Baptism by…diving?

When the world went into lockdown, Jose* started to wonder how he could use the situation for God.

Jose is a believer from the Southern Philippines, and when the pandemic hit, he decided to invite his relatives, the Santos* family, to begin an in-home small group.

The Santos family comes from a Muslim people group known for its hatred and anger towards opposing families and communities. Clashes are very common in this community because of the retaliation and vengeance so deeply rooted in their culture.

But Jose began the small group sessions by sharing stories from the Bible and had open conversations about who Jesus is. These open conversations led the family to ask more questions about Jesus and the life that He lived.

Jose prayed for each of them to experience a personal encounter with Jesus. He wanted them to discover Christ personally on their own. He wanted them to yearn for more knowledge of who Christ truly is.

By God’s grace, after many months of effort, the whole family made the decision to follow Christ and wanted to be baptized! In response to their desire, the local house church leaders organized a baptism ceremony.

However, their baptism was a little unusual. In order to evade any suspicion from the Muslim community, the church leaders asked the new believers to dive into the water!

Having declared their faith through baptism – though in an unorthodox manner – the Santos family is moving forward with the love of Christ having changed their lives! They will continue with their small group and keep learning about how much God loves them!

Pray

Please pray for believers like Jose who are seeking to share the Gospel during a time of lockdown.

And also pray for families like the Santos’, who have chosen to follow Christ despite the risks.