One of the best parts of summer is Vacation Bible School (VBS).

One of the impactful ways the Gospel is presented through VBS is the “ABC’s of Salvation.”

The “A” stands for Admit (“A person must admit to God that he or she is a sinner.”); “B” stands for Believe (“A person must believe that Jesus is God’s Son and that God sent Jesus to pay the penalty for sin.’); and “C” stands for Confess (“A person must confess his or her faith in Jesus Christ as Savior and Lord”).

That simple explanation has helped countless children understand the Gospel and cross from death to life. Christians can utilize this A-B-C ministry teaching tool to help people find new life in Christ. This is, of course, the beginning point, not the stopping point.

The next logical step after a child (or grown up) makes a profession of faith could be called “D” (A person must be “dunked”); or to put it more appropriately, the next step for a new believer is to follow Christ in believer’s baptism.

Recent statistics have shown a positive movement in the Southern Baptist Convention in the number of baptisms annually. A recent Lifeway article states, “For the first time since the late 1980s into the early 1990s, the Southern Baptist Convention saw four consecutive years of growth in baptisms. Not only have baptisms climbed out of pandemic levels, but the 2024 numbers also topped the last pre-pandemic year—2019.”

While “the Southern Baptist Convention baptized more new members than in any of the previous seven years,” we saw “an 18th consecutive year of overall membership decline.”

In other words, baptisms are up, but church membership is down. What we have here, then, is a failure to accumulate; an apparent failure to make disciples connected with the local church.

This can and should be remedied. The Lord is still saving, and people are being baptized. But we must help them with all aspects of discipleship, including church attendance.

Let’s all recommit to helping new followers of Jesus plant their lives in the local church. Let’s help them be rooted, built up in the faith and connected to the Body of Christ.

As the Bible puts it, “Not neglecting to meet together, as is the habit of some, but encouraging one another, and all the more as you see the Day drawing near.” Hebrews 10:25

Let’s keep proclaiming the ABCs of salvation, even while we show people that Jesus wants all of our lives. That life in Jesus is from A to Z!