Two students chose to be baptized as a sign of their faith and commitment to Jesus, Wednesday April 21st in front of their BP Student family during the vacation week Student Hangout. Below are their baptism stories in their own words. Join us in celebrating and praying for them ask they choose to follow after Jesus with their lives.
Emmy’s Story
When I was born my parents had me baptized as Catholic but growing up my family never celebrated our religion so I grew up not knowing God or Jesus. Once I got to high school my friends persuaded me to go to a church camp, but even when I was there I never truly understood what the priest was talking about during the sermons. Then I started going to a youth group but even there I never understood what the sermons were about.
Once I started coming to BridgePointe I started to truly understand what it means to believe in Jesus and to feel the love of only Jesus and the love of God. I have been thinking about getting baptized ever since I saw Audrey get baptized but I never made a decision until after our time at Camp Berea. While we were at Berea we started talking about our next steps to bring us closer to Jesus. As my next step I finally made the decision to get baptized and to commit to Jesus. I made the decision because I want to strengthen my connection to Jesus. Believing In Jesus has changed my life because as I kept coming to youth group each week I really started to enjoy each series we started and each lesson we were taught. My favorite lesson was when we watched the Butterfly Circus and learned about how we are more than what people tell us. As I kept coming more and more each time I started to feel the love of Jesus and eventually I knew I wanted to commit my life to Him.
McKayla’s Story
My life before Jesus was not easy. I never really felt a strong connection with Jesus. When I got a little older, I started going to a church camp. I made a lot of friends, but I still didn’t feel a strong connection with God. This past year I started going to BridgePointe Student Group. I started to feel a small connection with Jesus, but it didn’t last for very long. I started to be more anxious, sad, and more stressed. I struggled with this for a while, started to think that I had lost all connection with Jesus, and felt stuck. A few weeks later I went to Camp Berea and I started to find myself and my connection with God. After I left I felt like I had re-established my connection with God, and I felt a little happier and free. On the ride home from Camp Berea, I decided that I wanted to grow in my faith and get baptized.
I’ve decided to commit and trust Jesus because I want to grow closer with Him and continue to grow closer. I want to learn to trust him and follow in his ways, and trust the life he has planned for me. I know this life won’t always be easy, but I feel like I’m ready to trust and enjoy everything he has planned for me. Jesus has changed my life by showing me to believe in my future, and to not give up when things get tough, but to trust that He is going to help me get through it. A few months ago I was really worried about everything going on in my life, and I didn’t know what to do or how to get through it. Then I decided to trust Jesus, believed that He was going to calm my nervousness, and helped me to feel happy again. A few days later I decided to listen to some worship music to try to help calm my nervousness. For the first time in my life, I didn’t feel worried. I felt free and happy. That is the main reason why I have decided to get baptized; because the connection I felt that day made me feel happy. It also made me want to keep trusting Jesus. It helped me to believe in myself, and it revealed to me that I have a purpose. One of my purposes is to follow and trust Jesus, and that is why I have decided to get baptized. I'm really excited to start my journey with Jesus.