Baptism is the outward sign of an inward change in a person who has placed their trust in Jesus. We don't save people—Jesus does that. We just have the privilege of helping them make their big
outward profession of faith in the form of baptism.
Although I don't believe we should manipulate people or manufacture results for the sake of numbers, I do believe it's significant that the Bible records how many people trusted in Jesus and were baptized on the day of Pentecost. The Bible says in Acts 2:41, "Then those who gladly received his word were baptized, and that day about three thousand souls were added to them."
We ought to do all that we can to share the gospel well, to make it very clear what the new believer's next steps are and to celebrate the results of more people on their way to heaven. At Saddleback, we've baptized more than 47,000 people in the last 36 years, and I'd like to believe we're just getting started.