On that day a great persecution broke out against the church in Jerusalem, and all except the apostles were scattered throughout Judea and Samaria. Godly men buried Stephen and mourned deeply for him. But Saul began to destroy the church. Going from house to house, he dragged off both men and women and put them in prison. Those who had been scattered preached the word wherever they went. – Acts 8: 1-4 (NIV)
It is inspiring to see that during a time of great persecution the early disciples remained true to the mission and continued to preach the Word wherever they were scattered. God used these horrific circumstances for his holy cause! The Gospel began to spread like wild fire throughout Samaria, Judea and the ends of the earth because the Spirit of God was at work in His church!
Although persecution and a pandemic are not the same, they are both crises that cause great difficulty in the church. During the pandemic many disciples have been diagnosed with COVID-19, lost jobs, lost family members and many today are suffering from hunger. But we serve a God who is bigger than COVID-19. I have been inspired to see and hear about so many disciples stepping up to meet the needs of their brothers and sisters. Even now there is a worldwide effort to collect funds to support those disciples who are unable to buy food during this time. There are so many more local efforts being made to support those in need during this time.
It is also so amazing to see and hear about so many baptisms and restorations. In the South Coastal Region of the Boston Church of Christ, six people were baptized and one restored during the lockdown in the last seven weeks. God has been moving in the hearts of many disciples to rekindle old friendships and reach out during this time to those they have lost touch with as well as share their faith with their family members. God’s Spirit is working during this difficult time just as he did in the early days!
Let’s continue to pray for God’s Spirit to move during this time. Let’s pray to see relief and to stop the spread of COVID-19, but more importantly let’s pray to be used during this time to spread the Gospel wherever we go!
Isaack Adego was baptized on March 15, 2020. Isaack could wait no longer to get baptized. Right after learning that the lockdown was going into place, he got urgent about making the Jesus Lord of his life! Issack is a student at Bridgewater State University.
You can lock us down but you can’t lock down God! Sheila was restored and then she baptized her husband, Steve on Easter Sunday. They are both so excited to share what God has done in their lives.
Socially not spiritually distanced any more! Ny Watson, a student at Bridgewater State University, was baptized into Christ on April 26th!
If one new disciple wasn’t enough, why not dump out the baptistry, clean it with Clorox and refill it again (COVID-19 baptism policy) an hour later and watch Alex Clark get baptized into Christ! Alex is a teen who grew up in the church. He along with his sister, Marianna and mom, Sharon are all disciples now! Shout out to all the single moms out there who are raising your kids to love God!
And just like that all five members of the Burrowes family are disciples! Anthony was baptized by his dad Adrian, mom Sharron, big sister Ashley and his twin brother Micheal. God is good!
Cousins and now brothers! David (in blue) baptizes his cousin, Danny into Christ on April 22nd! David is just over a year old spiritually and has been praying and dreaming of the day he could help a family member become a disciple! God answered! Congrats Danny!
