Church of God Chaplain Baptizes 33 In Iraq
By Chaplain (Major) Mickey Jett, 82nd Sustainment Brigade Chaplain
I arrived in the Middle East and Iraq August 2006 with the 82d Sustainment Brigade out of Fort Bragg. I decided before I came to Iraq that my primary goal and purpose was to strengthen the Body of Christ among the soldiers and to win soldiers to Christ. My main method for doing that would be the Pulpit ministry. I felt then as I do now that the only ministry many of the soldiers would ever receive that would make a change in their lives was the sermon. Therefore, my intent was to put prayer and time into sermon preparation every week and ensure the message addressed salvation, change, and commitment to Christ and the Faith.
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Chaplain Jett baptizing converts in Iraq. |
My model of ministry is to not neglect the ordinances of the church. I use the ordinances of Lords Supper and Baptism to confirm the transformation of their lives and form their experience around Faith in God. My thoughts are if I had 100 people in a worship service I could provide a 30 minute message that addressed eternal and personal issues for everyone. I state, implore, and ask questions around eternal truths during the sermon and apply the healing message of faith in Christ as the answer. When we have people who tell us they want to be born again or saved, we pray with them, put the booklet “Getting Started” in their hands, and within two weeks have a baptism service.
We emphasized each week the importance of salvation, sanctification, infilling with the Holy Spirit, and water baptism. I teach that water baptism, is the outward sign of the inward work of Grace, and represents the spiritual womb of the church that is the entrance into the visible church and its membership. I emphasize that the first act of discipleship is water baptism.
The importance of water baptism is in our bulletins each week reminding people who have not been saved to come to the altar, receive Christ as Lord and Savior, and if they have not been baptized, to encourage them to follow Christ in water baptism. I usually have 1-4 people each month that ask to baptized. During my time in Iraq, I have had over 22 new converts accept the Lord in our worship services, 33 recommitments, and have baptized 33 new Christians in immersion baptism. The 33 converts I baptized had never been baptized before. I have had many others to request baptism, but if they have experienced believer’s baptism before, I decline baptizing them again.
Each Sunday we have at least two people to come to the altar for rededication or recommitments. I have just started receiving reports from my lay ministers throughout the Brigade about numerous soldiers accepting Christ and rededicating themselves to God.
God confirms my ministry here in Iraq with souls being reborn, recommitted and baptized on daily basis. I seek God in prayer every day for even more souls to come to Christ. My whole purpose here in Iraq is to Care for God’s people, share the message of the Gospel and, like the Great Shepherd, seek out the lost sheep and help them find Peace with Almighty God through Christ our Lord.
To learn more about the Church of God Chaplains Commission Chaplaincy programs, visit the Chaplains Commission website at: www.cogchaplains.com.
