The Christian Chronicle Podcast
The Christian Chronicle Podcast explores the news and stories shaping Church of Christ congregations and members around the world.
The Christian Chronicle Podcast
Episode 124: She's hand-written cards for almost 7,000 new Christians in two years (Lorraine Smith)
In some congregations, you may find one member whose ministry is sending hand-written cards of congratulations to new Christians upon their baptisms.
Imagine if that one member tries to send a card to every new Christian, not just in their own congregation, but in the entire world.
Meet Lorraine Smith of Central Church of Christ in Dalton, Georgia. Inspired by a card her grandson received from strangers after his baptism, Lorraine set out to handwrite an encouragement card to every new Christian she can find. In the last two years, she's hand-written and sent cards to almost 7,000 new Christians from all over!
In this episode, she talks about how (and why) she does it and what's she's learned about how God turns strangers into family. She also testifies about how God is adding to the church of Christ every day (though we are often too distracted by bad news to notice). And she talks about how the church can better come alongside new Christians when they come up out of the waters of baptism.
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Family and friends, neighbors and, most of all, strangers. Welcome to the Christian Chronicle Podcast. We're bringing you the stories shaping Church of Christ congregations and members around the world. I'm BT Irwin.
BT Irwin:May what you are about to hear bless you and honor God. If you've been baptized in the name of the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit for the remission of your sins, what do you remember about the days, weeks and months that came after your baptism? My friends and I have often talked about a letdown that came when the afterglow of baptism wore off. Eventually, the world crashes back in and we face the real challenge and difficulty of trudging the way of Jesus Christ, day after day, week after week, year after year. We need encouragement and wisdom most of all when we're just starting out in the Christian life.
BT Irwin:A couple of years ago, one woman set out to give that kind of encouragement and wisdom to new Christians. Whenever she finds out that someone submitted to baptism, she writes them a personal card. You may think she's doing that for those who are baptized at her home congregation, central Church of Christ in Dalton, georgia, and you would be right, but she also writes a card to every new Christian she finds out about no matter where in the world that new Christian lives. In just the last couple of years she has written thousands upon thousands of cards to new Christians upon their baptisms. Maybe she even sent one to you. Her name is Lorraine Smith and she's here with us now. Lorraine, thank you for joining us today. Lorraine, tell us about your ministry and how it all started about your ministry and how it all started.
Lorraine Smith:In January, the 4th of 2023, my youngest grandson was baptized His name's Carter and about two weeks later, on Wednesday night, he came up to me with a card, just a little small card, and it had just a Florida address and it had just first names in it and it was thanking him for his baptism and congratulating him. And it had a little bookmark in it and we went around to the congregation and asked everyone it had come to the church building and we asked everyone we knew and nobody knew where it had come from and the only thing we could figure was maybe it had been posted on Facebook, on the church's Facebook page, that maybe they had gotten it off that. But he looked at me and he said, grammy, just imagine someone far away in Florida is thinking about me and congratulating me on my baptism. And it tickled him pink. I mean, he was really, really excited. He still has the card to this day.
Lorraine Smith:And I had been wanting to do something. I I teach Bible class and all these right lessons and things like that. But I've been wanting to do something extra and I've been praying about it and I thought I can do this. I can do cards, because I have a ton of them at my house that I haven't used, because I have a ton of them at my house that I haven't used. So I started in on January the 18th and that week there was a website called.
Lorraine Smith:Church of Christ Lessons and Information, and they would post some baptisms on there, and so I pulled about eight off there and I sent cards to them Well finding addresses. You know, I had to do a little private eye work.
BT Irwin:Yes.
Lorraine Smith:And so I sent, I sent those eight cards and the next week it was a little more and that was the least amount I've ever sent was eight cards. And that was the least amount I've ever sent was eight cards. The most I have sent in the two years and two years and a half or so that I've been doing it has been 159 cards. Wow.
BT Irwin:Wow.
Lorraine Smith:That's a lot, but anyway that's how I got started and it has blossomed from there. So I have involved everybody I can think of at church. I've gotten the lads to leaders, they sign cards that we send out and I have all the mailing information. But that's how we got started.
BT Irwin:Wow, so is it? You mentioned Lads to Leaders. Has this ministry grown beyond just your congregation now?
Lorraine Smith:We do. We do it in our Lads to Leaders. I get the cards ready over the week and then I lay them out and they come and sign them just their first names and I put that they're from the Lads to Leaders. I also have a ladies Bible class Tuesday morning Bible class that does the same thing. I get the cards ready and then I put them in the envelopes and then I address them. After that I just have them made ahead instead of trying to do them as they come in.
BT Irwin:Yes.
Lorraine Smith:And the ladies Bible class also does. Those I send to some prisons and so I use the ladies Bible class for those. I do not use any of the children's cards for that. But my grandson said, my oldest grandson. He said, grammy, you know that there's two things that everybody has to do death and taxes. He said actually there's three and it's death taxes. And Grammy's got cards to sign.
BT Irwin:Oh, wow. So how many of these do you think you've sent total since you started?
Lorraine Smith:I have sent, as of today, 6,681 cards 6,681 cards for 6,681 baptisms.
BT Irwin:And where are you getting all the addresses now? You don't have to. We're not asking for addresses here, but no, no, how do you? Find out that people are baptized. And then how do you find out?
Lorraine Smith:where it's been, the Church of Christ website that I told you about. It broke off and Isaiah Leninger has a website called Souls being Saved and he pulls every Sunday and Sunday night. On Monday there'll be 20 or 30 on there and I take it off there and I'm in contact with him on these things. I also find on Praise Report, church of Christ. Steve Gill is the administrator of that and I get a lot from him that are different. And then Rob Whitaker sends out a newsletter each week that I had been. Matt Wallen got me in contact with him and he gives a weekly update of different congregations that he's been working with and I get some from there and I also get some from the Christian Chronicle. They have just a small little section Most of the time. I've already got those people, but I've had some come from there and then word of mouth.
BT Irwin:Yeah, and now that people know you're doing this, I bet you get a lot more word of mouth, don't you?
Lorraine Smith:Yes, paul Mays. I don't know if you know Paul Mays. He sends me, he does a TikTok thing and when he has someone on there, then he sends it to me and I send them a card.
BT Irwin:You may know better than anyone else in the country right now, and I love this because you mentioned that the Christian Chronicle publishes baptisms and it's a monthly print issue and it's always just a few names and that's just what we hear of at the Christian Chronicle. So you just mentioned 6,681 people who have been baptized since you started doing this. I love that because one it means that more people are coming to Christ than we know, and you may be the one person in the whole country who's got your finger on the pulse more than anyone else about how many people are giving their lives to Christ.
Lorraine Smith:So that's wonderful. Well, you'd always hear that churches are dying every day and closing their doors, and there's just not anybody accepting the gospel.
Lorraine Smith:And that gets depressing. I get encouraged by all of this. We've sent 1,382 since January 1 of this year Wow, so I'll try to keep a total of everything so I know I can look back and get excited about it and I can tell the kids or tell the ladies Bible class. We've done this many cards. We get responses back every now and then from someone and we've had some amazing responses and finding addresses. I've had some amazing conversations.
BT Irwin:Are there any responses that you can share without giving away names? That just amazed you.
Lorraine Smith:We had sent some to a prison in Florida. They had 30 baptisms, 30 men baptized. Three congregations work in that vicinity and go in and teach a Bible class and do a Sunday service and then they've got prisoners that have been converted, that are also doing some, and around Thanksgiving there were 30 men posted. So I got in touch with one of the fellows that was working with it and I sent individual cards. I had to do individual cards to each one and send them, not in a package, individually. We received back from one of the inmates that was baptized, a young man that had an eight page handwritten letter in pencil about his story and he wanted to tell us his story, which was an amazing story. I mean he starts off by saying I was a liar, I was a cheat, I was a crook, but he wanted to share his story so that we would share it at church with whoever, that they would not take the path he took.
BT Irwin:Yes Wow.
Lorraine Smith:And so we're corresponding with him. Now Some of our ministers here are corresponding with him. We've had I had one young lady send us her prom picture because she wanted us to see what she looked like prom picture, because she wanted us to see what she looked like. We've had there was Steve Briggs. Our minister sent me a picture of a man with tattoos, lots of tattoos, and he was being baptized at the time and I recognized the background, the pictures, stained glass pictures in the background, but I couldn't I've got probably 600 address cards and I couldn't place my finger on it. And he said I would love to know this man's story. Well, I looked and I looked and I couldn't. I knew the fellow that was baptizing him. He was familiar but I couldn't find it.
Lorraine Smith:And about three weeks later that congregation had another baptism of a young lady. That congregation had another baptism of a young lady. So I sent Steve a message and I said I found it, I found it, I found it and I sent him a card when I sent the fellow that was baptized and I sent him a card and I sent the young lady a card and, um, so about two weeks later we got a response from her dad, the young lady's dad, and he was ecstatic. He sent us a four-page letter and it was. It was just about how much it meant to do it. And then, toward the end he said, and also, the young man that was baptized had just gotten out of prison, he had finished his sentence and he'd been studying the Bible and he'd been out of prison 18 hours and he came to them to be baptized.
BT Irwin:Wow.
Lorraine Smith:And that was in Oklahoma.
BT Irwin:Wow, oh, if God's not in that, I'll tell you what that's fantastic.
Lorraine Smith:Let me ask you real quick what kinds of things do you write in the cards that you and your friends send.
Lorraine Smith:Well, I send, I just do a card and usually whatever I can find. We've gotten to the point we have to make our own cards now and we take and cut up old cards, but anyway we put inside the card welcome to God's amazing family, or incredible family. We try to do each one a little differently. I always, in every card that I send, there's two verses that I always use, and one is Ephesians 3, 14 through 21, which is talking about God's love and his abundance and what he's going to do for us and how much he cares for us. And then I send, I put a piece of paper, it's a half a sheet of paper and it says every day God thinks about you, and it gives Psalms 68, 19,. And the verse is written out and every hour God looks out for you. Second Thessalonians 3, 3. Every minute God cares for you. First Peter 5, 7. And because every second he loves you, and that's increased, it's Jeremiah 31, 3. He, that goes in every card.
Lorraine Smith:And then I'll add another verse or two, but I like to put the little business card verses. It's like the size of a business card, something that they can keep in their wallet, and it says different things like this. One says fear not, for I have redeemed you. I have called you by your name, you are mine. Isaiah 43, 1. And I have a bunch of those. On the back of that I always put 1 Corinthians, 2, 9, which says no eye has seen or ear has heard, nor mind has conceived the great things that God has prepared for those that love him. Talking about heaven, I try to be as encouraging as possible. Sometimes if I have to handwrite all the cards I'll also put in about being his masterpiece and how unique he is, and just a packet full of encouraging things.
BT Irwin:Yes, what do you hope that God is doing and will do through this ministry?
Lorraine Smith:I know he's using me as a tool. I hope he has blessed me far beyond what I can imagine.
Lorraine Smith:Every time I get a little overwhelmed or maybe get to thinking, well you know, maybe this is not what I should do or nobody really cares, get to feeling pity party. Something wonderful happens. I meet someone or I talk to someone that have turned to find an address, and I come away from that blessed and excited again. He's worked so many ways in this ministry. In the summer of 23, faulkner University football team was baptized 36 members.
Lorraine Smith:And so I got in touch with the athletic director and I asked him could I send cards? And he said that would be a good thing. So I stayed up all night and individualized each card so that they didn't say the same thing and I mailed them off. And so I told Steve Griggs, our minister, and I said well, I sent 36 off this week yesterday and told him about the 36 baptisms and he said well, you're going to need some postage. I turned around and I walked into the hallway and one of our ladies walked up to me and she said I just want to ask you something, said we've got some postage from when we did World Bible School. That is like airmail stamps and we can't, you can't do anything with them because they're they're certain like 90 cent stamps and they won't give you. The post office won't take stamps back. And she said can you use them? I said sure, they gave me almost $1,800 worth of stamps. Oh my, wow. And I've been using those on my multiples when I have two or three and have to send out.
Lorraine Smith:I went to Give Kids the World in Florida last summer with our youth group to do mission work and while I was down there I carried cards for the kids to sign. Down there I carried cards for the kids to sign and one of the ladies walked up to me and she said can you use any cardstock? And I said, well, of course I can. She said, well, we had a printing company years ago and I've got all this cardstock. So she has given me probably 4,000 pieces of card stock. So I know I'm not supposed to stop. I know that I know I'm not supposed to stop yet so the Lord provides, does he not?
Lorraine Smith:Yes, he does, and, and every time I say that it comes in in the bucket fulls.
BT Irwin:I think one of the things your story emphasizes to all of us is that just start doing something and God is already out ahead of you. You know, this is really good. I want to just change gears a little bit here and talk about baptism, um, because I think it's a conversation that that we, we need to have and, uh, so I'm going to. I'm just going to ask you a couple of personal questions, um, first, what's the most memorable baptism you've ever witnessed in your life?
Lorraine Smith:Maybe my own.
BT Irwin:Okay. Would you tell us that story?
Lorraine Smith:Well, when I was 12, we had a minister that would pester you to death about being baptized. Would pester you to death about being baptized. He would every service. He would come up and he would say don't you think it's time you should be baptized? So I did it just to get him to leave me alone. And when I got to Freed Hardeman, everything changed. I had grown, I was 19. And the summer I came home that I was 19,. My dad baptized me for the right time, for the right reasons, and he became an elder about two weeks after that, and so my brother and sister had already been baptized, but he re-baptized me and he was an elder for about 45, 47 years.
BT Irwin:Wow, that's a long time.
Lorraine Smith:That was probably my most memorable. That was probably my most memorable. But then again, my son-in-law was baptized in 2016. And he had been studying with one. He was not a member when they married and was keeping the youngest grandson, the one that got baptized and helped start this card. This is another God thing. I was keeping him while he was having Bible study and they called me one evening and they said can you come up here? Said Patrick's going to be baptized, and I said I'll be there in a few minutes, yes, so I told Carter.
BT Irwin:I said I'll be there in a few minutes.
Lorraine Smith:So I told Carter. I said we've got to get your dad some clothes. He's going to be baptized. And Carter was about. Let's see, he was probably seven or eight.
BT Irwin:And he looked at me and he said well, it's about time.
Lorraine Smith:And we grabbed his clothes and he said let me get his shirt. And he came out with a Superman shirt and he said dad's Superman today and that's why he needs this shirt. So, then, when Carter Patrick was baptized, he turned around and baptized my granddaughter, who was the oldest grandchild, his daughter, and baptized my granddaughter, who was the oldest grandchild, his daughter. And so that was, and Carter was standing up at the baptistry watching. This was so yeah, my philosophy on baptism is Satan's, not after you if you're not a Christian.
BT Irwin:But when you're baptized.
Lorraine Smith:he's going to come at you with everything he's got. He will come running at you and he's going to throw everything he's got at you.
BT Irwin:And I think anybody that's baptized needs any kind of encouragement that they can get and to know that they're not in this alone. You mentioned thanks for sharing your own story baptized when you were 12 to get the preacher off your back. I think a lot of people listening to this actually understand that very well. And then you said you went to Freed Hardeman College. Everything changed, and so you came home 19 years old and your dad baptized you. What do you remember about the days, weeks and months after your dad baptized you?
Lorraine Smith:when I was a different person. It made a big difference. I didn't really understand at 12 what was going on. And at Freed Hardeman, we would have devotionals every night. You had chapel every day and there was a closeness to God and an emphasis on God every day, and that was something that I didn't have before.
BT Irwin:And that's something that I've tried to keep ever since. Was there any? You mentioned that when someone is newly baptized, to keep going and to prepare them for that? Do you feel like in the days and weeks and months after your baptism, that Satan came after you in a particular way?
Lorraine Smith:Yes, Is that a story you want to share? Is that a story you want to share? I had been dating a young man and I lot of anger in some of that. So, yeah, I know he did.
BT Irwin:So if you could, you're not 19 anymore. It's been a few years since then. So if you could go back in time, as you are now, knowing what you know now, and meet with your 19 year old self at the time of her baptism, what would you tell her?
Lorraine Smith:Oh me, never take your eyes off the prize. Just remember always first Corinthians two nine, as long as you love God. You only have to imagine what the great things are going to be and hang in there. You can do it.
BT Irwin:And you have hung in there.
Lorraine Smith:I've tried yes.
BT Irwin:We're all trying. We're all trying with God's help, aren't we? I, because baptism has become such a big part of your life over the last couple of years, and you are. This ministry is is wonderful I I'm so glad I found you, because I can't remember if I said this already in the interview or if we were talking about this before we started to record. I mentioned there was a woman in my church when I was growing up who wrote cards to everybody on every occasion, and every person who was baptized got a card Over the last few years.
BT Irwin:Whenever someone is baptized at our church, I wonder are they hearing from anyone? And of course, what I'm hearing is a nudge, you know, a tap on my shoulder. They need to hear from you, right, and so writing cards and writing letters is a lost art, maybe, but it's become such a powerful ministry, not only from you to these new Christians, but from them to you, as you've described. I feel like sometimes we give more intention to the showers we take in the morning than we do to the baptisms that happen in our congregations. How might we, how do you think, just asking you for ideas here how might we elevate baptism back to its rightful place in the life of the believer, in the life of the church. What do you think?
Lorraine Smith:I have always felt like that. We kind of fall short. Sometimes with baptism. It's kind of a catch and release Okay, you're baptized, here, you go back out into the world, and it shouldn't be that way. I would really love to see everyone get to have a what happens now class. What's expected of me now? Well, I don't have to sing. I mean, yes, you do, I don't have to attend, I don't need the fellowship. I've been baptized, yes, you do. You need the fellowship to carry on. And I just want people to know that they're not doing this by themselves, that there's someone there that they can lean on. If you've got a question, ask it. But I would really love to see, after every baptism, somebody have something. They're just not thrown out there and said, ok, you're done, check the box and you're gone.
BT Irwin:Yeah, I think one of the things that we know from observation and research is that, especially young people but I think this applies to everyone, to everyone once they are baptized and or they join the church, a congregation, a local congregation the relationships they have with mentors, people who are older than them in their faith, who put their arm around them and say come on, I'm going to show you the way and I'm going to connect you, those people stay, they stick around. Those that don't feel like they have a connection, or someone who's putting their arm around them and saying, hey, come with me, I'm going to show you how this works those are the ones that tend to drift away, and so it's amazing that you and the women at your congregation, and the kids and lads to leaders, y'all are those arms that are coming around new Christians and saying hey, we're going to be there for you, follow me. And that is such a crucial, crucial ministry that maybe many of us have overlooked for a long time.
Lorraine Smith:I agree wholeheartedly. I agree wholeheartedly. I agree wholeheartedly.
BT Irwin:So let's say, someone's listening to this and they are inspired by what y'all are doing with God and they want to do something with you or like what you're doing.
Lorraine Smith:How would you recommend they get started or get involved? Well, first of all, make up your mind and do it. I pray each time I go to the mailbox. I pray for every person that I'm sending a card to that God will give them the strength and the courage to do this and I feel like that helps me stay focused on what I'm doing. I feel like that helps me stay focused on what I'm doing. But if they want to get started, buy a box of cards and get started. Start small, God will provide.
BT Irwin:It's taken over. That's good. Well, take care of that wrist, Lorraine. It may be the most valuable wrist in the Church of Christ these days. Certainly so many people are so grateful to you for how you have used that to encourage them and start them on their way in their walk with Jesus Christ. So thank you for sharing your story with us today. Thank you for what you're doing, and I'm sure that the people who are listening to this all over the world are giving thanks for you today and praying for your ministry to continue to flourish for those that God so loves.
Lorraine Smith:Well, thank you, and I thank God every day that he's allowed me to do this, because it is all to his glory.
BT Irwin:Amen to that, thank you. We hope that something you heard in this episode encouraged, enlightened or enriched you in some way. If it did, thanks be to God and please pay it forward. Subscribe to this podcast and share it with a friend. Recommend and review it wherever you listen to your favorite podcasts. Your subscription, recommendation and review help us reach more people. Please send your comments, ideas and suggestions to podcast at christianchronicleorg and don't forget our ministry to inform and inspire Christians and congregations around the world is a non-profit ministry that relies on your generosity. So if you like the show and you want to keep it going and make it better, please make a tax-deductible gift to the Christian Chronicle at christianchronicleorg. Slash donate.
BT Irwin:The Christian Chronicle podcast is a production of the Christian Chronicle Incorporated, informing and inspiring Church of Christ congregations, members and ministries around the world since 1943. The Christian Chronicle's managing editor is Audrey Jackson, editor-in-chief Bobby Ross Jr and executive director and CEO Eric Triggistad. The Christian Chronicle podcast is written, directed, hosted and edited by BT Irwin and is produced by James Flanagan at Podcast your Voice Studios in the Motor City, detroit, michigan, usa. Until next time, may grace and peace be yours in abundance.