Why Our Pastors are Excited about Baptism Party

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With our Baptism Party coming up on November 17, we asked each of our pastors what they were most excited about.

Take a look:

Jay Hendricks:

I'm so pumped for this fall's Baptism Party! This year we're trying something a little different and I think it's going to be an amazing time of hearing stories of Jesus's grace, celebrating through song/laughter/dance/food/clapping, and in the end worshipping King Jesus for all He is!

Our goal for this gathering is to join together as one family proclaiming that we are - reconciled to Christ, reconciled to each other, and forever His by His blood! Hope you will join us for this celebration!

Allen Tipping:

I am stoked about the upcoming Baptism gathering on November 17, because I get to sing, shout and celebrate with my church family. We get rowdy and I love it. We scream, shout and clap every time someone comes up out of the water because it’s a beautiful picture of the Gospel. Baptism is a visual picture of the stories each person is telling; how they were dead in their sins and are now raised with Christ; how they were rescued by Jesus and are now being transformed into His likeness. It’s beautiful.

This Baptism Gathering has the potential to be even better than most because the celebration concludes with a breakfast feast. The 10 a.m. gathering will be followed by Brunch and the 6 p.m. will be followed by Brinner.

 Can you say, “bacon”?

 I am already thanking Jesus for an awesome day of feasting and celebrating His goodness.

Jon Ludovina:

I love the few times a year that we get together as a big family to party. I love the excitement. I love celebrating Jesus’ grace and proclaiming the gospel. I love eating and feasting and joy. It’s a little bit of heaven practice.

 Specifically this year I’m pretty stoked about eating breakfast all day long. The only thing better than eating breakfast at breakfast time is eating it at lunch time and calling it brunch. The only thing better than brunch is eating breakfast again for dinner and calling it brinner. No offense to the other meals of the day, but they are far inferior to breakfast.

 And I’m not talking about your fancy, frou-frou brunch with tea at the country club. I’m talking about bacon. And sausage. And cinnamon rolls. And casserole. And more bacon. And syrup all over all of it.

 Can life get any better? I submit that it cannot.

 Then again… eating breakfast all day with your church family while celebrating Jesus giving people the good life. I stand corrected. Life can get better.

Kent Bateman:

One of my favorite things about Baptism Gathering is hearing how the gospel sets all different types of people free from sin and rescues them into God's family. God started the process of saving me through a Baptism Gathering, so I'm excited every year to get to see and celebrate the stories of more people he's done that for.

Adam Gibson:

As our church family has grown over the years, the times where we can be together at once have gotten fewer and fewer. With something like 900 people in LifeGroups right now, there just aren't many opportunities to be in the same place at once...especially when our Devine Street building only holds about 290.

This all makes me really look forward to the chances we have to get some time with all of us in the same place, such as the Baptism Party coming up. I love hearing Jesus stories. I love getting to welcome new folks and let them hear what Jesus has done in people's lives. I am so excited to for a chance to sing, celebrate, enjoy God's work among us, and eat bacon with my (church) family. 

Brandon Clements:

Every week at the Gathering we preach the gospel from stage. A pastor gets up and expounds on how Jesus is good news for us and what it means to follow Him in everyday life.

One of my favorite things about baptism gatherings is that it is our people do the preaching through their stories. Seeing people open up and transparently share how Jesus has done for them what they could not do for themselves never grows old. The excitement, the screams and applause for those being baptized, a symbol that Christ has raised them to spiritual life--it all gives me chill bumps.

Baptism is telling the truth about us and about Jesus, and that truth makes Him look really good. 

 Michael Bailey:

I'm pumped for the Baptism Party because each one is like that rest stop with a cool overlook when you're driving through the mountains. You park your car, get out, and look at the magnificent view of the land you've just driven through. For me, the Baptism Party is a chance to pause and appreciate the magnificence of where God has brought us over this past season. It's chance for me to sit back and soak in the great view his faithfulness to seek and save us. 

Get Your Potluck On

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Our Baptism Party is coming up quickly on November 17 at the Devine Street Campus. As part of the celebration we are throwing a potluck-style brunch (after the 10:00am Gathering) and brinner (after the 6:00pm Gathering). Eating together is a great way to show that Jesus has made us a big family, and a great way to welcome our guests to let them see what family is like.

Li'l Help Please

This is where we need your help. We are asking people to bring food to help with brunch and/or brinner. To help us coordinate, we have created a quick form to fill out. We'd love for there to be more than enough food there for us and our guests, and if we all chip in to bring our award-winning dishes, it'll be a great time with bacon and pancakes for all.

Take a second now to fill out the form, and we'll contact you soon with more details.

[button label="Let us know what you're bringing" link="https://midtowncolumbia.ccbchurch.com/w_form_response.php?form_id=362" shape="default"]

Who Should I Invite to Baptism Party?

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With our Baptism Party coming up on November 17, we wanted to help our family think through who to invite to the event. We usually don't make a huge deal out of inviting people to attend Gatherings, just because in a lot of cases inviting them to experience community in the context of a LifeGroup, is just as helpful if not more.

But because of the way we do our Baptism Gatherings, we want as many people as possible to hear the message of the gospel proclaimed through lives that God has changed. In light of that, we want you to invite as many people as possible to the Baptism Party.

Here's a few people we'd recommend inviting:

1. Friends & Family. People close to you are the most likely to accept an invitation because they want to know what it is in Columbia that you're so excited about, so let 'em know.
2. People who have intellectual/philosophical/personal problems with Christianity. Sometimes the most powerful way to help people see past their objections and doubts is to let them hear about lives that Jesus is actively working in and changing. During each Gathering, we'll get to watch around 15 stories from different people who have been set free by the gospel of Jesus. In a lot of ways, that's better than any convincing philosophy or apologetics book.
3. People who think they're Christians. Because of where we live, many people consider themselves Christians without an understanding of the gospel, conviction of sin, or repentance. Witnessing the stories of people who were in similar places can be a powerful way to reframe what being a Christian means to people who aren't sure.
4. Anyone who loves celebrating. The goal for the Baptism Party is simple: we want it to be one big Jesus celebration. So if you know somebody who loves celebrating, they're likely to enjoy the Baptism Gathering.
5. Anyone who loves bacon. Since we're serving brunch and brinner after the 10:00am & 6:00pm respectively, there will most definitely be bacon involved. Tell someone you're taking them to a meal, and bring them to the Baptism Party (okay, don't actually do that since that would be lying, but you can tell them food will be included!)

[button label="Find out more about the Baptism Party" link="http://midtowncolumbia.com/baptismparty" shape="default"]