October 2016
The early beach goers were already staking out their
places in the sand. Towels were laid
down, coolers were stocked and sunscreen was applied. It seemed like an ordinary Sunday morning at
the beach in Lagos, that is, until we arrived.
As our small fleet of cars scattered and parked and we
all got out in the parking area, people began to stare. The candidates were dressed in white gowns
and we made the short walk down to the edge of the water. Waves lapped back and forth as we got out our
hymnals and sang praises to the Lord, then I opened my Bible and preached a
short message on “What baptism is and what it is not”. Here in Portugal, we baptize in the ocean as
a public testimony of our faith in Christ and our desire to follow His command. It was cause for much staring and guarded
interest as the beach goers cautiously approached and listened to what we were
singing and saying. Some in our group
passed out tracts and invitations while others explained why we were
there.
It was a day to be remembered, for the unsaved beach
goers who watched the strange spectacle, but especially for the folks who
followed the Lord in Scriptural baptism.
There were tears of joy and thanksgiving as each candidate was plunged
beneath the waves and brought up as a testimony of Christ’s death, burial and
resurrection. The special church service
that day and dinner on the grounds completed the celebration. It is always a joy to win and baptize
believers and have them become members of our churches. In 31 years as a missionary, I never grow
tired of obeying our Lord’s command!
Winning, baptizing and discipling,
Mark Hale
No comments:
Post a Comment