2 April 2020 | Sisak, Croatia [APN, Daniel Purda / tedNEWS]
No viral pandemic was going to stop one man from making public his commitment to Christ.
This was no ordinary baptism but, in the small village of Utolica, Croatia, some 100km south of Zagreb and near the border with Bosnia and Herzegovina, it became a small but significant event.
Marijan Plačković, a native to the region, had begun studying God’s Word before the coronavirus crisis hit. On the basis of his new knowledge and experience with God, he made a decision to stand with Christ and publicly express it through baptism.
He regularly attended the local church in Sunja and planned to be baptised there. However, the coronavirus pandemic erupted and disrupted those plans with all churches facing temporary closure. However, his passion for Christ was such that he did not want to wait.
The church was faced with the challenge of adhering to the health rules decreed by the national crisis management committee while at the same carrying out his desire for baptism.
Church worship was not possible, but Pastor Daniel Purda decided that there must be a way. On Sabbath, 28 March 2020, he gathered together only three witnesses from the local church. Maintaining appropriate social distancing, they held a private ceremony in the back yard of a member’s home in Utolica. They created an improvised pool using a large agricultural bin. The pastor then stood beside the bin and, following appropriate protective measures against infection, baptised the man.
Due to the coronavirus pandemic, there may have been only four people present, but the baptism brought joy to a much larger number who heard of this event, as equally, it brought rejoicing in heaven.
Church members were impressed at the positive example of their new brother in Christ who did not want to delay this important, life-changing decision, despite difficult circumstances. Accepting God’s mercy and making a covenant with Jesus does not know earthly limits and obstacles.
The pastor, respecting the pandemic prevention rules, will hold a ceremony of acceptance into the church membership at a later date when church gatherings are allowed to resume, but he has already welcomed our new brother into the fellowship of God’s people!
Translation by Matija Kovačević
tedNEWS Staff: Victor Hulbert, editor; Deana Stojković, associate editor
119 St Peter’s Street, St Albans, Herts, AL1 3EY, England
E-mail: [email protected]
Website: www.ted.adventist.org
tedNEWS is an information bulletin issued by the communication department of the Seventh-day Adventist Church in the Trans-European Division. Readers are free to republish or share this article with appropriate credit including an active hyperlink to the original article.
