December 5 was a special Sabbath for the Waukesha Community Seventh-day Adventist Church as we welcomed five new members. Brad Bartlett, Kim Bartlett (Brad’s sister), Jacob Wille, Mikayla Cervantes, and Alicia Perez, all committed their lives to Jesus through baptism. After the baptism one of the young men, Brad, exclaimed, “Man I feel so good. I feel an indescribable relaxation and bliss!”
The baptism was meaningful to me as all the baptismal studies were led by church members, not the church pastor. Allan Kind studied with Brad, Lydia Kuzak studied with Kim, Mary Guifarro studied with Alicia and Mikayla, and Debbie Zevalkink studied with Jacob.
Over many months, these church members took time to study with the candidates, often having to study virtually through Facetime due to the pandemic. The experience turned out to be fruitful. The church members giving Bible studies expressed that they would love to give more studies to other people, as it was a growing encounter for them. This involvement brought a positive influence to the church as it proved that the church can follow the model of the early church and that an intergenerational discipleship model can be effective and nurturing.
I pray that this passion for leading others to Christ will continue to spread in our church family, including our newly baptized members.
Myoung Kwon, Waukesha Community Church Pastor