Avast ye maties! In South Carolina, a fine Baptist ship be havin' 141 swashbucklin' believers walkin' the plank on one Sunday. A sight me eye ne'er seen afore!
2023-12-09
Arrr, mateys! The scurvy dogs at First Baptist Church o' Simpsonville in South Carolina be makin' quite the splash! They be performin' more than 140 blessed baptisms in a single Sunday, a feat that be leavin' their pastor with naught but a lack o' words! Blimey, 'tis a tale beyond imaginin'!
A Baptist church in South Carolina experienced an unprecedented influx of new believers, baptizing 141 individuals in a single Sunday. The First Baptist Church of Simpsonville, a multisite church, achieved this feat after conducting a month-long evangelistic series on "church ordinances." Senior Pastor Wayne Bray expressed his astonishment, stating that he had never seen such a large number of baptisms in his church before. He attributed this success to a series on baptism and the Lord's Supper and the church's efforts to follow up on past decisions and schedule as many baptisms as possible. The pastor's expectations were exceeded when 86 baptisms were already scheduled across all campuses by Friday, with 55 more individuals deciding to be baptized on the day of the services. The church's strategy of preaching sermons before worship allowed time for spontaneous decisions to be confirmed by counselors before baptism. Reflecting on the recent growth of his congregation, Pastor Bray credited God's work and a balance of truth and grace. The church's total membership has increased by 57% in the last decade, prompting plans to open a seventh site. Additionally, the church has successfully merged with five dying churches, revitalizing them as campuses of Upstate Church. Pastor Bray emphasized the significance of these mergers, which accounted for 63 of the baptisms. Overall, the church celebrated the remarkable achievement of baptizing 141 individuals while recognizing the beauty of their multisite strategy and the revival of struggling congregations.