I didn’t become a follower of Jesus until I was 21 years old.
My parents became Christians when I was a teenager, and because of that, I started attending church occasionally around age 16. But while I was around church, I wasn’t following Jesus. Then everything changed.
At 21, I attended a college event where the gospel was clearly proclaimed. When the invitation was given, I walked forward completely broken. In that moment, I laid everything at the feet of Jesus. I repented of my sin, placed my faith in Christ, and surrendered my life to Him. For nearly an hour, I stayed at the altar weeping as God transformed my heart.
Someone called my dad and asked him to come to the church because we lived nearby. I’ll never forget what happened when he arrived. After spending that time praying and crying out to God, I stood up and saw tears streaming down his face. He looked at me and said, “Shane, I can tell you’re different because I can see it in your eyes.”
Those words have stayed with me for years.
My dad didn’t start talking about my failures. He didn’t remind me of all the mistakes I had made. He didn’t say, “We’ll see if this lasts.” Instead, he celebrated what God had done. He saw evidence of new life, and his response was joy. In that moment, he modeled something that every church and ministry leader needs to understand: when God moves, we should celebrate.
Celebration Is God’s Idea
One of the greatest opportunities we have as leaders is creating environments where people are encouraged by seeing and hearing what God is doing. In a world filled with criticism, cynicism, and negativity, the Church should be known for celebrating God’s work in people’s lives. We should be the first to recognize evidence of God’s grace and the first to rejoice when someone takes a step toward Jesus.
Sometimes we forget that celebration is deeply biblical.
Our culture understands the power of affirmation and celebration. In many ways, the world has become very good at using celebration to encourage people toward certain beliefs, values, and behaviors. But long before culture discovered the power of celebration, God established it as part of His relationship with His people.
Throughout the Old Testament, God instructed His people to celebrate. He gave them feasts, festivals, and sacred gatherings designed to help them remember His faithfulness. Whether it was Passover, the Feast of Tabernacles, or other celebrations throughout the Jewish calendar, these moments served as reminders of what God had done and declarations that He remained faithful.
Celebration was never meant to be empty excitement. It was intended to point people to the goodness and faithfulness of God.
When God’s people celebrated, they remembered His provision. They remembered His deliverance. They remembered His promises. They reminded one another that the same God who had worked in the past was still working in the present.
The Church should embrace that same mindset today. We have every reason to celebrate because God is still saving people, changing lives, restoring families, and drawing people to Himself. Every story of transformation points us back to His grace.
Celebrate Obedience, Not Just Outcomes
One of the greatest ways we can create a culture of encouragement is by celebrating acts of obedience.
When it comes to evangelism, many believers have unknowingly adopted the wrong definition of success. We often think success is determined by results. If someone prays to receive Christ, that’s a success. If someone gets baptized, that’s a success. If a gospel conversation leads to immediate transformation, that’s a success.
And certainly, those moments are worth celebrating, but Scripture reminds us that results belong to God.
In 1 Corinthians 3:6, Paul writes, “I planted, Apollos watered, but God gave the growth.” Paul understood that no human being can save another person. We cannot change hearts. We cannot create spiritual life. Only God can do that.
Our responsibility is faithfulness. God gives the outcome.
That means success in evangelism is not ultimately measured by results. Success is measured by obedience.
- Did you share the gospel?
- Did you pray for someone?
- Did you take the opportunity God placed in front of you?
- Did you point someone toward Jesus?
Those are the questions that matter.
Unfortunately, churches sometimes celebrate only the dramatic stories. For example, we share a testimony of someone who boldly shares the gospel with an atheist in a coffee shop. That person immediately gives their life to Jesus. Maybe we make a video about it. Maybe we share it from the stage. Maybe the entire church applauds.
And we should celebrate those stories.
But what about the student who faithfully shares the gospel and receives rejection? What about the teenager who invites a friend to church and gets ignored? What about the believer who has difficult spiritual conversations for months or years without seeing visible results?
Those stories matter too.
Imagine the impact if our ministries celebrated faithfulness just as enthusiastically as we celebrate visible outcomes. Imagine students hearing, “We’re proud of you for sharing the gospel,” even when no one responded. Imagine small groups applauding someone’s courage to start a spiritual conversation, regardless of the outcome.
That kind of culture removes fear and inspires obedience. People become willing to take risks because they know their value isn’t tied to results that they cannot control. Instead, they learn that faithfulness itself is worth celebrating.
Baptism Is a Big Deal
Another opportunity for celebration is baptism.
Sometimes churches treat baptisms with far less excitement than they deserve. A person publicly declares their faith in Christ, shares their testimony, enters the water, and identifies with Jesus before the church, and the congregation responds with polite applause.
But baptism represents something extraordinary. It is a visible testimony of an invisible transformation. It symbolizes the death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus Christ. It also symbolizes what has happened in the believer’s own life. The old person has been buried. A new creation has emerged. Everything has changed because of the gospel.
That should never feel routine. Every baptism is a reminder that Jesus is still saving people. Every baptism is evidence that God is still at work. Every baptism tells a story of redemption and grace.
In some parts of the world, baptism carries an even greater significance. There are places where someone can privately profess faith in Christ and face little opposition. But the moment they are publicly baptized, persecution begins.
Why?
Because baptism is a public declaration of allegiance. It tells the world that a person’s identity now belongs to Jesus. It announces that their old life is behind them and their future belongs to Christ.
That’s why we should celebrate it. We should rejoice. We should cheer. We should make baptism a memorable moment because it represents a life transformed by the power of the gospel.
Every Baptism Is an Evangelism Opportunity
Baptism is not only a celebration for believers. It is also one of the greatest evangelism opportunities available to the local church.
Many people have friends and family members who will never accept an invitation to attend church on a typical Sunday. You can ask repeatedly and receive the same answer every time.
“No thanks.”
But something changes when a loved one gets baptized. People who would never attend a worship service often show up to witness a significant moment in the life of someone they care about. They come because it’s personal. They come because it’s meaningful.
And when they arrive, they hear stories of life change. They hear testimonies of God’s grace. They hear the gospel.
Not long ago, I was preaching at a church where several people responded to the gospel invitation. Two of those individuals were guests who had attended only to watch someone get baptized. They came to celebrate another person’s story and ended up beginning their own.
That’s why every baptism should be viewed as both a celebration and a mission opportunity.
Eternity in View
Throughout Luke 15, Jesus tells stories about things that were lost and then found. A shepherd finds a lost sheep. A woman finds a lost coin. A father welcomes home a wandering son. In every story, the response is the same: celebration.
There is rejoicing when what was lost is found.
Those earthly celebrations point toward a greater reality. Heaven itself is a place of worship, joy, and celebration. Revelation gives us a glimpse of a future where God’s people dwell with Him forever. Sin will be gone. The curse will be removed. Pain, suffering, death, and grief will disappear forever.
Imagine a place where there are no more hospital visits, no more funerals, no more wars, no more disease, and no more heartbreak. Imagine seeing Jesus face-to-face and worshiping Him forever alongside believers from every nation and generation.
That is the future awaiting every follower of Christ.
That’s why we should become people who celebrate now. Celebrate every gospel conversation, every invitation offered, every act of obedience and baptism. We should celebrate the evidence of God’s grace in someone’s life.
Because every time we do, we’re reminding one another that God is still moving. And in the process, we’re practicing for the eternal celebration that awaits us in the presence of Jesus.
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Adapted from the Creating a Culture of Evangelism Online Course. Learn more and take the course for student leaders or collegiate leaders.