01/06/2026
The very first baptism recorded in Acts outside of Israel was a gender-nonconforming African.
A eu**ch was a person who did not fit the gender binary of the ancient world. In many cases they were castrated, but the term also encompassed those who were simply "different" — outside the expected male/female categories of the time. The Old Testament law (Deuteronomy 23:1) explicitly excluded eu**chs from the assembly of God.
And here, in Acts 8, one approaches Philip and asks: "What is to prevent me from being baptised?"
And Philip baptises him.
No condition.
No "but first you must change."
No asterisk.
And the Spirit? The Spirit confirms it — snatching Philip away, leaving the eu**ch alone, rejoicing, on his way.
The very first recorded baptism beyond Jewish Christianity was a gender-nonconforming person from Africa.
And they went on their way rejoicing.
That's not a footnote in the story of the church. That IS the story of the church: a Spirit that outpaces our prejudice, who welcomes who we would exclude, and who writes the outsider into the very first chapter of global Christianity.
The doors of this kingdom have always been wider than we imagined. 💛
Photo by Gift Habeshaw on Unsplash