Mary Cuffy

The Spir­i­tu­al Bap­tist faith has be­come a source of im­mense pride, lib­er­a­tion, and spir­i­tu­al ful­fil­ment for its be­liev­ers, es­pe­cial­ly the youth. Young Spir­i­tu­al Bap­tists have found a deep con­nec­tion to their faith and its unique tra­di­tions. They ex­press heart­felt grat­i­tude for the free­dom to open­ly prac­tise their be­liefs, a right that was once sup­pressed but is now cel­e­brat­ed. The youth are cap­ti­vat­ed by the dis­tinct songs, teach­ings, and em­pha­sis on spir­i­tu­al­i­ty that set the Spir­i­tu­al Bap­tist faith apart.

The Youth North East­ern Chap­ter, un­der the aus­pices of the WIUS­B­SO Inc and the lead­er­ship of Bish­op Arnold Sylvester, re­cent­ly shared their thoughts with Guardian Kids about what it means to be a Spir­i­tu­al Bap­tist.

Abia Thomas ex­pressed, “Be­ing a Spir­i­tu­al Bap­tist has be­come a lib­er­at­ing and up­lift­ing ex­pe­ri­ence for me. I now ap­pre­ci­ate and em­brace its unique el­e­ments.”

Asia Thomas added, “I take pride in be­ing a Spir­i­tu­al Bap­tist, es­pe­cial­ly af­ter we re­cent­ly cel­e­brat­ed our col­lec­tive lib­er­a­tion. Our his­to­ry once con­strained us from prac­tic­ing our tra­di­tions, but now our be­liefs and cus­toms are for­mal­ly recog­nised.”

Ka­nee­sha Fran­cis shared her per­spec­tive: “I love the Spir­i­tu­al Bap­tist faith be­cause its songs and teach­ings are dis­tinct from oth­er re­li­gions. They of­fer in­sights in­to spir­i­tu­al­i­ty that oth­er faiths of­ten over­look.”

Keshon Fran­cis re­marked, “I feel great joy in the shout­ing, the in­stru­ments, and the op­por­tu­ni­ty to preach. Every­one has a chance to talk about God.”

Kaitlin Noel said, “I ap­pre­ci­ate the thanks­giv­ing ser­vices and Youth Sun­days, where I can guide young peo­ple on the right path. I tru­ly be­lieve it is the best re­li­gion.”

Kez­i­ha Glas­gow ex­pressed, “I feel an im­mense sense of pride in be­ing a Spir­i­tu­al Bap­tist. The teach­ings and sup­port I re­ceive are in­valu­able. The Spir­i­tu­al Bap­tist com­mu­ni­ty con­tin­u­al­ly of­fers me love, help­ing me build a strong re­la­tion­ship with God and my­self. Be­ing a Spir­i­tu­al Bap­tist fills my heart with pride.”

These sen­ti­ments were echoed by one of the el­ders, Rev Moth­er An­n­marie Roberts who stat­ed, “I am proud to be a Bap­tist be­cause of its spir­i­tu­al depth and lib­er­at­ing prin­ci­ples. They al­low be­liev­ers of all ages to ex­press their faith freely through God’s Word, wor­ship, and move­ment. While Almighty God is the ul­ti­mate lib­er­a­tor, a core tenet of the Bap­tist faith is the free move­ment of the Holy Spir­it, which guides and nur­tures our spir­i­tu­al gifts. The Holy Spir­it leads us in­to all truth, em­pow­er­ing us to live in align­ment with God’s will.”

She added, “It is di­vine­ly or­dained for hu­man­i­ty to wor­ship the Cre­ator of all things in the beau­ty of ho­li­ness. The pow­er and wis­dom of Almighty God il­lu­mi­nate our path, al­low­ing us the choice to wor­ship Him in this beau­ty.

“I take pride in be­ing a wor­ship­per with­in the Spir­i­tu­al Bap­tist faith, which of­fers pro­found spir­i­tu­al depth and lib­er­at­ing prin­ci­ples. Be­liev­ers of all ages can freely ex­press their faith through God's Word, hymns, and songs.

“While Almighty God is the ul­ti­mate lib­er­a­tor, the free move­ment of the Holy Spir­it with­in be­liev­ers guides and nur­tures our spir­i­tu­al gifts, lead­ing us in­to all truth and em­pow­er­ing us to align with God's will.”

Mary Cuffy is an ed­u­ca­tor and lo­cal chil­dren’s au­thor. Ms Cuffy is the au­thor of the La­dy­bug book se­ries. Ms Cuffy be­lieves the best in­vest­ment we can make in chil­dren is in the ear­ly years. Email: mary.cuffy@ya­hoo.com • IG: marycuffy • FB: mary cuffy/Lo­la and the Danc­ing La­dy­bug