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Not Just Another Day at Beach for Mom, Daughter
FOLSOM, CA (July 5, 2007) - A mother and her teenage daughter had no idea how a recent trip to the beach would change their lives.
While they were lying in the sun, the peaceful beach was suddenly swarmed by more than 350 people from Bayside Church of West Roseville. The crowd had gathered at Folsom Lake to baptize more than 125 people.
 Children, adults, couples and whole families were baptized amid clapping and cheering. "This was one of the greatest moments in my ministry so far,” says lead pastor Chuck Wysong. “Baptizing men, women, children, and teenagers that were far from God just one year ago and seeing them take the step to publicly declare that they are now followers of Jesus Christ was humbling."
As the mother watched the celebration and heard the cheering from a distance, she wept. Then she pointed to the crowd and told her daughter, "All my life I've wanted that."
"Let's go get it," the daughter replied. Soon, both were asking if they could be baptized as well.
Pastor Linda Sommerville spoke with the mother and daughter and learned they were believers, but had never been baptized and not part of a church family. So, after an hour of patiently waiting their turn, they also walked out into the water and were baptized on a warm June afternoon.
Bayside members surrounded the pair to offer congratulations, introduce themselves and extend invitations to visit the church. Within days, the daughter was participating in a youth event, and both have started attending the church. To view more photos from the baptism, please see Beach Baptism. Editor’s note: our appreciation to the Pacific Southwest Conference online newsletter for the story content used in this report. Photographs were used with permission of Bayside Church of West Roseville. The photograph illustrating the story is not that of the daughter mentioned in the story.
Copyright © 2008 The Evangelical Covenant Church. |
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