Very early on in the discipleship process with Vida-after about two to three discovery bible lessons, we walked through the passages on baptism together. He already read Matthew 3 and the baptism of Jesus Himself. So, he knew the narrative. However, Vida was a first-generation disciple outside the ministries we had already begun, so I took the time to explore more on this foundational topic with him.

We went over Matthew 28:18-20, and multiple passages in the book of Acts. Many of these passages are very familiar in Christian circles. However, I just want to focus on one simple passage and let you discover what you think God is telling you on this incredibly important topic. Before we go on, I would like to highlight the important role baptism plays in a new believer’s life and the discipleship community as a whole.

I believe that the fruit my family has seen is linked to the clear vision and application of the power of baptism. That is why we actually have a baptismal hole right in our front yard now! More on that in future articles or if you ask in the comments.

Discussions on baptism in the church have led to division in the global church community in the past. My intent is not to start a debate but rather to point out the importance of you discovering what God is saying to you about baptism in the discipleship process as you point others to follow Him. In Matthew 28:18-20, Jesus identifies a couple of simple things we should be obedient to, baptism is one of them. Of all the things He could have told us to do in those final words, baptism is one of them! Then he follows it up with “teach them to obey all I have commanded them.” That’s enough for me!

Enjoy Coffee? Enjoy these posts? You might really enjoy them over a marvelous cup of coffee, roasted to order, delivered free to your door, and knowing it supports a massive cause!

Compelled Coffee Available Now!

Within the first two weeks after discovering his Savior and studying the scriptures, Vida was challenged to be baptized. Antonio and I took him down to the river and encouraged him to bring along any friends and family he wanted to witness this life-changing event. To our surprise, he only brought his brother and a friend.

Some youngsters followed along out of pure curiosity. Antonio stood with me and I asked Vida why he desired to be baptized. He already understood the process as he had discovered it in God’s Word for himself. It came down to the fact that Jesus Himself was baptized, therefore we should follow His example and should also be baptized. To this, I would shout Amen! This is not a scripture we hear often, so let’s read it together:

After this Jesus and his disciples went into the Judean countryside, and he remained there with them and was baptizing. (John 3:22)

It goes on:

John also was baptizing at Aenon near Salim, because water was plentiful there, and people were coming and being baptized (John 3:23).

It continues:

And they (John’s disciples) came to John and said to him, “Rabbi, he who was with you across the Jordan, to whom you bore witness—look, he is baptizing, and all are going to him. (John 3:26)

Read that last part again: “and all are going to him.” It might seem obvious why I chose this passage considering what I want you to chew on. However, there is more!

If I would stop a Christian on the street and ask them what the most well-known scripture in the Christian faith would be, they would likely reply John 3:16–“For God so loved the world that he gave His only Son that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have eternal life.”

Have you noticed that this particular scripture is also from the same passage quoted above? Did you know that this well-known scripture is actually part of a story about Jesus meeting with a high-up religious leader of his time named Nicodemus? He was a leader, like many leaders today, who questioned Jesus’ methods or would make it more comfortable for the general public to follow rather than simply obey them.

In this very chapter, right before we read about Jesus and the other guys baptizing people, we read about Jesus’ encounter with Nicodemus:

Jesus answered him, “Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born again he cannot see the kingdom of God” (John 3:3).

After confusing this religious leader a bit, Jesus continues:

Jesus answered, “Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born of water and the Spirit, he cannot enter the kingdom of God” (John 3:5).

We read this about twenty verses before we see Jesus and the other guys modeling the example we should follow. Most of those verses are basically a dialogue between Jesus and Nicodemus. You might wonder; what’s the takeaway here? I want to challenge you to discover it with me. Stop reading for a few minutes or go ahead and read the passages we highlighted in John chapter 3.

Now pause. Take a minute or two and listen in prayer.

For more on hearing from God as a disciple go here 👉 https://whenlovecompels.com/how-to-lead-true-disciples-of-jesus-they-must-hear-god/

Close your eyes and ask the Father, “what do you want me to know about baptism? What do you want me to see in these words? What do you want me to enter into with you?”

Did you do it?

Awesome, now, let’s keep going!

After Vida’s baptism, I was surprised to hear that he had begun sharing passages of scripture with others after our study sessions together. I challenged him every week to share the scripture with someone else each week. He under‐ stood the model in the book of Matthew and started applying it. A few weeks later he baptized the first young man, who was a friend of his. His friend, who we will call John, started showing up to our discovery lessons on a regular basis.

When John decided to take the next step–to be baptized, we all walked down to the river together. Only this time, I stood back and allowed Antonio and Vida to stand beside John. Antonio led the service and Vida stood with him observing and assisting him. When Vida was baptized, we told him that he too was going to baptize others in Jesus’ name! It was not necessary for Vida to reach a certain spiritual level or jump through hoops to be able to baptize others. He already did what was necessary–he came and he followed.

My family has continued to use this method Jesus and the disciples modeled to us in the book of Acts with great success in our remote villages of Mozambique. I recently met with a discipleship group consisting of four Mozambican guys from the Yawo tribe. One of these guys, named Basilio, told me that he was returning to his field 30 miles away to pick up his wife and kids who have been planting and walk them back. Hopefully, he could catch a ride on a motorbike.

He shared with us that the five discipleship discovery groups he started were growing immensely. One of these groups just called him to announce that there were 20 new disciples ready to be baptized. They asked him to stop by, share the Gospel and help them baptize. Basilio faithfully discipled these communities during planting season by using only two resources— an audio Bible in their dialect and wisdom from our all- knowing God. He not only imparted knowledge of the Gospel to them but also allowed them to stand beside, assist and learn from him as he baptized new disciples.

He also gave them the opportunity to baptize others by themselves. This caused God’s Kingdom to grow so quickly that he could not keep up. He even asked us to send him two more disciples from one of the groups here to help him train newcomers.

These type of disciple making movements are happening all over the world! This is an article sharing a few good books you can learn more about it 👉 https://whenlovecompels.com/the-5-best-books-to-go-make-disciples-start-you-multiplying/

You see, baptism naturally becomes part of the discipleship process. Jesus, Paul, and most of the stories in the book of Acts point towards baptism. I believe it’s why Jesus commanded us in Matthew 28:18-20 to do it. Interestingly, in the eighth chapter of the book of Acts, we read about an Ethiopian who had an encounter with a second-generation disciple to Jesus named Philip.

After a short meeting, learning about who Jesus was, the Ethiopian, without having knowledge of the discipleship process, exclaims, “Look there is water, is there anything preventing me from being baptized?” (Acts 8:36-37). I guess he knew that from the Gaza strip in Israel back to Ethiopia he had time to dry off! That is the Kingdom of Heaven at work. It happens right now! It’s at hand! It’s near you! Baptizing others and encouraging others to do the same is another essential in disciple making and following Jesus.

We will dive deeper so to speak into this topic in future posts, but for now please let us know what you hear God saying to you about baptism.

Or if you have questions about implementing this area of obedience into your disciple making strategy please reach out and ask!

Here are some friends of the family and our mission that have their own unique stories to share in America. https://www.purveyorsofhope.org/