BAPTISM

My life before I found Christ was very different. I’ve always been raised in a religious household, but the thing is, I never truly understood until I got older. Over the years, I've been blessed to learn about God and to meet my best friend, Sebastian Figueroa. God blessed me by introducing me to him and letting me experience summer camp and meet some of my favorite people to be around. I’m ready to offer my skills, talents, and soul to Jesus Christ. I’m excited to see what God has in store for me. I’ve always wanted to have God by my side and commit myself to the Lord, but before this, I always was fearful. I didn't have a straightforward direction of where I wanted to go when I started to go to church again; I was nervous because I didn't know if I would fit in or find anybody I couldn't relate to. But I was so wrong, and I met Sebastian. What started out as a simple conversation about God and a lot about Eddie Van Halen over time, he’s become my closest friend. I didn’t know at the time, but God brought us together for a reason, and to this day, I couldn't praise the Lord enough for it, so once again, God, I’m ready for you to be part of my life. To accept you into my road and to show me the world you've created. I’m ready to be baptized and call upon you.

Before returning to Jesus, I would seek peace and fulfillment in substances. This led me down a dark and destructive path that hurt those around me. I understood God's word and his desire for us to come to him, yet I chose to do what I wanted to do. After my life was falling apart and I was about to lose it all, I leaned on God and those that God had placed in my life. I realized that I couldn't overcome my sins alone, which is what I needed God for. After turning my life back to God, getting involved in a small group, and attending church regularly. I had more things in my life that I enjoyed. I found myself having more meaningful relationships. I now know that God has great and amazing things planned for me, and I am excited to be a part of His plan.

Before my journey with Jesus, I was lost and trying to find my way to Him, but never truly knew how.

My husband and I bought our first home at the end of 2020. We met our neighbor Jaclynn Davey. We became fast friends and shared a lot about our lives. After a year of struggles, I told Jaclynn I needed help and guidance but wasn’t sure where to start. She asked me if I wanted to go to church with her. I was hooked instantly. The way this church explains the Bible is so amazing. I finally opened my eyes to my sins and decided the way I wanted to live is through and with Jesus.

After I surrendered my life to Jesus, I could feel the weight of my sins, guilt, and pain lift off of me. I became happier, full of life, and I try every day to be better. I feel the love of Jesus in me, and it’s the best feeling. He saved me.

I accepted Jesus into my heart when I was 9 years old. I was in the shower and asked him into my heart because He helped me through my dad getting remarried and helped me to feel happy for them. I feel better about myself in general because I know that I am loved and saved by Him. He saved me from a house fire, He helped me when my dog and cat died, and when my parents got divorced. I want to live for Jesus because I can live a happier life because I know that I am saved, loved, and treasured, and no matter what happens in my life, He will always be there for me and I will have eternal life with Him forever.

I was not born and raised in a church. My parents wanted to give me the option to believe in what I wanted to believe in. When I started the 5th grade, I started to go to our community youth group at North Park Covenant Church. I then started to go to Church camp. I read the bible at night and started going to mass occasionally on Sundays. But during those times, I was not a true Christian; I was still a kid.

It was not until Pastor Cody (youth pastor of North Park Covenant Church) reached out and said our old youth group class was having a reunion that I started to have full faith. Going to that reunion was such a beautiful and an eye opening experience in my life. My favorite part was how amazing it felt to worship the Lord together. After that reunion, I knew that God was what I had been missing in my life all these years.

Since deciding to follow God, I have realized that he will remain faithful in my life. The Lord has given me someone to turn to, someone who I know will never leave me. God helps give me the strength to heal and persevere through the rough patches I face in life. Looking back now, it amazes me how often God had his hand on me and how he was always there.

I am so grateful that God has brought me closer to Him and that I can now see him working in my life in many ways. I am beyond excited to declare my love for Jesus Christ, my Savior, outwardly.

“I am not ashamed of the gospel, because it is the power of God for the salvation to everyone who believes" ROMANS 1:16

I have not always lived in a Christian home, but I know God has a plan for me. Jeremiah 29:11 says, “‘For I know the plans I have for you,’ declares the Lord, ‘plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future’.” I prayed to God when I was nine, asking Him if He would forgive my sins, and I know He will because John 3:16 says,” that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.” Through God, I will now have the courage to share with my friends my faith to help them to know God. God forgave my sins so that He can forgive yours too!

I was baptized as a baby and grew up in the church. I’ve always believed in God and that Jesus died for my sins. I started attending Christ Community in September of 2015 after being invited by the late Jill McDonald. I immediately felt like I belonged. I started hearing the pastors talk about baptism for older students and adults. God started to work on my heart even though I did not feel ready yet. I joined a community group and my family participated in the financial campaign to build this new church. I took Bible courses led by Pastor Eric Ferris. God kept working on my heart each time the pastors talked about baptism. Now, I feel that God is leading me to take action. I am ready to completely surrender my life to Jesus and participate in this public act of baptism. I feel a renewed sense of hope since making this decision and know that whatever trials I face, Jesus will be with me. Moving forward, I want to be intentional in my walk with God. By His grace I am saved and I want to follow His example. “For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith - and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God-“ (Ephesians 2:8) I am excited to start my new life with Jesus. ”…. just as Christ was raised from the dead through the glory of the Father, we too may live a new life.” (Romans 6:4)

I have gone to Christ Community Church for a long time. My group leader at Epic truly made me realize I really do need Christ in my life.

The reason I surrendered to Christ was a moment at Epic when we were in small group. My leader was talking about how close we were to God. I knew that the next step to being closer with God was to surrender my life to Christ.

Now that I have surrendered my life to God, I feel like I have this weight off my shoulders. I feel I have a better connection with God which just feels so good. I feel forgiven by God.

Before God, I thought my life was better lived in lawlessness.

I lived my life the way I pleased. The meaninglessness of this lifestyle caused depression. I was 19 at my lowest low, and I decided to take my life. Then God spoke to me, “Come and follow me, and I will give you so much to live for.” I trusted him. That’s when I walked into a church for the first time in years and saw this verse on the screen:
1st Corinthians 5:5 hand this man over to Satan, so that the sinful nature may be destroyed and his spirit saved on the day of the Lord.

This changed my life. Surely after following that year, the Lord had changed my life in ways I couldn’t imagine. Even after finding God, it took me a long time to be free of my bondage. After that time of earnestly praying, following, and growing, Christ has changed my life entirely. I no longer suffer in bondage to sin, so I’ve decided to publicly show my love and rebirth in Christ.

My parents dedicated me when I was a baby here at Christ Community and I’ve grown up attending KidsWorld and Epic. My parents have always prayed with me and we read the Bible together. During Covid, when we were having church service at home, I decided to say the surrender prayer with the help of my mom and dad. I know that God is my King and I pray to Him when I need help with something and I know He hears me. I want to follow Jesus because I know He died on the cross for me so that is why I’m surrendering my life to Him and putting Him in control. I also love my church and my parents and my Epic leader for teaching me to love Jesus. My life won’t be perfect now but I know Jesus will help me when I’m sad or scared or need help with something.

I grew up in a Christian family going to church every week as a child, but church for me back then was more singing and dancing than praise and worship. Then I went through several years of hardships batting cancer twice and struggling with friendship problems years after. But during all these times I always had the support of people around me especially my mom and dad praying for me to get better. Through it all God was always by my side. In my hospital room we hung up verses on the wall like Isaiah 41:10 "Fear not, for I am with you; be not dismayed, for I am your God; I will strengthen you, I will help you, I will uphold you with my righteous right hand." I accepted Jesus in my heart and my faith grew over time. I started actually listening to sermons and trying to apply them to my life. After watching a baptism service I knew for sure it was the next step of obedience in my faith. Since I put my faith in Jesus my life has been transformed. He has changed my perspective on life. I spend my weeks serving, praying, and reading the bible. I am trusting God in the journey of my life and I will follow where he leads.

Before I trusted Jesus, I was wrapped up in what I thought would make me happier and, of course, nothing truly worked. When I moved out of my hometown, I thought that I had lost the battle and was just at such a terrible low place in my life. As odd as it sounds, God put a video about the Bible on my social media explore page and I felt too guilty to skip it. Eventually more and more came on and I got hooked. Something in me clicked and I got so much more interested. My family and I went to church and pretty much my whole life turned around. Jesus saved me in every way possible as I surrendered to Him. Now, I attend church weekly and go to small group on Wednesday nights! I no longer feel like I have to “fit in.” Jesus tells us to stand apart from the crowd, swim upstream and that has been the best decision of my life. He found me and fights all my battles, His plan is perfect. I’ll never go back to who I was before Him. I’ll always swim upstream. God is so good!!

I grew up in church so Jesus was in my life, but he faded into the background as I grew older. Then, I experienced a lot of loss in a short time – the loss of my mom, divorce, my job, my mother-in-law – I lost my direction in life.

I cared about drinking and putting everyone else’s needs before mine. I didn’t want to deal with or know how to deal with all of the stress and loss in my life. I was hitting rock bottom and realized that I had nothing to show for my life. On March 30, 2022 I got down on my knees and surrendered myself to Jesus.

Since then, I have connected to church, Bible study, AA, and have deep relationships with people who point me back to God every day. I found my way back in God’s hands where I needed to be and I will continue to surrender myself to him every day.

Before Jesus, I got caught up in anger and my hobbies. I was often wanting to do what pleased me. I knew who God was, but I wasn’t ready for a relationship.

Before Christ Community, I went to another church and was there for as long as I could remember. The cuiriosity and love for the Lord kept coming to my mind. Loving people in my life, including my family, helped me grow in my faith journey. Through loving people, seeing motivational plays, and reading the Bible, I surrendered to God when I was 9.5 years old.

Life didn’t always get easier, but I knew God was with me every step of the way. To the astonishing and fascinating things of God on videos, and to the Holy Word, I have learned to be quick to listen, slow to speak, and slow to become angry. I know that God has a place for us in Heaven, to stay in his rest and calmness. God has taught me to speak up for others, spread the gospel, and so much more than I can write here.

While I was raised in a Christian family, after I left home I stopped going to church and stopped having a relationship with God. It was when my wife and I had our first child that we knew we had to have a better relationship with God. We wanted our son and later our daughter, to be raised with God. With a church in our life again, I connected with a men’s community group that brought me further back to God. God came back into my life and I surrendered to him. Now, I am finishing Rooted and looking to forward to continuing with Rooted group as a Community Group and serving with Lazarus House. My favorite verse to help me in my faith is Philippians 4:13 “I can do all things through Christ who strength me.”

My name is Tilly and I have been attending Christ Community Church since I was born. I learned about God and his love for me from my parents. We start each day by reading a devotional with a Bible passage and by praying out loud for others. This fall, I told my parents that I was ready to become a Christ follower- to acknowledge that Jesus’ death on the cross paid the penalty for my sins, and that there is nothing I can do to earn my way to heaven. I prayed with my mom and dad at bedtime and surrendered my life to God and received His free gift of salvation. I am getting baptized today to tell the world that I am a follower of Jesus.

Before I trusted in Jesus, I was a working wife and mother that lived the busy life so many do, not making any time for Jesus. I grew up going to Church, but never felt the connection. It was more of a family routine. I was overwhelmed with life and didn’t understand my purpose. Inside, I felt a hole in my heart, and I couldn’t figure out why. I was happy, successful and blessed with an amazing husband and kids.

Then about a year ago, my daughter Mckenna started attending Christ Community and talking about Jesus more. Through her, I felt my heart being tugged to pray. She invited me to church with her and that Sunday service changed my life. The message that day gave me goosebumps. I felt compelled to slow down and appreciate all He has created around me. I began to pray daily and spending time reading the bible. I realized he was in control of my life and only He knew his plan for me. I believe the Lord used my daughter, Mckenna, who is also getting baptized today, to bring me back to him. Since surrendering my life, my daughter and I have grown closer, we have found time to volunteer weekly at Lazarus House together and I now feel an overwhelming sense of purpose and gratitude. That hole in my heart is now healed and I am focused on the journey of life with Him by my side.

In early January, I told my Epic leader that my New Year’s resolution was to give my life to Jesus and be baptized in 2023. In early February of this year, I said the surrender prayer with my mom, dad, and my older sister Hadley. I want to make Jesus lord of my life because I want to be a passionate disciple of Jesus and spend eternity with Him. I know that God loves me so much because he sent his son to die on the cross for me. My favorite verse in the Bible is John 3:16. It says that “God so loved the world that he gave his one and only son that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.” This verse is so important to me because it shows me that God loves me.

My family has shown me how important it is to have a relationship with Jesus. We have been going to Christ Community Church and serving in Kidsworld for as long as I can remember.

Being baptized in front of my church will show all of those kids and families that see me in Kidsworld that I am dedicated to my life with Jesus.

Before I put my full faith in Jesus, I often felt sad and lonely. I noticed myself making poor decisions to distract myself or to make myself “fit in.” During this time, I met a girl who introduced me to Christ Community. She invited me to go to house group with her one night, and I fell in love after one session. I began attending every Wednesday night and consistently went to church on Sundays. I was no longer going to church because I felt obligated. Sunday was the day of the week I looked forward to the most, and I never wanted to miss it. I learned about God’s truth and how he loved me for who I was, although I may have sinned in my past. God was willing to accept me for me, so I want to devote myself to him now. I can genuinely say that my life has changed tremendously in the past year. I do devotionals every morning and pray any chance I get. Through Christ Community, I began serving at Lazarus house, which is just one of God’s blessings because I get to give back to my community and meet some truly amazing people. Romans 8:28 says, “and we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who[a] have been called according to his purpose.” I have found my purpose through Jesus and promise to devote my life to Him daily.

I grew up in a Christian family and have believed in God my whole life. The summer of 2022 at vacation bible school at Chapel Street Church I prayed the surrender prayer and after that I knew I wanted to be baptized and surrender my life to God. I want to be baptized because I know my life would be the best with Jesus and I know he will walk with me for my whole life. After I surrendered my life to God I have become nicer to siblings and have had a lot more patience than before.

My name is Janaisy and my next door neighbors Chris & Katie Dall invited us to church with them at Easter. I am autistic, and the question I asked Katie after the service is “Does God understand me?”. She explained that God knit me together in my mother’s womb and therefore He fully and completely knows and understands me.

Chris invited us to church at Christmas, and we’ve been attending church with their family each week. We meet with them to talk about God and the Bible on Saturday mornings. One Saturday in late January, Chris walked me through the God’s Good News booklet and I prayed to receive Christ in their living room. Today I am getting baptized to demonstrate my commitment to God.

I left my family in Mexico at 16 to come to America with the help of my uncle. My family was Catholic, but church was not a part of my new life in America. Life here was filled with hardship working many jobs to get established while learning English and earning my CNA. I missed my parents and siblings very much.

Last year, my neighbor Chris Dall invited my family for Easter Service and then again at Christmas. My daughter and I have been coming with their family to church each week since Christmas. I asked Chris and his wife Katie to help my daughter learn about God, as I didn’t know enough to help her and answer her questions. We meet with Chris and Katie on Saturday mornings to learn about God and read the Bible. My daughter prayed to receive Jesus as her Lord and Savior in January, and I followed a few Saturdays later on January 25th. I am getting baptized today to demonstrate my faith in Christ.

What caused me to see that I needed Christ was I had a lot of sadness. I felt like I needed to talk to a doctor or therapist, but realized I also needed to talk to my one and only savior Jesus Christ.

My decision to surrender to Christ is because of my involvement in singing at church with Student Ministries at Wednesday night services. When I sing, I feel closer to God. And it brings me joy to sing and worship His praise. I also saw the positive impact serving had on my parents who serve at church too and have also been baptized at Christ Community Church and I knew I wanted this same feeling.

Christ has been changing my life by constantly giving me that nudge that I needed to continue attending service and participating in serving during student ministries with the worship team. I look at people differently now, and I no longer judge people. I also am more optimistic about my life and my future with Christ.

I grew up in a Christian family, and always believed in God. 2020 was a rough year for me. At the age of 12, I was diagnosed with Cancer. I knew that I had to put my faith in the Lord. With all that hes done for me I knew I wanted to give my life to him and accept him as my Savior. That was when I made the decision that I wanted to get baptized. I know that I love God and I want others to know that I love Him as well. My life has changed in the best ways because of God and I want everyone to know that.

I was born and raised Christian. I always knew who God was and what he did for me on the cross but I never had a relationship with him. Early on in life I slipped away and was living a worldly lifestyle. I soon realized that this was wrong and it didn’t do anything for me besides give me temporary happiness. I had many idols in life but the moment I called to the one true God everything was calm. I felt peace not fear, love not hate. I made the decision to go back to God and this time I started building a relationship with him. I know I love him and I believe and know that he is the lord of my life and heart. I prayed and told God a few months ago “if you want me to be baptized so be it.” Shortly after I came to Christ community with my family and my mom told me about the baptism Christ Community was hosting. God is good. Thank you Jesus. Psalm 54:4: “Surely, God is my help, the Lord is the one who sustains me.”

When I first realized that I needed Christ in my life, all of my sins suddenly started to stand out to me. It became very apparent that my pride, greed, and the way I treated others had taken control of my life. About 2 years ago my work friend Austin Newcomb invited me to Christ Community multiple times and eventually a mens group. When I finally took the step to go I realized that my life had been missing something all along. I was taught that I was saved through Jesus Christ who had died for my sins so that I do not have to pay that punishment. It was then that I had surrendered my life to Christ and started to change my pride, greed & relationships with others.

In the last two years I have grown to be kind, generous & loving, just like Jesus would have wanted. My life has been changing ever since, through everyday prayer and continuing a
growing relationship with God. I teach my family to live the same life and we are all closer to God than we have ever been. I understand that life will not be easy and things like pride, greed and earthly temptations will get in the way but I continue to pray that I am able to live the life that Jesus wants me to live and to help others find that path as well.

My name is Emma and I have been attending Christ Community Church since I was born. I grew up hearing about God and His love for me from my parents at home, and weekly at BSF, Awana, and KidsWorld. In the last 2 months, two different neighbors prayed to receive Jesus Christ as their Savior and Lord in our living room. One morning during our devotional time, my mom asked me “Where are you at with God, Emma?” I told her that I was ready to pray the prayer, but was nervous about being baptized in front of so many people. I am being baptized as a step of obedience and to tell others about my faith in God.

I grew up in a Christian home and have gone to church and believed in God since I was born. When I was eight years old My family and I moved to Geneva where we found out about a vacation bible school through Chapel Street Church. That is where I learned about how we must surrender our lives to Christ to be saved and I did it right then and there. I have always wanted to be baptized, I would watch on baptism weekends and think to myself “I can't wait to be like them.” I saw that baptism weekend was coming up and I decided that this was my time to be baptized. Ever since I surrendered my life to Christ, I have seen that the more I read the bible and am engaged in church, the more I feel fulfilled, and the more I just want to be a better person and a better follower of Jesus. As it says in Psalm 23:4 “Even though I walk through the darkest valley, I will fear no evil, for you are with me; your rod and your staff, they comfort me.” This verse helps me so much, it makes me feel that once I surrendered my life I am not alone in my walk. Jesus is with me every step of the way.

I grew up in a Christian home, so Jesus was always a presence in my life, but I saw him more as a deity in heaven, not as a savior, and I didn’t follow him. I lived with myself as the ruler of my life.

Then, when I was 12, I went to Silver Birch Ranch, where I met one of my camp counselors. As I got to know her, I saw what a true relationship with God is like. She would pray to him for anything, or to thank him, she enjoyed worshipping him with all her heart, and she saw him like a father, a best friend. I had already surrendered my life to Jesus at 6, but had not realized what a true relationship with him was, and so I surrendered my life to him again that summer.

Since then, my life has changed. I have learned to let God be the king of my life, not try to be my own ruler. I also recently felt that he was calling me to go on a mission trip, so this last January I went on a mission trip to Nicaragua. However, I believe our relationship with God is always growing, and our faith story never ends. We just don’t yet know what wonders he will use us to perform.

Prior to putting my trust and faith in Jesus, I found excuses to put many other things before the Lord and struggled to even attend church with regularity. However, I realized doing things my way wasn’t working and I desired to have a personal, meaningful relationship with God. Since then, I have surrendered my life and have been attending church regularly. In addition, I started reading the Bible daily and recently joined a bible study group. I am still growing in my faith and I am learning God has a plan and purpose for me! I am committed to putting my trust and faith in the Lord and desire to be baptized.

I’ve been a spiritual person my entire life, but I haven’t come to know and truly understand God’s love for me until more recently. God reached out to me during a broken time in my life and paved a new path for my future. He led me to a community of people that showed me compassion and grace and encouraged me to trust God’s plan for my future. Over time God continued to make his presence known and brought an abundance of blessings to my life, and that is when I truly understood what it felt like to be loved and seen by God. By attending church regularly and digging into the bible, my faith has grown in strength and understanding. There was a pull in my heart telling me Baptism was the next step in my journey. It gives me the opportunity to publicly declare my faith with a community of believers, to follow the new path God has paved for me, to choose a life where I fully trust Him and am obedient to Him, and to lead by example and spread his word to others.

I grew up going to Sunday school occasionally in elementary school but didn’t feel like I was ready for baptism. Around this time, my mom asked if I wanted to accept Christ into my life and I told her yes. I asked God for forgiveness and said that I wanted to let him in my heart. Recently, I was very nervous about my cheer competition, so my mom prayed for me asking God to calm my nerves and protect me. I felt God’s peace over me instantly and I feel it brought me closer to God. Later, my friends and I gathered in a circle and I prayed that they would also feel less nervous just like how my mom prayed for me. After doing so, It made us feel more confident and we performed well. At that moment, I thought “Wow, God is so good”.

I now feel like I'm old enough to understand the true meaning of baptism and want to take the next step in proclaiming to others that I belong to Christ. I know that I am still in the process of growing in my faith but I want to be baptized to obey His command.

My favorite verse is in Philippians 4:6-7 which says, “Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, present your requests to God. And the peace of God which transcends all understanding will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.”

I've known God my whole life and grew up knowing about his love. And I know that if I believe and trust in God and what he did for us, then I should be baptized. I have had many people in my life who have helped me learn about God. My mom, my dad, Pastor Courtney, Pastor Drew, my Sunday school leaders, Mrs. Fatta, my 4 grandparents, and my Great Grandparents have all encouraged me to grow in my faith. For me to follow Jesus means that God is always on my mind and I can pray to Him at all times about anything. Following Jesus means God’s word is in my mind and on my lips, and my actions and words honor God. I want to continue to grow in my faith and I will continue to talk to God through prayer, and read my Bible.

My favorite thing about God is that he created us out of love and he gave his only son to save us. John 3:16 encourages me to keep living for God as my King. He loves the world so much that he gave his only begotten son, so that anyone who believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.

He is my King and Savior!

I’ve always been a person that takes control and drives, I owe this most likely due to how I grew up. Our family and household was not easy to grow up in. I was the only Ukrainian son that passed on the family name. Outside all that, I was always asking for help or support in prayer. I thrive on change and helping others.

Trust is everything for me, so to put full trust in Jesus was not something I could just do without understanding faith on my own. I was re-introduced to Jesus while going through a life change. I reflected back on my past to look ahead and change my own future with my father, my family, and daughter. I confessed I was wrong in blaming my parents and asked Jesus for forgiveness. I needed to forgive and change my course in life to avoid repeating history.

Things happen for a reason; Jesus knows our path and the direction we need. Since placing my faith and trust in Jesus, my life and outlook feels more positive! I feel closer to family, my wife, and three kids now. I look forward to each week at church and those we get to spend time with. You see your life change and wonder why it took so long to get here, but now I’m ready to be baptized!

When I was 8 years old I told my Grandma that I wanted to get baptized, but I realized I was not ready. That night, I prayed and talked to Jesus. I said that I was not ready. I’ve gone to church throughout these last couple of years and now I decided I am more than ready! I would like to get baptized so that I can show others, including Jesus, that I love Jesus and that I am a follower of Christ. And that at the right times I need to let Jesus guide my life.

My Grandma has been bringing me to church since I was 6 years old. Every time that I would go to church I would become more and more interested in going to church. I have been floating around churches for a little while now, but now that me and my Grandma have come to Christ Community, I have felt more comfortable going to church! Therefore, I want to give my life, love, and faith to Jesus and from the day I get baptized Jesus will be my savior.

My parents taught me the morals and lessons of the Gospel, through my responsibilities of being the oldest, I continued to learn about God’s way through different experiences with family and church environments – but I questioned God’s true intentions, and that fear burrowed deep within me.

Living in that fear of not being good enough or doing enough for my people and God, I felt like I was cyclically wrong yet always trying to be perfect and not hurt anyone. Then, three of my closest relatives and one of my best friends died, suddenly. Each three months apart. I thought it was God telling me that I failed them. I didn’t do enough, and I didn’t want to be alive anymore.

God put people put in my life to help me heal with their wonderful gifts and love including my fiance, Elise, who he used to bring me back to faith. I know I can’t change the past or understand it all, but I want to see my future and what God has planned. My fear isn’t gone, but I choose to have faith first and protect and love my people and others like God has done for me.

Growing up in a Catholic home, my religion was very much tied to tradition. I felt that a place for me in Heaven was only secured by following the rules and doing good deeds. I often felt guilt and shame when I would inevitably fall short of what I thought was expected of me.

When my life circumstances hit a rock bottom, I knew I could no longer shoulder the burden on my own. I felt God was bringing me to a place where I had no choice but to let go of trying to control these trials on my own. I had no where to look but up. In hindsight, I see that Jesus has been pursuing me and placing people in my path to point me towards Him all along. My husband, Bill Pendley, has championed my journey from having a religion to having a relationship with Christ.

Now I understand that there is nothing in this world that I could do to earn a spot in heaven; Jesus Christ has done that work and paid that price for me. Romans 6:23 reminds me that my hope and redemption is found solely in Jesus, “For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.” Today I am choosing baptism as a symbol of my obedience, to set an example for my daughter, and as a public acknowledgement of my commitment to follow Him.

I have grown up always believing in God. God has blessed me in many ways and I know I can always count on God with all things. My favorite verse is John 3:16 “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life.” That is my favorite because the thought of having eternal life is comforting and it shows us how much God cares for us. I want to get baptized to show how much I care about God.

As a young teenager growing up in California a group named Young Life brought me to learn about Christ and accept him. My love for Jesus has always been in my heart. Unfortunately, it has taken me many years to come to the place where I now realize the ways in which I lived were the “Worldly” ways, which caused many moments of pain as I chose to do life my way.

Since first coming to CCC my life has been renewed and brought me to a place of wanting to be baptized as an adult. My now husband brought me here on our third date. There is rarely a message that doesn’t some how resonate and teach me and fill my heart, mind and soul with thoughts to ponder about our Lord Jesus through many sermons of all pastors at Chrsit Community.

I have been very aware of my own sin, anger as well as other sinful faults and have asked Jesus to forgive me and my sins and be in total control of my life. Through the blessing of my husband and I being married by Pastor Josh Haight, our lives have been forever changed by Christ Community Church.

Today as I reflect on my life as a woman who has a had a 46 year career being a Flight Attendant, I can only say I have been blessed by the Holy Spirit. The constant reassurance of Jesus’s love and constant protection over me renews and restores my faith daily. I desire for Jesus to know how grateful and thankful I am to him for the constant grace he gives to me. This decision to be baptized for me is truly taking an epic step forward of obedience to honor my Jesus.

I love 2 Corinthians 5:17…"therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he, is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has gone, the new has a come."

When I was in 3rd grade I first heard about Baptism during Camp Commotion. I became even more interested when I watched a video of kids and adults being baptized and I wanted to know more about it. When I started volunteering in Kidsworld, I knew I wanted to be a Christ follower and help the little kids know Jesus as well. I want to help the kids understand more about Jesus and understand about Baptism too. I hope that the kids will look up to me and want to be like me and be Christ followers as well. I have accepted Jesus as my savior and I want to make them all God's passionate disciples. I wanted to do this for me and I know that is great and the right thing to do and live by.

I grew up in a Christian home and when I was eight years old and at my cousin’s house, I gave my life to God and accepted Jesus as my savior. At around the same time, I got sick and had to go to the hospital. My family and I prayed, and at that moment I knew God had me, I wasn’t scared anymore and Jesus healed me! God is very special to me and is always there when I need Him. I am so excited to be baptized to show everyone that I am a believer in Jesus Christ!