“Get them in the boat!” my 7-year-old son Connor screamed. A three-foot shark was peeling my 9-year-old Caden’s line and excitement was erupting in the boat.
ClampWe were on Caden’s birthday “shark fishing” trip. At one point, we had two sharks on. Connor was holding the net, screaming. Caden and his friend, Reagan, were both holding one rod that was doubled over in the water, and I was eating a sandwich cheering them on. I love birthdays!
We make a big deal out of celebrating birthdays. Somehow my sons have about three birthday parties because of family gatherings, cupcakes at school, as well as the “official” party. My wife will labor over invitations, and my sons will eagerly invite their friends. How much more should we celebrate and invite friends and families to celebrate a spiritual birthday?
At Twin Cities Baptist Church in Hemingway, 50 normally gather for worship. A few Sundays ago, they had 26 first-time visitors in one service. Who was responsible for all those visitors? One fifth-grade little girl.
Pastor Robert Jones led the young girl to Christ who had family and friends that were not active in church. Robert was encouraged by his father, Dr. Randall Jones, to leverage her baptism as a way to invite others to church who would not normally attend. Robert gave the little girl personal invitations to invite her friends and family to her baptism. They were designed by ladies in the church and looked much like birthday or graduation invitations. She took these and hand-delivered them to her classmates, teachers, school administrators, aunts, uncles, and others.
On the day of her baptism, the church nearly increased their attendance 50 percent and had an opportunity for additional conversations in the month to come. The ladies also produced a note sheet for everyone to cheer the little girl on by writing notes of encouragement and pledging to pray for her.
Since that time, seven more individuals have come to know Jesus from these connections. Some were her friends, and a young married couple is awaiting baptism. The same strategy was implemented with each of them. Now that’s exponential!
Some churches in our state have outdoor baptisms and throw a party complete with tailgate tents and food. We need to celebrate baptisms in our state, but more importantly we need to celebrate the conversations. Conversions will increase as conversations about Jesus increase. That little fifth-grade girl had more than 26 conversations about her new life in Jesus and she had only been a believer for a short while.
Are you as evangelistic as a fifth grader? Let’s go fishing!
– Clamp is evangelism group director for the South Carolina Baptist Convention. Follow Lee on twitter @leeclamp or on his blog at www.leeclamp.com.