Simon himself believed and was baptized. And he followed Philip everywhere, astonished by the great signs and miracles he saw. (Act 8:13 NIV)

So, I have to share this feak-mazing story of God’s power with you all. About one year ago, when we were just getting past our one year anniversary at The DC I ran into an old friend at the gym. We were great friends all throughout our child hood, hanging at each other’s homes and getting into trouble and what not. We decided to get together over some coffee. He was at a rough point in his life (which I can totally relate with, I have many of those). But it gave me the opportunity to share the simple Way of Jesus with Him. Of course, I focused on loving him and being a friend to him in the most sincere and authentic way I knew how. Our friendship began to take on new meaning and I think he began to get real curious about this Jesus as I was always talking about.

Eventually, he decided to check out The Dialogue Church (which is the church that I am the lead pastor of in Manchester, NH). He told me that he was blown away by what he saw, heard, and experienced. He also poked fun at me because he never really pictured me as a preacher (to be honest, I never pictured me as a preacher back then either – it is true that Jesus uses the foolish to confound the wise). Ultimately, it was Jesus who started doing something in my friend’s heart. I remember one night having a long talk about salvation. Later that night he texted me to tell me that he had invited Jesus Christ into his life (I AM TELLING YOU THAT NEVER GETS OLD – AND THAT IS WHAT I LIVE FOR. THAT IS WHAT THE DC EXISTS FOR – NOTHING ELSE MATTERS).

Soon, thereafter he attended our next steps class which we call THE JESUS SESSIONS, VOL.1. It is a really simple but awesome introduction to the Way of Jesus & The Dialogue Church. I had encouraged him to attend with me so he could learn more about this faith journey that he had just begun. We focus a lot on helping people understand their next steps in their movement toward God, no matter where they are in their spiritual journey. My friend realized that his next step was baptism.

After numerous talks he realized that he was struggling with really putting Christ first and he didn’t want to be baptized until he was ready to put Christ above all else. I just kept praying for him and encouraging him to bring his struggles to Jesus.

Then something happened…We went to THE WARRIOR CONFERENCE (www.warriorconference.com) in Waterville Valley, NH. Pastor Buddy Cremeans (www.buddycreameans.com) of Northway Fellowship Church (www.northwaychurch.tv) just happened to say something like this, “And some of you have recently found Jesus, but you haven’t been baptized. You need to be baptized. And I hear we have some water around here.” My friend immediately turned to me and said, “That is me. I need to be baptized. I want to follow Jesus. We can do it here too.” I said, “Absolutely, we will baptize you tomorrow morning in the pool.”

It was so awesome to witness one of my good friends turn to Jesus and then follow him in baptism. What an awesome image of life change! Now, I will say this, that usually baptism isn’t painful, but because the pool had just been filled with extremely cold water – it was the most painful baptism, but also one of the most exciting! So, to my good friend, way to go for not being afraid to follow Jesus (even in very cold water) and we will miss you when you move to Virginia Beach. After the conference I realized that it was the first baptism we had ever done at a Men’s Conference. I am thinking we should make it a regular thing!

If you haven’t been baptized, or you know a new believer who has yet to obey Jesus in this step, then bring them out this Sunday for our huge DC Baptist & BBQ! The party starts at The DC during our 11 AM worship gathering, then we head out to the YMCA for 1:30 PM baptisms. Next, we move to the Frost House for some BBQ (I know sounds like heaven has come early for us)!

Those who believed what Peter said were baptized and added to the church about three thousand in all. (Act 2:41 NLT)

Baptism is about identifying with the Body of Jesus Christ. The Bible says that once we believe on Jesus we are to belong to Jesus through partnership in the local church (this is the Body of Christ-the church). Jesus is really hardcore about the church – in fact, the Bible says that He shed His blood for the church (Acts 20:28). When someone gets baptized they are going public with their faith in Jesus, and they are also aligning themselves with a local team for Christ – the church. When people get baptized at The DC they are saying, “I want to join forces with Jesus Christ here in this local assembly. I want to partner with the mission to bring Divine Rescue to those far from God”. WoW! That is why I get so juiced when we baptize people here at The DC. After this upcoming Sunday Baptism Party we will have baptized close to 30 people in the past 14 months. I know of too many churches that have not baptized anyone in years. Thank you Jesus for when we lift You up, You draw people to salvation and life-transformation.

We are going to be baptizing some new followers of Christ this Sunday, 1:30 PM at the YMCA (on Mechanic St in downtown Manchester). If you have never seen a baptism here at The DC then you have got to be here and bring someone with you. They will be affected by the contagious spirit of new life that is always in the air during baptisms! I just love seeing people obey Jesus in the area of baptism! Immediately after the baptisms we will continue the party at The Frost Household to have a little BAPTISM & BBQ! This may be the closest to heaven we will ever get: people obeying Jesus and eating lots of awesome MEAT! (sorry to all of you vegetarians, Jesus loves you too, and possibly we can get you some bark or leaves to chew on:)

Anyone who believes and is baptized will be saved. But anyone who refuses to believe will be condemned. (Mar 16:16 NLT)

Baptism is a SYMBOL OF SALVATION
Baptism is not what saves a person from hell or washes away sin, but rather baptism is a SYMBOL of salvation and the washing away of sin. When we are first standing in the water it is a symbol of our old life, before we met Christ and encountered the cross. We are symbolizing Christ’s death and our own death to sin when we go under the water (this is why we teach from the Bible, baptism by immersion only). When we come up out of the water we are symbolizing Christ’s resurrection and our consequent new life in Christ (it is by faith in Jesus Christ’s death on the cross that we are saved, not the actual act of baptism).

In the NT we almost always find someone being baptized immediately after they are saved (or put their faith in Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of sin, rescue from Hell, and transformation for all eternity). The biblical pattern is to first to repent (to turn from sin or a change of mind) and believe on Jesus (and be saved); then (unless they are in the process of dying like the thief on the cross) they are baptized. Notice the Scripture above does not say, “anyone who refused to be baptized will be condemned”. It says, “But anyone who refuses to believe will be condemned.” Baptism is not what saves a person, but belief in the Person and Work of Jesus Christ is what saves a person from hell and reconnects them with God. Baptism is meant to be a physical expression of that spiritual reality. An outward symbol of an inward salvation! I love it when Jesus gives us practical and physical ways to express our faith in Him. That way there is no second guessing our faith, we either get baptized because we believe or we don’t! It proves that I really am a believer! So, if you are a believe in Jesus but have not been baptized, this Sunday is your chance to embrace the symbol of salvation!

Anyone who believes and is baptized will be saved. But anyone who refuses to believe will be condemned. (Mar 16:16 NLT)

I absolutely love seeing people accept Jesus Christ into their life as their life-long Leader, and their soul’s Savior! That never gets old! That is what the mission of Jesus and the vision of The DC is all about!

And the cool thing is that this isn’t the end. The Bible says that salvation is just the beginning of LIFE TO THE FULLEST (Jesus said, “I have come to give you life, and to give it more abundantly”). Jesus didn’t come to give us more meetings, more potlucks, more programs, more music, more movies, but to give us more LIFE! And in accordance with Scripture once we invite Jesus into our insides to morph us from the inside out, our next step is baptism.

Baptism is a step of OBEDIENCE. I love baptism! I love it for a few reasons. Number one because Jesus commanded us to be baptized and to stand with Him in this cosmic movement to change the world! If you have put your faith in Jesus Christ for salvation (asking Jesus to forgive you of your sin, save you from hell, and to change you forever) then your next step is baptism – as followers of Christ we are to be obedient to Jesus Christ. I love how baptism is a physical way to express our spiritual reality (our faith in Jesus which produces salvation and transformation).