On September 8, all across the Southern Baptist Convention, churches held baptismal services for new believers. Some Baptists didn’t get the memo about this special Sunday requested by SBC president J.D. Greear. That’s okay because people come to Jesus on many different days and when the Spirit convicts of sin. The idea was to celebrate many new people coming to faith in Christ.
Among Missouri Baptists there is a stirring of eternal proportion. After all, God does the saving and we get to do the telling. The story of a transformed life is amazing. It’s a story every believer has that is not like anyone else’s. Baptism is that simple story of Jesus’s life, death, and resurrection. It is the simple story of our humble repentance, being dead to sin and our transformation by the Holy Spirit to live a life pleasing our Heavenly Father. What’s your story?
I love to hear my dad tell his story about being a teenager who struggled with academia. So they sent him to the bus barn to work with the man who managed the buses. Dad was a mechanical genius in his day. The man who managed the buses always carried a Gideon pocket New Testament. One day while they were working, the conversation went from fixing an old bus to talking about spiritual things. That day, in the door well of an old plywood school bus, my dad heard the gospel and surrendered his life to Christ.
Would you share with us your story? Would you take a few moments and write up a few sentences about your conversion from sin to Jesus becoming your Savior and Lord? How about adding a photo? I’m certain your pastor/deacon/Bible study teacher would be more than willing to help.
1. Tell us what your life was like before you met Christ.
2. Tell us who introduced you to Christ, and the circumstances leading up to it.
3. Tell us about your baptism and your journey of faith since you surrendered your life to Christ.
You may email your testimony and photo to testimony@MoBaptist.org. Or go to MoBaptist.org/testimony, fill in the simple form, and upload a photo.
Pastor, you may also use this location to tell us about your baptismal services this fall. We hear of some very special things happening among our churches. Tell us the story.
Annual Meeting and Concert
In a matter of a few weeks, Missouri Baptists gather in Branson for the MBC Annual Meeting. This year’s meeting is set to be extraordinary.
Chris Williams, pastor of Fellowship of Greenwood, has put together an amazing Pastor’s Conference for Monday, October 28. The featured speakers include Jason Allen, president of Midwestern Seminary; Cedric Dale Hoard, gifted gospel poet; Jimmy Scroggins, pastor of Family Church in South Florida; and Johnny Hunt, NAMB’s director of evangelism and leadership.
Pastor Jeremy Muniz, president of the MBC, opens the Annual Meeting at 3:30 p.m. on October 28. Johnny Hunt is the featured speaker for that afternoon session.
Monday evening, president Muniz preaches his Annual Address followed by a time of celebrating the new sense of synergy among the MBC ministries and entries. After the benediction, all of the entities have a designated fellowship space for conversation about the work of God among us.
Tuesday morning is filled with business, election of officers, and reports from our MBC educational entities and SBC ministry partners. The session concludes with pastor Carlos Smith preaching just prior to lunch.
The Tuesday afternoon session is also filled with business, election of officers, and reports from our Missouri Baptist Children’s Home, The Baptist Home, and Missouri Baptist Foundation. The session closes with praise and worship led by The Gettys and our final message by SBC president J.D. Greear.
Tuesday night is a special concert by The Gettys. Every messenger receives a ticket. Outside the registration process, a limited number of tickets are available until Oct. 15 to members of MBC-affiliated churches. To request tickets, pastors or church staff members should send an email to Gettys@mobaptist.org. After Oct. 15, unclaimed tickets may be available to the general public.
Plan now to attend this year’s Annual Meeting and stay over for the concert.