Baptism Stories from New Hope Christian Fellowship
/On the Sunday of July 2, we celebrated the decisions of four people who have been saying “Yes” to Jesus and all He is and is for them more over the past year. Their journeys led them into the water of a backyard pool where we gathered and baptized them in the Name of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit! Their stories are unique, and yet each one testifies beautifully of their being patiently and tenderly drawn to all Jesus is and is for them.
Kristy
The first is Kristy, a woman who battled addiction for over 20 years. She has been joining us online each week for our Sunday worship gatherings. She does not turn on her screen so we can see her face, and mutes her sound, but her name has been there each week for over a year.
A few months ago, when I asked people to share scriptures of promise and worship, a voice broke through and we heard: Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall trouble or hardship, persecution, famine, nakedness, danger, or sword? As it is written: “For your sake we face death all day long; we are considered as sheep to be slaughtered.” No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us. For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord.
A few months later, after sharing needs with one another, I asked people to pray. After a couple had prayed, a voice came through with steady resolve asking the Lord Jesus to heal this person’s broken life. Our eyes filled with tears as she prayed.
About that time Kristy began to join her dad and five other men who gather with me each week for a Bible study at the local Cracker Barrel. Because of the repercussions of her addiction on her body, she could only sit with us for 10 minutes at time before she had to get up and go outside. After a few minutes she returned to the table and followed with us as we studied Colossians and the supremacy of Jesus at all times and in all things.
It became obvious to everyone that the Holy Spirit was bringing new birth to Kristy. When I asked her to share her story with me, she shared one of the most powerful and precise testimonies I had ever heard. “Peter, I have received God’s forgiveness. And because of that I have learned to forgive myself. Because of that I can trust Him, and I am learning to trust others. Because I can trust, I have peace.” When I asked if she would like to be baptized, without a moment’s hesitation she said, “Yes!” On Sunday Kristy shared her story, and then her dad, Sandy, baptized her in the Name of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit!
Sandy
Sandy is Kristy’s father. Raised in a home with a father who showed little love, but demanded much in return, Sandy struggled for most of his life to break free from the anger, disappointment, blame, and excuses, of trying to be anyone but his father. He married, had a daughter, and tried to build a safe and loving home. However, as the realities of everyday life increased the ways of his father began to shape his attitudes, words, and relationships. Kristy’s addiction and his wife’s stroke divided the family emotionally and they each lived in and from their own rooms.
The longing in Sandy’s heart was for love, trust, and peace. After joining our church and hearing the message of the supremacy of Jesus Christ our Savior, Sanctifier, Healer, and Coming King, for 20 years, it was when we made the move to live incarnational lives on mission that the abiding presence of the Lord Jesus began to heal and make Sandy’s heart new. He began to pray for people in the store, the parking lot, on the phone. While serving food, he began to come out from behind the serving table, to touch and pray for the hungry and homeless. Softly, patiently, tenderly the Holy Spirit drew him to the heart of Jesus.
After his wife passed away, both he and Kristy, discovered the friendship of the Lord Jesus. Sandy would share with me of the ways he was learning to linger on John 15, the Vine, and the Branches, abiding with Jesus. He shared with us on Sunday, that Jesus was His King and Friend. With tears he said, “He loves me and oh, how I love Him.”
So, after baptizing his daughter, with Kristy standing next to him, I baptized Sandy in the name of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.
Brian has been sharing dinner at the Gathering @ Magic Hollow for 2 years. The youngest of three children, he was raised in San Diego. Brian’s siblings were 10 years older, and either ignored him, or tried to pull him into the destructive lives they were living. As he grew, he discovered a love for dance and martial arts and became an instructor.
Brian
He opened a business, set up his own apartment, and enjoyed doing something meaningful with his life. But soon waves of disappointment, pain, and deep grief would come rushing in. His best friend, a strong man, a Marine who had served in Afghanistan and Iraq, took his own life, leaving behind a wife and four children. Called to the scene Brian was devastated. Their friendship had been the source of His strength and joy, while his own family continued to minimize him and reject him.
Alone, with his heart utterly crushed, Brian cried out to God, “If you are really there, please help me.”
Soon after, his father, who had moved to New York City, became ill and had no one to help him. Brian left San Diego to care for him. He put his belongings in storage for safe keeping. While away, his siblings stole them all and sold them for drugs. Brian was left with nothing.
After his father passed, he made his way to Virginia Beach and moved into Magic Hollow. While trying sort out his life and find a way back to California he was walking through the neighborhood one day when he saw a banner outside the Roma Lodge. “Free Dinner For You.” And then the second one, “Every Wednesday at 6pm.” In his heart he was drawn to the idea of a free dinner, so he came back that evening and began to experience the ministry of the Holy Spirit drawing him to Jesus.
At first, because of his concerns about the Covid virus he would not eat at the table, but instead would sit, with a double mask on and then take food home with him. Each night I shared a story from the life of Jesus with everyone, and then asked, “What would happen if you began to believe it?” As the weeks went on Brian continued to join us, but he would arrive in time to hear the message. A few months later, for the first time, he took a plate of food to the table with him, took his mask off and ate together with those he had befriended.
After the message one Wednesday Brian came up to me and asked if we could get together and talk. A couple of days later I took him to lunch, and while eating hamburgers together, he said, “I want to be baptized and I need a Bible.” Of course, I had been getting to know Brian over the months, I had taken him to Starbucks for coffee, learned of his past, but he had never spoken this way before. So, I asked him simply, “Why do you want to be baptized?”
He looked at me and his eyes filled with tears, and the story of his friend’s suicide, and the cry of his heart to God to help him poured out. He told me that at the Gathering, he was hearing the truth, and he believed it. And he wanted to say “Yes” to Jesus through his life and baptism. We bought him a Bible. Since then, the Holy Spirit has been orienting Brian’s soul in all Jesus is and is for him. He is reading his Bible and shares the things God is revealing to him about all Jesus is and is for him with me. The fresh insight is full of life!
On Sunday he told everyone, “God answered the cry of my heart with the message on a sign while I was walking, “Free Dinner for you.” At the Gathering I heard the truth, and I am saying “yes” to Jesus, and I will follow Him for the rest of my life.”
A few moments later, I baptized my friend in the Name of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.
- Peter Daley
Pastor, New Hope Christian Fellowship.
