This growth is reflected in nine baptisms scheduled for this Sunday, two of which will be students.
Caudill said the date on the SBC calendar can help show that the church celebrates baptism.
“We take baptisms seriously,” Caudill said. “It’s a decision that I never want to manipulate or twist or trick someone into. No matter who it is, it is their decision. It is something that is led by the Holy Spirit, so to see that in the life of a student, is just miraculous. To see the decision being made by a student is extremely exciting to see.
“It’s an individual identifying with Christ, that they are being buried in His death and raised to walk in newness of life. It’s also a picture of life transformation for that individual. That their life has been radically changed, and that’s only something that can be done by God. Their baptism is being publicly shown for all to see that their life has been changed by Jesus and they want to identify with that life change. We take it seriously, but we also celebrate it as well.”
Pruitt expressed his desire to use Sunday as a way to “change the narrative,” surrounding students by focusing on what ultimately matters.
“Often, when students are mentioned publicly, it’s usually filled with doom and gloom,” he said, “but I believe God is saving a generation for His glory and I am personally witnessing it on a weekly basis.
“Every local SBC church is part of a bigger family. They are part of the family of God, part of the Kingdom and part of larger SBC family. We celebrate because when a church reaches a student, we all are reaching a student because we’re all a part of the same family. As the SBC, if we don’t reach our future, we have no future.
“At the end of the day, we know that mission and vision inspires people more that guilt and shame do, so let’s put a focus on reaching and baptizing students.”
Churches are encouraged to post photos, videos and updates on social media using the hashtag #StudentBaptismDay.
This article originally appeared here.
, will mark the first official observance of Student Baptism Sunday on the Southern Baptist Convention Calendar, and leaders across the convention are preparing for the celebration.){kind=link}