Episode 124: She's hand-written cards for almost 7,000 new Christians in two years (Lorraine Smith)

The Christian Chronicle Podcast

In some congregations, you may find one member whose ministry is sending hand-written cards of congratulations to new Christians upon their baptisms.

Imagine if that one member tries to send a card to every new Christian, not just in their own congregation, but in the entire world.

Meet Lorraine Smith of Central Church of Christ in Dalton, Georgia. Inspired by a card her grandson received from strangers after his baptism, Lorraine set out to handwrite an encouragement card to every new Christian she can find. In the last two years, she's hand-written and sent cards to almost 7,000 new Christians from all over!

In this episode, she talks about how (and why) she does it and what's she's learned about how God turns strangers into family. She also testifies about how God is adding to the church of Christ every day (though we are often too distracted by bad news to notice). And she talks about how the church can better come alongside new Christians when they come up out of the waters of baptism.

Links from this episode:

Calvin Cockrell's Christian Chronicle report on 37 Faulkner University football players submitting to baptism in one night (from August 2023)

Christian Chronicle Podcast Episode 30 interview with some of the Faulkner University football players who submitted to baptism in August 2023

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Chapters

1. Welcome to the Christian Chronicle Podcast (00:00:00)

2. Lorraine's Card Ministry Beginnings (00:02:33)

3. 6,681 Cards and Counting (00:06:44)

4. Powerful Responses from Recipients (00:12:21)

5. What's Inside Each Card (00:19:27)

6. Baptism Stories and Reflections (00:25:41)

7. Elevating Baptism in Church Life (00:33:40)

8. How to Start Your Own Ministry (00:37:09)