Hundreds of yards from the old country church building where our small congregation meets for worship each Lord’s Day, God has provided a baptismal font. There by the giant cypress trees we gather at the river to listen to testimonies of those whose hearts have been turned to the Savior. We stand as witnesses—even as our spiritual fathers have for two millennia stood as witnesses—to the baptisms of believers ready to live and to die for Christ.
Baptism by the river is one of the precious rituals of gladness in which we delight as a local body. And the entire experience fills the heart with joy—walking the quiet path to the river, children in our arms and friends by our sides, until we are all gathered at the banks where we will sing, pray, and experience the testimony of new life.
How beautiful is Christ our Creator! How precious are the many tender mercies of body life which He gives to the local church.