19 BAPTISMS IN ONE DAY!

19 BAPTISMS IN ONE DAY!

It started with one family asking about having their kids baptized.

That was 6 months ago.

We began LIFE groups back in January and a spiritual stir began to happen throughout the church.  People were noticing a change in people they had known. People they grew up with and saw in the same church for over 20 years were acting different!

In August, I decided to do a series on baptisms.

After each message I had people stay after church and ask questions.

After the second message I put a signup sheet in Gray Hall for people to add their name if they were interested in being baptized.

                I told them, “If you’re feeling a nudge, just sign up. We’ll work out the details later.”

By the time we ended the series (4 weeks), we had 15 baptisms, 2 rededications and 2 child dedications signed up.

Every participant went through a booklet I put together for them.

People couldn’t believe how many signed up. Everyone was very excited about the celebration Saturday, at Panaca Springs. A beautiful place that was just outside of Panaca.

The leadership set up for hot dogs and drinks. We all brought chairs and canopies. A group came early and prayed over the site and a child joined them during the prayer. One person shared a song, a mother and daughter each shared some special words they wrote, and someone brought a tree to be planted near the water to remember the event. One of the women baptized had been baptized a Mormon. Another young mom was being approached by Mormon missionaries to get baptized, when one of the members invited her to start coming to CCUMC. She was being baptized and her son was being dedicated.

We had about 100 people altogether come and watch the baptisms.

One of the men baptized shared at church the following Sunday, about a powerful sense of seeing Jesus standing on the water right after a young girl was baptized. He was dressed in a white robe and the radiance of His presence reflected across the waters to where the baptisms took place.

You can see a video of the baptism by clicking on the following link below.

ccumc baptisms link

Blessings,

Pastor Teresa Adams

Caliente Community UMC