'It was an occasion for great celebration'

Normanton Baptist Church held its first baptisms for 20 years recently  

Eve Faunch, church secretary at Normanton Baptist Church, has shared a heart-warming story about two Romanian families who first visited the church last autumn.

Eve writes, 'They introduced themselves as Romanian Baptist Christians. They were Edy and Sylvia with their two daughters, aged 13 and 5. The other family was Ana Maria with her two sons aged 10 and 6. They have worshipped with us ever since that day and the two families have been a delight to have in our church family.

'Shortly after Christmas, Ana Maria asked for baptism. She came to Christ two years ago and wanted to make a public confirmation of her faith. The baptism was arranged for Easter morning.

'Preparations were made for our first baptism for 20 years and the Revd Paul Allen, who has supported our worship on a regular basis for two years, agreed to lead the service. Edy and Sylvia also asked to be made members of the church along with three other long-term worshippers.
 
'It was an occasion for great celebration - firstly making sure that the pool did not leak, who was going to arrive at midnight the night before to turn the taps on to fill the pool and then return the next morning to check that all was well! The front of the rostrum was decorated with flowers and Easter eggs and the final blessing was that the sun shone into the church making a powerful statement of God’s Glory.
 
'The Revd Paul Allen led us all in a very meaningful and celebratory service with 40 folk coming together to worship. What a glorious occasion it was! We celebrated with tea, coffee and posh cakes afterwards and everyone went home filled with a spirit of wonder and thanks. 

'Thanks be to God for His work among us.' 
 

Image | Baptism | Creationswap

This story was first shared by the Yorkshire Baptist Association, and is reproduced with permission