112 people were baptized on the last Sunday in October at Champion Forest Baptist Church bringing the total number of baptisms at the church for the year to a record 601.
Senior pastor Jarrett Stephens began his time at Champion Forest in January and credits the intentionality of both his staff team and the congregation for carrying on the Great Commission legacy of their previous pastors.
Stephens said, “I am the church’s fourth pastor in their 51-year history, and there was an evangelistic zeal in the heart of the church when I got here. They’ve always been about missions about evangelism, that’s kind of the heart-beat of this church. It’s certainly in the DNA of our people.”
One way Stephens does that is by providing time for people to respond to the Gospel presentation at the end of each service and then to follow up right away with baptism.
Creating a culture that celebrates genuine life-change is something he hopes will sustain the spiritual growth of the church.
Stephens points to Acts saying “when someone followed Jesus, in every case they followed in believer’s baptism immediately, and baptism is simply a way of identifying with Christ.”
He also likes the opportunity to rejoice at one who is saved, just like the angels in heaven.
Although that Sunday in October and the entire year were “special” for the church, Stephens said there is no special strategy they have been employing to see this number of baptisms.