Raised to Life

Navigators World Missions staff Kurtis Schutter started one of many Zoom calls with Marcello, a young man heโ€™d been discipling in the Netherlands.

โ€œI have been thinking, and I want to get baptized, out in the open air on the beach, on my birthday in a few weeks,โ€ Marcello said. โ€œWhat do you think? I really donโ€™t want to wait any longer.โ€ 

Marcello had wanted to be baptized for a while but hadnโ€™t felt it was the right time. When he realized his birthday coincided with Ascension Day, he felt God had chosen this day for his symbolic rebirth. Kurtis encouraged Marcello to talk to his pastor and see what was possible.

Raised to Life | Navigators World Missions | Young man being baptized in a river


โ€œMarcello had given his life to Christ last fall at our student retreat and hasnโ€™t looked back since,โ€ Kurtis says. โ€œHe joined the Alpha course that I led last year, and we became friends. He asked to dig into the Bible and prayer together. I was able to help him think through his decision to be baptized.โ€

Marcello felt God calling him to invite his non-Christian family and friends to his baptism. So, before his baptism began, Marcello explained his journey of faith, sharing the questions he had brought and still brings to God. He told the gathered group how he came to commit his life to Jesus.

โ€œMoments later, he plunged with his pastor and girlfriend into the North Sea,โ€ Kurtis says. โ€œAfter his baptism, Marcello and his family seemed to glow with joy. His father is critical of religion but had so much joy after the ceremony. Marcello could see his family and friends were curious to hear more about Jesus.โ€

Marcello remembers the dayโ€”and the days sinceโ€”with awe. Calm seas. Breathtaking sunset. Godโ€™s glory all around.

โ€œItโ€™s hard to find the right words for how wonderful that moment was,โ€ Marcello says. โ€œGod gave me so much more love and joy as I was baptized. Since following Jesus, my life has been filled with incredible peace. I long for my friends to see Jesus in my life. I am learning to trust that God is working. They have asked me some good questions. They remind me of where I was a few years ago. With so many non-Christian relatives and friends around, I knew this celebration could inspire a new beginning for many. And I keep praying every day for those who witnessed me giving my life back to Jesus, that they will ultimately do the same.โ€

Kurtis says walking with Marcello and his loved ones has been a true blessing.

โ€œJoy filled my heart as he shared his testimony,โ€ Kurtis says. โ€œMany of his friends approached Marcello and I with questions. Marcello followed up with friends and family for weeks afterward and has seen many become more open towards Jesus.โ€ 

That in itself is a beautiful answer to prayer.

โ€œIn the Netherlands about 90 percent of young people consider themselves non-religious,โ€ Kurtis says. โ€œThe culture is resistant to the gospel, but everyone seems to be seeking for โ€˜more to lifeโ€™ at the same time. My team and I build friendships with international students and young professionals like Marcello in and around Amsterdam. Life-to-Lifeยฎ discipleship is so vital because people here want to know what difference Jesus makes in your everyday life. They want to see if it is authentic and real.โ€ 

Thatโ€™s how it was with Marcello.

โ€œThe more we spoke, I saw his walls come down and I saw a deep longing to know the love and peace of Jesus,โ€ Kurtis says. โ€œIt is clear to me that God shows up when we meet.โ€ 

Marcello is brimming with gratefulness!

โ€œIt has been special to have Kurtis so happy to meet with me,โ€ Marcello says. โ€œHe challenged me to think critically of my own questions. I have been encouraged by our time reading the Bible together. I am also so blessed by my beautiful girlfriend Emilie, who is also involved with The Navigators. God has worked through her since the day I met her. I am thankful for everyone who has helped me in my journey with Jesus.โ€ 

Marcello and Kurtis are excited to see what else God has in storeโ€”our God who welcomes our questions and invites our surrender with wide-open arms.

Pray for the gospel to ignite through these networks of friends and family within World Missions in all the locations they serve.

Comments:

  1. โ€œThe harvest is plentiful, the laborers are few; therefore pray earnestly to the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers into his harvest.โ€ Matthew 9:37-38. God bless the atheists in the Netherlands who yearn for a life with meaning to awaken to the peace of the Holy Spirit and to trust their lives to Jesus Christ, our Lord and Savior.

  2. I lived in The Netherlands as an exchange student in 1974-75 as a non-Chistrian. After a year of living with a Christian farm family there and then meeting Scott Morton at a UW Madison Navigator Pizza Blast in Sept. 1975, who explained the gospel to me, I became a Christian. Scott and I have been friends ever since!

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

By commenting, you agree to our Code of Conduct.