Members of the Ystrad Mynach church in the Welsh Mission witnessed two milestone celebrations on the weekend of 20 and 21 May 2023. It was the first time the church celebrated a baptism in its church building, followed by a wedding blessing the following day, which was also a first for the church.
Ellis and Courtney Lewis were the young Welsh couple at the centre of it. Their friends and family members who joined them at the service were touched by what they witnessed and heard during the joyous occasion.
Ellis and Courtney's first visit to the church was in February 2022. Both came from different backgrounds; one was a Christian, and the other a non-believer. Before encountering the church, they said they searched and studied the Bible at home. Through their searching, the Holy Spirit led them to visit the Seventh-day Adventist church in Ystrad Mynach, where members warmly welcomed and embraced them into the church family. Seeing two young indigenous Welsh people giving their lives to Christ was beautiful.
The local church minister, Pastor Adriana Fodor, conducted the weekend services and was assisted by Pastor Jeremy Johnson in both services.
As Fodor delivered the charge to the baptismal candidates, before the baptism, she encouraged them to remain rooted in Christ as the only way of staying strong in the storms of life and the winds of deceptions that may come their way. After the charge, Pastor Johnson baptised the two candidates, and the Ystrad Mynach church received both as members into their church fellowship.
The next day, after their spiritual baptism journey, Courtney and Ellis joined their lives together in holy matrimony. Pastor Johnson reminded the couple in his message to them during the marriage ceremony that Courtney was three times a lady and Ellis not three but six times a man. He took his advice from 1 Timothy 6:11b. Johnson added that with their new baptism into Christ, their marriage was also to be rooted and grounded with Christ at the centre of all things.
Their baptism and marriage moved and prompted some guests to ask questions about what it is to have a life in Christ. Pastor Fodor says "we look forward to engaging with them and the potential for subsequent baptisms at our growing church."
