Last winter, Annette, (Left) and her husband spent the winter in Bushnell Florida. They began attending the Bushnell Seventh-day Adventist church, as well as making friend in their new “neighborhood.” Annette started having Bible studies with her new friend Ana, and invited her to church. While studying with Annette and worshiping with the Bushnell Seventh-day Adventist Church, Ana learned amazing things she had never know before about the Bible, and God and His love. Ana fell in love with Jesus and decided to be baptized. Annette finished the series of Amazing Facts Bible study guides with Ana and then had me study with her. I was able to share a couple of new Bible teachings but Annette had already done a wonderful and thorough job of sharing Jesus and the Bible with Ana. Ana was baptized last Sabbath, April 1, 2023 at the Bushnell Seventh-day Adventist Church.

Before the baptism We went over the baptismal vows before the church family. This encourages the whole church family to renew their dedication to Christ, as well as offering accountability to each other as we encourage each other in our Christian growth.

“Or are you ignorant of the fact that all of us who have been baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into His death? We have therefore been buried with Him through baptism into death, so that just as Christ was raised from the dead through the glory and power of the Father, we too might walk habitually in newness of life [abandoning our old ways].  For if we have become one with Him [permanently united] in the likeness of His death, we will also certainly be [one with Him and share fully] in the likeness of His resurrection. We know that our old self [our human nature without the Holy Spirit] was nailed to the cross with Him, in order that our body of sin might be done away with, so that we would no longer be slaves to sin. For the person who has died [with Christ] has been freed from [the power of] sin. Now if we have died with Christ, we believe that we will also live [together] with Him, because we know [the self-evident truth] that Christ, having been raised from the dead, will never die again; death no longer has power over Him. For the death that He died, He died to sin [ending its power and paying the sinner’s debt] once and for all; and the life that He lives, He lives to [glorify] God [in unbroken fellowship with Him].  Even so, consider yourselves to be dead to sin [and your relationship to it broken], but alive to God [in unbroken fellowship with Him] in Christ Jesus.” Romans 6:3-11 AMP

You may watch a video of Ana’s special baptism here.

Ana was given a warm Bushnell welcome into the family of God with flowers and a Jesus centered devotional book. The smile on Ana’s face reflects the joy of her salvation. God wants you to have that joy as well. If you would like to talk to someone about receiving the joy of salvation I would love to hear from you. You can reach me at william.earnhardt@floridaconference.com