Yesterday Allan was baptised.  It was a wonderful party.

Allan's been a friend for four years.  We met when his wife started coming to our Discovery Bible Study.  We've been on picnics and camping trips together.  His son is in my computer club. We've had lots of informal talks about God.  When we first started talking he told me he was an atheist. Last year he and his wife started leading a Discovery Bible Study with one of our neighbours. By this time he was convinced there was a God, but not so sure about Jesus.

I think Allan surprised a number of people when he announced at our Chinese New Year party that he was planning to be baptized on his birthday. 

We began planning the party together.  Allan came up with the guest list which included several of his non-Christian friends. We thought about the venue and he thought an afternoon tea at my house sounded best.  We have had many parties there and his guests would feel very comfortable. 

We decided to structure the party like a citizenship ceremony -- something people in our community are very familiar with.  Many of us are recent migrants and we have either become Australian citizens or been invited to watch some of our friends become citizens.

What happens at a citizenship ceremony?  Someone gives a speech about what citizenship means. There is often a musical item. People are asked to make a pledge of commitment. They are given some objects to remind them of the event.

I had told Allan that he would need to give a brief talk about how how he had come to faith.  He surprized me by telling me he had already written an 8 page talk. 

On the day of the party we had games for the children to play while we waited for all the guests to arrive.  When they were all there we encouraged them to load up their plates  with afternoon tea so they would have something to eat while Allan spoke. Want to read what happened next and what Allan said?

We will be sharing more ideas on helping your friends discover what Jesus wants to do in and through them at the MyFriends Launch.  

Do you have friends who are not Christians yet? Maybe the ideas and the support you will receive through the MyFriends community will be just what you need to help them come to faith.