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Four Baptisms in the West of Scotland

Four Baptisms in the West of Scotland

GlasgowYonah Matemba

Scotland is the least religious country in the UK, with more than 72 percent of its population ‘not religious’. In such an environment, reaching out to locals with the Gospel is very difficult due to the perversity of secularism on social-cultural life. Despite this, God is working in the hearts of men and women, as the recent baptism service in the West of Scotland can testify. On the evening of Friday, 29 November 2019, members of Irvine and Paisley Churches, including Kilmarnock branch (under Irvine) gathered in Glasgow Church to witness the baptism of four precious individuals. They are a mother and daughter, Audrey and Emily Frazer, Tankhu Tembo and Dorina Manda.

The key Biblical text that underscored the service was Matthew 28: 29 “Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptising them in the name of the Father, and of the son and of the Holy Ghost”.  The highlight of the service was moving testimonies of how each of the candidates came to know the saviour, Jesus Christ.  

Audrey and her daughter Emily, both former members of the Church of Scotland, shared how their search for a Sabbath keeping church and desire to deepen their understanding of the Bible, particularly Revelation, led them to the Seventh-day Adventist Church. In this journey, they shared the inspiration they received from David and Tricia Fulton, also former members of the Church of Scotland, but now active members of Irvine Seventh-day Adventist church.  Audrey, who had been baptised as a child said that she felt blessed to be properly baptised by full immersion, and declared her resolve to follow the indisputable truths of the Bible.

Through a Romanian interpreter, for her part, Dorina shared her deep conviction to rededicate her life to Jesus after years of searching for the right path to choose. Tankhu expressed the joy that she felt, returning to the church she has known as a child, and ended her testimony with a moving song she sung with her two children.

After the service, congregants, included friends and families of the four newly baptised members, were invited to share refreshments in the church hall. May the Lord be praised for His mercy and unconditional love for Scotland.