The Christian walk is not intended to be solitary. That is one big reason why the Mission is so wonderful—it has community built in for our guests and program participants. Because of the shared vision for the Mission and our brotherhood/sisterhood in Christ, it is also community for our staff, and I treasure that. We support each other and work together to advance the kingdom. The connections I have with each of you are so precious to me.

That said, this Chaplain’s Corner is about community within a local church, and I am making a case for each of you to find and foster membership in a local church because I believe it to be essential to your personal health and to your ministry. (If you are tempted to quit reading, please don’t. I would not write this if I didn’t think it was important.) As close as I feel with you, my relationships with my local church family are essential to my health as a Christian. I have always been a member of a church; I have been a member of four churches in my life, and even though I am currently a member of only one of them, the other three remain important to my life. I honestly can’t imagine not belonging to a local church.

I made my profession of faith just before my tenth birthday. In the church my parents belonged to, the next step was my baptism by immersion.  This was usually scheduled for every couple of months since we had to heat the baptismal pool.  However, I asked to be baptized right away–that same evening during the Sunday night service.  What I remember about being baptized that evening is that the water was cold and the lady helping me to dress afterwards had to rub me down pretty good to warm me back up. I have always been appreciative of my pastor’s willingness to get into that cold baptismal pool with me, and the fact that he honored my own sense of urgency.

Since then, I have witnessed baptisms by both immersion and sprinkling; and in church baptismal pools, in rivers and lakes, in a swimming pool, and even in a large tub (small child). They are all very special acts of community, of sharing in an important step in a believer’s walk of faith. Although baptism is an act of obedience, it is not necessary for salvation. We are following Christ’s example; we are demonstrating that we have repented of our sins and that we have died to our old life and are now new creatures in Christ. For those who are able to be baptized, in many churches it is an essential act of obedience necessary for membership in that local church. As a member of a church, when someone is baptized, it is like a family wedding in the sense that we celebrate the addition of a new member of the family.

Commenting on this text of scripture, “He that believeth and is baptized shall be saved.” — Mark 16:16, Charles Spurgeon said:

“Why do you suppose that baptism is put into this prominent position? I think that it is for this reason, Baptism is the outward expression of the inward faith. He who believes in Christ with his heart confesses his faith before God and before the Church of God by being baptized. Now, the faith that speaks thus is not a dumb faith; it is not a cowardly faith; it is not a sneaking faith. Paul puts the matter thus, “If thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved. For with the heart man believeth unto righteousness; and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation.”*

 Baptism is an ordinance that is practiced in community. Have you ever thought about that fact that you cannot baptize yourself?  Jesus asked to be baptized by John the Baptist, who in turn thought he should have been baptized by Jesus. And when Jesus was baptized, God spoke from Heaven, and the Holy Spirit was also present in the form of a dove. This is one of the few examples in the Bible of the Trinity all being present at one time. Baptism demonstrates community.

So although we serve, work for, and worship Jesus at the Mission, the Mission cannot take the place of our church family. Fellowshipping with Christ and other believers in baptism and communion (more about this next week) are essential to our Christian walk. These ordinances are regularly practiced in the local church. I pray that you are a member of a Bible-believing church and that you are actively participating in all the areas of worship in your church.

For more on this subject, I recommend this website: https://www.challies.com/articles/whats-the-purpose-of-baptism/.

Blessings,

Judy