I baptized my sister-in-law, Karen, yesterday. It was a very moving experience for me. The whole church celebrated as we welcomed her into the kingdom of God.

Jesus sends us out to make disciples of people everywhere. This, of course, means supporting the work of missionaries who work in far-away places. But it also includes reaching people close to us with the good news about Jesus.

Jesus once set free a man who was tormented by demons (Mark 5:1-20). This man was grateful to have a normal life once again, and naturally he wanted to travel with Jesus. However, Jesus had other plans for him. He said, “Go home to your family and tell them how much the Lord has done for you, and how he has had mercy on you.” So the man went away and began to tell in the Decapolis how much Jesus had done for him. And all the people were amazed.” (vv.19-20).

Quite often, the best influence a person can have is on people close to home. The next person you see baptized into Christ might be someone very close to you. That’s an exciting prospect, isn’t it?