Riverside Baptism & Student Dedication
“We’re going down to the river
Down to the river, down to the river to pray
Let’s get washed by the water
Washed by the water and rise up in amazing grace.”
Words From “The River” By Jordan Feliz
After His Resurrection, Christ commissioned his disciples in the following way: “And Jesus came and spake unto them, saying, ‘All power is given unto me in heaven and in earth. Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost: Teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you: and, lo, I am with you always, even unto the end of the world’.” (Matthew 28:18-20 KJV). We, the church, are Jesus’s disciples to a modern world. Jesus has, therefore, given us the same commission that he gave His disciples – Go, Teach, and Baptize. On Sunday, August 28, Riverside carried out two parts of this Great Commission.
First, we went down to the Lumber River near the church and 11 people were baptized – including 7 children. Brother Marvin was not able to perform the baptism service due to an out-of-town family matter, so our Conference Superintendent, Rev. Anthony Chavis, stepped in to perform the baptisms. Bros. Orland Locklear and Alonzo Jones assisted him. All who attended received a blessing as we shared in this scared event for these 11 new believers. All who were baptized were presented with their certificates by Bro. Anthony and Bro. Marvin the following Sunday.
Secondly, Riverside is blessed to have several school-aged youth in our congregation. Jesus viewed children as very important people — “Then were there brought unto him little children, that he should put his hands on them, and pray: and the disciples rebuked them. But Jesus said, Suffer little children, and forbid them not, to come unto me: for of such is the kingdom of heaven. And he laid his hands on them, and departed thence.” (Matthew 19:13-15 KJV). Following Jesus’s example, after the baptism service was complete, the church had a student dedication for all school-aged youth. We wanted to let our young people know that the church supported them and would be praying for them throughout the school year. We may not know what each of our young people face on a daily basis, but God does. We gave our young people to God to protect and to guide them during the upcoming school year.
