A baptism day invitation

A declaration is a formal statement of proclamation. The Bible is full of declarations that communicate truth and have various implications. None, however, may be more concrete than this one: “There is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved” (Acts 4:12).

That person’s name is, of course, Jesus. And it is in his name that Tennessee Baptists go to their family, friends, and neighbors proclaiming the good news of the gospel, calling all people to salvation. It is not only our Great Commission imperative, but also our Great Commission privilege.

I never tire of seeing people saved, baptized, and set on the road to discipleship. I think about the story in John 9:13-34 where Jesus heals the blind man who winds up interrogated by the Pharisees about his healing. He eventually offers a simple testimony of salvation — that once he was blind, but now he sees.

Sins forgiven, relationship to God restored through Jesus, and walking in new life with Christ.

Newness of life is worth a celebration, a big one. That is why April 4, 2027, is set aside as New Life Baptism Day. The previous Sunday, March 28, is Easter, and the 4th is when we hope every baptistry across the state will be occupied by those offering a simple and clear testimony that now, they see.

One of the initiatives Tennessee Baptists indicated they wanted to pursue was strengthening evangelistic disciples. As we’ve shifted our Tennessee Baptist Mission Board organizational structure to even more intentionally help churches reach this objective, we’ve launched several pilot projects in 2026.

One of those was New Life Baptism Day held last month on April 12. There were 47 churches that participated and reported 185 new Christ followers baptized. That’s almost four people baptized per church.

But think about this. What if next year we have 500 Tennessee Baptist Convention churches baptizing 2,000 people? Or better, 2,000 churches baptizing 8,000 people!

Think about those being your son, daughter, mom, dad, or best friend. They aren’t just numbers to record, but people we dearly love whose eternity is changed because they are no longer spiritually blind but clearly see Jesus for the Savior he is.

Here’s our reality. The need to evangelize Tennessee has never been greater. We have a population growing measurably faster than our baptism rate. Clearly stated, spiritual lostness in our state is increasing daily, and we’re not keeping up. Our passion to desperately see people come to saving faith in Christ must surpass the spiritual desperation in which they find themselves.

I love what our late friend Steve Gaines, the former pastor of Bellevue Baptist Church in Memphis and former president of the Southern Baptist Convention, said at an evangelism rally at Union University in 2017.

“Evangelism should be the priority of every Christian,” he said. “Heaven and hell are looming in the balance, and that’s a lot more important than anything else.

“Every Christian’s first thought when entering a room should be, ‘I wonder if these people know Jesus?’ If you love somebody, you talk to them and you talk about them. That’s just the way it is. If you don’t talk to them, and you don’t talk about them, you don’t love them.”

Steve was all evangelism, all the time. He emphasized evangelism as Southern Baptist Convention president and as pastor of Bellevue Baptist Church. And I saw it up close, as he led a young lady to Christ one morning at a restaurant while we were having breakfast.

What I loved about Steve was how intentional he was. Evangelism was never an afterthought. He stalked opportunities. He loved people and wanted the best for them, and what is best for them is to know Jesus.

Steve prayed for spiritually lost people by name. He entered gospel conversations with people he knew and didn’t know. The strategy is simple, and we can all follow his example.

So, I’m extending to you an invitation. Will you and your church commit to join hundreds of other churches on April 4, 2027, for New Life Baptism Day? Let us know by scanning the QR code above. Then let’s get out there and make it hard for people to go to hell in Tennessee (and everywhere else around the globe).

It is a joy to be with you on this journey. B&R