Watch: Secret believers’ joyful baptism in Syria

This weekend we had the joy of meeting in a local church here in South Africa, and despite Covid-19 regulations, five people were baptised in the beautiful facility in front of hundreds of church members as a public announcement of their faith in Jesus. A very touching moment for me was hearing a son thank his parents for their teaching, leading and love, enabling him at the age of 14, to take this important step.

As a parent, how I long for my daughter to take the same step in the future. After the baptisms the pastor preached a message on faith that challenges us to go beyond mental agreement with scripture, feelings about God’s presence to a whole-life response and active faith.

This experience made me think about how this important step of faith is celebrated by our persecuted brothers and sisters in places where it is not only hard but dangerous to follow Jesus. One of such places is Syria.

Despite Syria moving down a position from 2020 to 2021 on the World Watch List (#12), due to the continued growth in the number of converts from Islam to Christianity, an increase in violations against Christians from a Muslim background is anticipated . In most cases these new believers do not have their family’s support – often their closest family could place them in the most danger when their conversion becomes evident. Kurdish Christians are often forced to go underground.

Despite the imminent threat to their safety, Kurdish believers in Syria recently took the step of publicly declaring their faith in Jesus through baptism. It was a joyful occasion of which you can now also be a witness of. Watch here >>

Join me in praying for these believers:

Lord Jesus, you said that “Whoever believes and is baptized will be saved, but whoever does not believe will be condemned” as part of your Great Commission before being taken up in heaven. We thank you today for every believer in Syria who believes and acts on their faith. Strengthen them to remain faithful amidst uncertainty and danger. We thank You that you continue to build your Church – even in the hardest places. Let your Kingdom break through the darkness for your glory. Amen.

Peace
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Lynette