On Baptism Sunday, April 7, First Baptist Church in DeWitt baptized five believers of Christ. (Submitted)
Creative Content Producer Mary Alford and Community Missions Strategist Clint Ritchie contributed to this report.
DeWitt, Ark. – The Lord is moving through Arkansas churches.
On Baptism Sunday, April 7, First Baptist Church in DeWitt baptized five believers of Christ. Two more baptisms were scheduled for the next Sunday.
“The Lord is working in our church a lot right now,” Pastor Jimmy Albrecht said.
Though they held a Living Last Supper event over Easter, Albrecht attributed the baptisms to the church’s renewed focus on prayer and its growing youth and children’s ministries.
Over the last year, First Baptist Church DeWitt’s youth ministry has more than doubled, going from about 40 students to more than 90. The church’s children’s ministry has increased from roughly 50 kids to more than 80.
On Baptism Sunday, Albrecht said they had 377 people in attendance. He noted the church’s sanctuary has a capacity of about 387. One of the attendees was the grandfather of one of the individuals being baptized. Albrecht said the man asked his son, “Is it always so spiritual here?”
“It’s the Holy Spirit visiting with us,” Albrecht said. “And baptisms are just a result of that.”
Adding to the excitement, this past Sunday, April 14, First Baptist Church in DeWitt had a dedication for its new activities building. They broke ground on the building in July.
“People are just excited, they really are and it’s just flowing with God’s glory,” Albrecht said. “This is the most exciting time to be at First Baptist Church ever in DeWitt.”
At First Baptist Church in Salem, they had five baptisms on Baptism Sunday. All were elementary-aged students who accepted Jesus as their Lord and Savior over the last several months, Associate and Senior Adult Pastor Tyler Fox said.
“These students had seeds planted in them from children’s church camp, AWANA, children’s church and from our pastors, leaders and their parents,” Fox said, noting they then had an adult gentleman baptized on Wednesday night, April 10.
“It is so good to see the Lord working in Salem and our prayer is that these recent baptisms will continue to plant seeds that will lead to the men and women in our community to accept Jesus as their Lord and Savior. To God be the Glory.”
In south Arkansas at Immanuel Baptist Church in El Dorado, Senior Pastor Clark Whitney said they have seen 12 baptisms in the last four months.
“To God be the glory,” Whitney said. “We’ve seen the Lord do a mighty work with children, teenagers, and adults.”
Whitney shared that among those baptized on Baptism Sunday was a father and his teenage daughter.
“When God’s hand is on His people, it’s a powerful and special thing. I’m reminded of the words of Billy Graham: ‘I’m just a spectator, watching what God is doing.’ As a pastor, I feel like a turtle sitting on the old South Arkansas fencepost – I know I didn’t get up here on my own. God does the work when we stay faithful and keep the spotlight on evangelism. His Word and His Spirit are sufficient. Pastor, stay faithful and fan the flame of evangelism. There is a world that needs the Good News of Jesus,” Whitney said.
At Second Baptist Church in Clarksville, they baptized five people on Baptism Sunday. Pastor Tom Dicus said one was a 12 or 13-year-old girl who was saved a while back, but recently had the desire to follow the Lord in baptism.
The other four were in their 50s and 60s. One man was invited to church by friends and recently saved. The other three were already Christians but were baptized as part of joining a Baptist church.
In October, Second Baptist Church in Clarksville baptized an 83-year-old-man. Dicus said they started visiting with him as he walked the church parking lot for exercise.
“We invited him to church, he came, and he trusted Christ as His Savior. He never misses church, Sunday School, Sunday morning worship, discipleship class, Sunday evening and Wednesday night,” Dicus said.
In March, they baptized a lady who was going through some spiritual struggles. She confirmed her salvation experience and was baptized.
“It is interesting that God seems to be working in the lives of more ‘mature’ adults,” Dicus said.
At First Baptist Church in Pottsville, they baptized one on Baptism Sunday, but they have had baptisms six weeks in a row with more scheduled. Pastor Jim Huffman said they are seeing several students come to Christ through the church’s youth ministry, led by Travis Garza. Just last Wednesday, they had two students accept Jesus into their hearts.
Additionally, a couple of the baptisms over the past few weeks came about through a marriage ministry they started in March. The baptisms over the weeks have been multigenerational, with the youngest being five years old and the oldest more than 50 years old.
Huffman said it comes down to the sharing the Gospel, “preaching the word and letting God do what He does.”
“Getting out of the way is where a lot of us have trouble. It’s not a program, it’s the Gospel. It’s not gimmicks, it’s the Gospel,” he said. “He has commanded me to preach the Gospel so that’s what I do. And the Gospel still works.”
Serve Local
Baptism Sunday was the culmination of the Arkansas Baptist State Convention’s Spring Outreach Ministry, which also focused on Big Day – Easter Sunday – and Serve Local.
Throughout March, more than 1,000 Arkansas Baptists served in 92 reported ministries as part of Serve Local. Ministries included yard work, home repairs, Easter Egg Hunts, block parties, and much more. Approximately 5,400 guests attended events where the Gospel was shared, and at least 30 professions of faith were recorded.
Camden First Baptist was one participating church. According to Pastor Stephen Watson, after several difficult years and attendance dropping under 50 people per week, the church is growing again and attempting to reconnect with the community.
The church hosted a community Wild Game Dinner on March 9 with around 200 people in attendance, including more than 75 guests.
“There were more people at an FBC Camden service than in the past two or three years,” Watson said. “God blessed again as we hosted a prayer walk and block party during Holy Week. Our folks prayer walked several neighborhoods throughout Camden and delivered door hangers inviting the community to our Easter Eggstravaganza block party and to Easter Services on Sunday morning. I had a great Gospel conversation with one family I met. They came to the block party and to church on Sunday. God is working at FBC Camden, and while we did not have any professions of faith, we had several conversations that we will be following up on the next couple of days.”
Lake Village Baptist Church hosted a Block Party, a basketball tournament, a no sale yard sale, and had others doing yardwork and painting. Pastor Tim Chennault said the local ambulance and fire department also participated in the activities, which brought people from all walks of life together. Chennault said the local sheriff, who is not a member of the church, shook his hand and commented, “This was good for our community.”
In Batesville, Ruddell Hill Baptist Church served at a local laundry mat, providing free laundry for customers and intentionally building relationships.
“One of my favorite memories was getting to pray with the manager of the laundry mat. She shared her appreciation that a local church would love the community and serve Christ in this particular way. She even asked us to come back as soon as possible,” said Tyler Bramlett, pastor of Ruddell Hill. “We developed relationships through Serve Local that opened the doors for future mission opportunities, and we are excited for the future ministry here in our community.”
More than 7,000 Easter Eggs were distributed at a block party in Hampton held by First Baptist Church. The church then hosted booths at their local annual festival, each dedicated to sharing the love of Christ.
“What’s truly remarkable is that the Gospel message resonated far beyond the preacher’s voice; our church members enthusiastically embraced the opportunity and shared the Gospel message with far too many people to count,” Pastor Charles McBryde said.
These are just a few examples of the impact made by Arkansas Baptists in their local communities. Many other churches commented about guests that attended their services after being invited through Serve Local initiatives.