Picnic & Baptisms, June 26
On Sunday, June 26 we gathered for our annual Picnic & Baptisms at Bristol Town Beach. Nine people made their public commitment to live with Jesus as king of their lives. You can read their stories in their own words below. Join us in welcoming them into the kingdom, and praying that they would experience more and more of God’s presence in their lives.
Gavin D.
God has come into my life recently, honestly. After not believing my whole life and being cynical towards religion, I had a moment of coming to God only after going to church for the first time. This event even only came after a personal existential crisis after doing something I never thought I was capable of: cheating on my girlfriend. This act really made me realize I needed a severe change in lifestyle and a better moral compass, to no longer serve my own personal desires, but instead serve something higher. The moment I came to God was when I heard the sermon the first day at church. It sounded like he was speaking directly to me in that moment and I had this indescribable feeling of my soul growing lighter and more full as I accepted God into my heart.
Mariah G.
I have been thinking of how and when I accepted God into my life and although I was at a young age, my faith had left me intermittent throughout the years. I struggled most of my younger years with partying, drugs, and other sins I didn’t think anything of after being affected by childhood trauma and bad influences.
I finally settled down after years of hustling for my career, partying, traveling and being selfish with relationships and sin. I found an amazing man who I wanted to settle down with and was crushed after living with him for two years to find out that he had been sleeping with another woman for many months. I had introduced him to the church and my faith but he never was interested prior to hurting me and this sin. Since reintroducing this and him really taking it upon himself to find the Lord, we have been submerged in His word, church, and prayer. It has changed our lives and I want this to be a big part of our lives and our future children’s life someday. I hope to be forgiven for my sins and mark this as the day that I never look back to my old horrible lifestyle, sins and bad habits.
David C.
When Kristen approached me about going to find a new church other than a Catholic church, I was very skeptical. My parents raised me as Catholic; Catholic was all I knew. I felt that if I went to any other kind of church that I would disappoint them. Even though my parents have both passed, I still felt I was going against the way they raised me. As a child and a young adult, I always believed in God, but I never had a close relationship with Him.
I’ve been married and divorced. Had a son David Jr. with my first wife. He was two years old when we divorced. I got remarried and had two other children, Sabrina and Christopher. They were five and six when we got divorced. My first marriage ended because I cheated on my wife. My second marriage ended because what I did to my first wife was done to me. I wasn’t in a good place. I was doing everything that was wrong in God’s eyes. Despite all that was happening, my children grew up to be respectful, well-rounded kids and now adults.
Back to the beginning of my story: Kristen asked me if I would go find a church that we can both attend. The first one we went to just did not work for me. She then was told about BridgePointe, so we tried it out. Fast forward, we now have been a part of BridgePointe since February 2019. I can honestly say that in these three years, I’ve never felt closer to God than I do now. I met Kristen and her three children in 2010. I knew she was put in my life for a reason. I knew God was working, as He always is. Today, we have a beautiful, blended family and it was God’s work that put us together. Today is a new beginning and I’m excited to start a new journey with Jesus.
Kristen R.
I was baptized as an infant and raised Catholic. As a child, I attended church on Sunday and made all my sacraments. As I grew older, I became disconnected but it was all I knew. My children were all baptized in the Catholic Church, but they never really practiced as I did as a child. We didn’t go to church. My older son made his first communion but shortly after, in 2007, I divorced my husband. I was so disconnected and asked why was this happening to me. I was broken! Betrayed by my husband and trying to raise three young children on my own, life was hard! I stayed in the Catholic Church and tried having a closer relationship with God. When my younger son was about to make his first communion, just four days before, they told me they didn’t think he was ready. That was the turning point for me and I never returned except for funerals. My son had ADHD and when he went to CCD on that last day before he would make his communion, he was a bit hyper; he was 8. He went from being in school all day, directly to CCD. I would think the church would understand and maybe pull him aside, but instead, they choose to turn him away. I was so hurt and felt betrayed, not to mention embarrassed. I now had to reach out to my entire family and let them know the communion was canceled. How do I explain that? One of my coworkers knew I was struggling and invited me to his church, which was very similar to BridgePointe. I thought this may be something I needed so I started attending Sunday service. With three small children, it just became too much for me and I lost interest.
Fast forward to 2010, I met David, who was also raised Catholic but being divorced twice, he was disconnected also. We were both just living our daily lives with no relationship with Jesus. We both believed in God but never followed him like true believers. Neither of us attended church in the 12 years since we met. Again, only for funerals. We have an amazing blended family, but we knew we were missing something. On New Year’s Day 2019, I asked David if he would come to church with me. At that time, I just knew it was the Holy Spirit telling me it was time. One of my very best friends, who is a Christian, was by my side through my divorce and she always prayed for me. Her prayers worked because here I am today. Prior to attending BridgePointe, we tried a different church but I never felt a connection. I searched the internet and found BridgePointe. Ironically, I was speaking to a friend and somehow we got on the topic of church. She mentioned Bridgepointe and I told her that was the church I wanted to try. She told me I should definitely give it a try and that I will love it. After trying a different church for several weeks, I wasn’t sure if David would go with me. I asked him if he would at least give it a try and from the moment we walked into BridgePointe for the first time, we both immediately felt connected.
Today, I renew my faith and start a new journey with Jesus as my Lord and Savior.
Jill L.
Ashley F.
I thought that I could keep living my life the same way I always had: alone. There were so many series of events in my life that taught me I can only rely on myself. Every hardship, every heartbreak, every loss…I just couldn’t see the things that were so obviously good in my life. All the tiny treasures to show me that God was still walking with me, molding me, teaching me, and proving time and time again that I will never be alone. It wasn’t until the loss of my stepdad Scott, the man who raised me, and the breakdown of my second marriage that things really began to change for me. The loss of my father, my ex-husband's alcoholism, his abusive language, and his infidelity began to leave me in a dark place. I had even began to allow the infidelity myself through a practice called polyamory. Solitude was no longer working for me. I could see that through my justification of relationships outside of my marriage in order to justify my husband's unacceptable behavior, I was also allowing myself to sin, and I was unhappy to say the least. I became increasingly homesick, because up until this point I had been living in New Hampshire and I just wanted to get back to Rhode Island. Something had to change. I had the support of my family and my daughters. God was calling me back home to Rhode Island, reminding me that there was love in my life. I found strength in my decision. Finally, I could see the joy in life again…on my daughters’ faces, their laughter, their resilience, and in our togetherness as a unit. I need them just as much as they need me and I especially need Jesus in my life. It was time to let go of my burdens and put my trust in Him. No, I cannot live this life without God and no, I was never alone. A woman I connected with recently at the baptism lab shared this scripture with me after I had shared some of my story with her and it really resonated with me. They are words of hope and purpose and a brighter future yet to be realized.
Jeremiah 29:11: “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.”
Jaclyn
I have been seeking to know God since as far back as my memory has the ability to recall. Asking questions like “Why are we here?” “Why does the universe exist?” “Why is there suffering?” “Why?” were part of my everyday experience. I didn’t understand and I just couldn’t settle until I did. Born and raised Roman Catholic with a family directly from Italy on both sides, my only vantage point of Christianity was through the Catholic lens, sadly distorted by so many.
At age 17, I began seeking outside of Catholicism, with the assumption that that was what all of Christianity looked like; judgment, hate, fear, guilt, shame, hypocrisy. Between then and now, at age 34, I could write novels about my experiences exploring every philosophy, theology, belief system, and practice in order to find the meaning of life. In order to find and know and live in relationship with God.
In 2015, I experienced immense tragedy and battled for my life for the better part of two years. At the bottom of the barrel, I finally came to the realization that I knew a lot of information, but I had no formal spiritual practice. I turned to the pagan religions and was an initiated practicing Wiccan for the years to follow. My guided practice was rooted in kindness to all creatures, honoring nature and all of creation, and having reverence for all of life’s beauty. Nothing like what we imagine when we hear Wicca; however, God, the one and only creator, the god above all Gods, Jesus, was not there. Something was fundamentally missing. So I left after four years.
In October 2021, my entire family was struck with Covid-19. The disease took the lives of the two central pillars of my entire family; both of my grandmothers. Within a two-week span, my family was planning not one funeral, but two. In their names, both very devout Catholics, I began to pray to Jesus over the Bible; my Nonna’s Bible. I don’t think I’ve ever prayed so hard in my life. Suddenly, something began to shift inside of me that I can only explain by saying that Jesus began to chase me down. He began shifting my ego, my sense of self, my perceptions of the world around me. My entire world began to shift in His name and I was terrified. I knew that responding to His call meant I’d have to let my past self die. That wasn’t easy.
I reached out to an old friend, Nelson, who I knew was born again in Christ. Nelson invited me to BridgePointe. He and his wife, Laura, then bought me my first Bible with a quote written on the inside: “The greatest days are still ahead. God is just getting started.” I was afraid, anxious, alone, and resistant, but Jesus had other plans for me. Soon, He would wash away all of my fear and doubt, as He began to reveal the character of God to me in a way I never knew was possible.
Six months later, I stand firm and tall in the truth that God has not only responded to my 30-year search for Him, but has saved me, through Christ. The center of my being feels warm and full. I am moved to tears by the beauty that is God’s grace and majesty every single day. I joke and say that my grandmothers were responsible for this, that they sent Jesus after me when they made their way into His kingdom. Either way, there is no way to describe what has been happening to me. So, I will quote “The Chosen” to describe it for me: “I was one way and now I’m completely different. And the thing that happened in between was Him. I will know Him for the rest of my life.”
Moises D.
God has been so amazing to me! I can sit here and write to you guys a long letter about my life, but nothing compares to how God has come into my life and has worked through me within every aspect of it. It was time for me to give him my all and really start a fresh and new life with him. I’ve gone through so much in my life with friends, family even my own self. I couldn’t do this life with out God in it and getting baptized has to be one of the most amazing things I can do to show him how dedicated I am in this journey. Thank you to all that have helped me get here and have showed me that this is just the beginning!