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Multiple ethnic groups & family units represented in baptisms


GREENSBORO, N.C. (BP)–Multiple ethnic groups and family units were represented among those baptized during the annual meeting of the Southern Baptist Convention in Greensboro, N.C., June 13-14.

In what SBC President Bobby Welch called “a wonderful expression — the first big step of a believer,” local pastors baptized 17 Anglo, Vietnamese and Hispanic families and friends in the presence of messengers gathered at the convention.

“In the name of the Father, Son and Holy Spirit, I baptize you,” each of the pastors echoed as they led their portion of the ceremony, interspersed throughout each of the sessions.

Jesse Wilson, the pastor of discipleship at Life Community Fellowship, baptized six people who recently came to faith in his Jamestown, N.C., church.

The first to be baptized during the convention, Amanda Ash thought she was saved at 13, but when she heard evangelist Ron Herrod speak at Life Community Church, she saw herself walking down the aisle and into a brand new life.

She became a Christian, and her husband Ryan soon followed.

“One day we’ll go to church,” he once said, always knowing that he needed to go. “Well, one day we went, and it’s the best life ever.”

The couple’s tears at each other’s baptisms underscored their heartfelt decision.

Rita Helton, a salon owner from High Point, N.C., still remembers the day when her senior pastor, Jake Thornhill from Life Community, said, “God is opening the door for you right now, and you may not have another chance.”

She thought, “If I pass this opportunity, it may be too late.”

Only seven months earlier, Helton’s younger sister died of cancer nine days after she was diagnosed.

One of 11 children, Helton remembers that more than her other siblings, her sister always loved going to church. She said she looks forward to the day when she will join the big choir in heaven, singing alongside her sister.

“I can see her now,” Helton beamed, still dripping from the waters of baptism. “She is standing in the choir, waiting for me to stand beside her and sing.”

Sisters Alesia and Teresa Rayner were baptized together at the convention.

Alesia, 21, is a political science student at the University of North Carolina at Greensboro, and she hopes to go to law school.

“I am here to be baptized in obedience to the Lord,” she said. “A lot of people say they want to try to do what the Lord says. I want to do what the Lord says.”

Teresa, 18, became a Christian after the birth of her daughter, Zania, who is now six months old.

“It’s time for me to grow up and get things right with God,” the younger sibling said. “For me to teach my daughter about Christ, I need to know about Him first.”

Todd Napier, 29, an apartment maintenance worker from High Point, N.C., accepted Jesus as Lord in 1991 in a Methodist church, where he was sprinkled in baptism.

But when he studied the Scripture for himself, he understood that baptism “all comes back to immersion.”

“I have been reading through my Bible and I want to give myself to the Lord again,” he said.

In another session, Michael Barrett, pastor of Pleasant Garden Baptist Church in Pleasant Garden, N.C., baptized Teddy Knotts of Julian, N.C.

When Knotts was a child, he hit his neck on the back of a chair, sustaining a permanent injury that left him mentally and physically challenged.

Still, he understood when his neighbor William Boarman, asked if knew whether he’d go to heaven one day.

“I hope so,” Knotts replied.

“Well, you can have a ‘know-so’ faith,” Boarman said, handing him a tract that he kept in his pickup truck. Later, when Boarman asked Barrett to meet with them, Knotts wholeheartedly gave his life to the Lord.

“The beauty of baptism is that God reminds me that everyone is loved by God and everyone is special in God’s eyes,” Barrett said. “It’s a joy to witness His love being received.”

“Nhân danh Dúc Cha, Dúc Con, và Duc thánh-Linh mà làm phép báp-têm,” pastor Hoa Duc Vo of Vietnamese Baptist Church in Greensboro, said before baptizing seven people, six of whom are involved in the church’s youth ministry.

Among the baptized were two sets of siblings, Tien Thuy Tran, 13, and Dat Vi Tran, 16; and Adison Le, 13, and Bailey Le, 11; along with their friends, Elizabeth Bya, 13; and Jessica Douangprachanh, 13.

Each youth group member acknowledged that the Bible studies at their Friday night youth meetings taught them about Jesus and what He accomplished on the cross.

“I wanted to show my appreciation for what He did for me, and I felt like I need to thank Him,” Douangprachanh said of her baptism.

Vo also baptized Võ Thi Minh Trang, 21, who was led to the Lord by her husband, Quy Vo. She recently moved from Vietnam, where Vo has the vision to baptize 1 million people. Twice a year, he travels to the Communist country to evangelize, baptizing at least 500 people each visit.

“In Vietnam, I have to baptize in wells or in creeks infested with leeches,” Vo said, in awe of the privilege of leading baptisms in the convention arena.

“Te bautizo en el nombre del Padre, del Hijo y del Espiritu Santo. Amèn,” David Duarte, the pastor of Iglesia Christiana Internacional in Greensboro, said as he baptized three people, including Aaron Aguilar, 8.

Aguilar’s Christian parents, Vianney Aguilar and Mirna Granados, were present to witness the baptism, as were several other family members — via the Internet’s streaming video from their native Costa Rica.

Duarte, originally from Mexico, also baptized a mother and daughter duo, Iris Ferrante and Darlene Jerez, 15.

Ferrante, originally from the Dominican Republic, became a Christian while attending one of the church’s small groups. Her daughter started going to the church as well.

Admitting to believing in God years ago, Jerez said it was only recently that she became serious with her walk in Christ.

“I am three months serious now,” she said.

Vijay Kumar of Asian Indian Baptist Church in Greensboro planned to baptize medical doctor Vidayavathi Quarashi during the last session of the convention.

The first person in her family to convert to Christianity from Islam, Quarashi feared persecution and chose to wait to be baptized in the local church, Kumar said.

Such persecution forced Kumar to move from Hyderabad, India, where he served as a minister of the Gospel for 19 years. Now he sees the incredible need for Christian witness among the nearly 50,000 Muslims now living in the Triad area, visible by the growing number of mosques and Hindu temples.

“Last year the baptisms were the highlight of the convention in Nashville, and this year in Greensboro it was just as exciting,” Tal Davis, manager for evangelism strategic coordination for the North American Mission Board and organizer of the baptisms, said.

The baptisms underscored the “Everyone Can” challenge to baptize 1 million people, championed by Welch.

Because baptism is an ordinance of the church, all baptisms were conducted with the full approval of the sponsoring home churches, with members from each church present to witness.

Each of the pastors performing the baptisms readily acknowledged that baptism is not the salvation act, but rather an external indication of what has already been accomplished internally in each of the candidates.
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    About the Author

  • Shannon Baker

    Shannon Baker is director of communications for the Baptist Resource Network of Pennsylvania/South Jersey and editor of the Network’s weekly newsletter, BRN United.

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