching about baptism, he was ready.
Andy had been in and around Christianity episodically across his life, without it really sticking. On the deck at the clubrooms after summer soccer one evening, I asked Andy where he was at with at with Jesus. He said he believed.
A few weeks later I asked Andy if he was open to finding out more about the Jesus he said he believed in. He was. He started coming to the Wakefield FC Bible Study.
About two months ago, we were finishing a study on John 8. We concluded each study with a quiet time to chat to God about what we just studied. We took turns sharing, and when it came round to Andy, he simply stated “I’m in.” And he is.
When he heard the teaching about baptism, he was ready.
Here are some of the common themes to the stories of our newly baptised family members.
I’m starting to believe that Christian community is a hugely influential – and perhaps underestimated – factor in how we do mission and disciple-making.
It is a powerful combination of food, conversation, the Word of God, the people of God, and the Spirit of God. This is a different animal than a Sunday morning gathering – which some of our baptisees will probably never start attending, as the formality of these gatherings makes little cultural sense to them. They have found their church in more relational and informal Jesus-centred gatherings.
With all this in mind, may I gently encourage you to have a chat with God about who he might be calling you to hang out with. Is there somebody that you’re hanging out with where now’s the right time to invite them to whatever the next thing is? Do you have the kind of Christian community where seekers and new Christians can safely journey? If not, could you and a few Christian friends start one? It’s not as hard as you think!
Check out other articles in the
series below.
More articles in the
series are to come.
We have invited these writers to share their experiences, ideas and opinions in the hope that these will provoke thought, challenge you to go deeper and inspire you to put your faith into action. These articles should not be taken as the official view of the Nelson Diocese on any particular matter.
I went for my first swim of the summer two Sundays ago. The Teapot Valley Camp pool was warmer than I thought it would be. I was grateful for that. I was swimming with my friend Andy. It was fun. He’d just got baptised, along with six others at our Parish Whānau Gathering. It was a wonderful time of celebrating what God has been up to in the parish – the wonderful combination of testimonies, baptisms, and a barbecue!
I’ve been asked to share a few words about this event – but rather than telling you about the baptisms, I’d like to share the “baptism backstories” of some of the newest members of our church family.
I encourage you to observe and reflect on the common themes in these stories.
As part of her role as a caregiver for an elderly client, Adrienne started attending the senior care Exercise and Games programme 18 months ago. The warm welcome she received and the Christian talks at the programme piqued her curiosity and touched on some sore spots in her life. This led to Adrienne having faith conversations with a few people.
At the final programme of the year, the speaker concluded a series on grace by asking “do you need grace?”, explaining the gospel, and – in a low-key manner – giving people opportunity to let God know if they need his grace. Adrienne told God she did!
Subsequently, she was invited to come to Sunday Live, a very relaxed service with a shared meal, Bible input, and discussion around tables. She bravely accepted the invite.
The first time she came, she waited in her car until she saw someone she knew arrive. A few weeks later, she publicly thanked the Sunday Live family for being so welcoming, saying that there’s a wonderful vibe about the place that made it easy for her to not only attend, but feel like she’s part of the family. At Sunday Live, she connected with Rita, who she knew from way back. Rita then invited her to the a women’s Bible study. Adrienne has been attending Sunday Live and the Bible study since then.
When she heard the teaching about baptism, she was ready.
Rita first connected with Leann a few years ago. Rita was part of the Wakefield Kai with Love team. Leann’s husband was dying of a brain tumour, and during this difficult season, Leann and her husband would collect food from the Kai with Love team. Rita began journeying with Leann during this time – phone calls and coffees.
Soon after Leann’s husband passed away, Rita organised a team from the parish to help clean up Leann’s front yard as part of one of the parish’s termly “Practical Needs Sundays”. This really spoke to Leann, and soon after she accepted Rita’s invitation to come to Sunday Live.
God used Leann’s friendship with Rita and Christian community to slowly transform Leann into a believer in Jesus and then into a follower of Jesus. Experiencing a healing miracle in her back was also quite helpful in this journey!
Leann’s spirituality is growing hugely, and she is learning to depend on God for all she needs in this new season of life. She plans to start a missional craft group next year, in the hopes that God will use that to draw people to himself.
When she heard the teaching about baptism, she was ready.
My friend Cory and I have been part of the local football club for a number of years.
We see ourselves as missionaries in this space. We love playing football. We really like our clubmates. We’ve been praying for years for God to do something at the Wakefield Football Club.
God started answering these prayers. 18 months ago, we began a Wakefield FC Bible Study, inviting some of our friends from the club along. Due to ongoing friendships, young Isaiah and not-so-young Andy attended, along with a few others. We use the Discovery Bible study method, which is both simple and profound, and is particularly useful with people who are checking out or are new to faith.
For Isaiah, being invited to and then attending the Wakefield FC Bible Study was a key moment of repentance for him. Isaiah grew up Christian and then effortlessly wandered away from following Jesus, despite always believing that Jesus was real. He has been following Jesus sincerely and faithfully since he was invited to the Wakefield FC Bible Study, and this year has also been part of the Kākano Local Mission Incubator – led by the diocese’s Pioneering Enabler Spanky Moore – where he continues to grow.
When he heard the teaching about baptism, he was ready.
Andy had been in and around Christianity episodically across his life, without it really sticking. On the deck at the clubrooms after summer soccer one evening, I asked Andy where he was at with at with Jesus. He said he believed.
A few weeks later I asked Andy if he was open to finding out more about the Jesus he said he believed in. He was. He started coming to the Wakefield FC Bible Study.
About two months ago, we were finishing a study on John 8. We concluded each study with a quiet time to chat to God about what we just studied. We took turns sharing, and when it came round to Andy, he simply stated “I’m in.” And he is.
When he heard the teaching about baptism, he was ready.
Here are some of the common themes to the stories of our newly baptised family members.
I’m starting to believe that Christian community is a hugely influential – and perhaps underestimated – factor in how we do mission and disciple-making.
It is a powerful combination of food, conversation, the Word of God, the people of God, and the Spirit of God. This is a different animal than a Sunday morning gathering – which some of our baptisees will probably never start attending, as the formality of these gatherings makes little cultural sense to them. They have found their church in more relational and informal Jesus-centred gatherings.
With all this in mind, may I gently encourage you to have a chat with God about who he might be calling you to hang out with. Is there somebody that you’re hanging out with where now’s the right time to invite them to whatever the next thing is? Do you have the kind of Christian community where seekers and new Christians can safely journey? If not, could you and a few Christian friends start one? It’s not as hard as you think!
Check out other articles in the
series below.
More articles in the
series are to come.
