Sunday, April 28th, Bonnie, Jaymie and Brianna were baptized expressing their commitment to live with Jesus as King. Read their baptism stories in their own words below.
If you would like to know more about baptism and or reach out to have a conversation regarding baptism, head over to our Baptism page.
Bonnie D.
Growing up I didn’t attend church on Sundays or even claim to believe in God at all. In fact, my only interaction with the Bible in the past was randomly opening one that I found in the house. As soon as I read “And God said, Let there be light: and there was light.” I thought “that makes absolutely no sense” , and closed it, never giving it another chance. A few times in the years following I would get invites to church but would only attend to appease the person who invited me because I cared about them. But nothing I ever heard in church or out in the world ever stuck. It was like it was a whole other language that just never penetrated my mind.
Fast forward to the last few years of my life- I have been struggling with heartbreaking loss, intense changes and many new responsibilities. All of this lead to a sort of obsession with looking for answers about everything I was dealing with. And during this journey of seeking answers I was slowly feeling like I was being drawn toward seeking a higher power.
Then after an incident that left me intensely overwhelmed I had the strong feeling that I needed to go to church. That was at about 1 AM and a few hours later I was here at BridgePointe for the first 11:30 service ever. On that day they just happened to start a new series about Surrender and I was hearing exactly what I needed to hear! Each week I continued to come and each week I felt more compelled to build a connection with God. I was slowly letting go of my past resistance and misconceptions.
So at the start of 2024 I made a commitment to myself that my number 1 priority would be to figure out my relationship with God. This led me to joining the Rooted class here at BridgePointe and I used it to stay accountable and focused on my commitment. During this time I put so much attention and research into answering the infinite questions that my logical mind needed answered in order to understand Jesus and Christianity. Starting with the so-called friction between God and science and eventually going so far as to research what other religions believed in order to decide whether or not I thought Christianity was really the truth. I needed to be convinced!
At the end of it all I feel like God has removed the veil from my eyes and allowed me to speak this language that I could never understand before. It all makes sense now! Looking back I can see exactly how God was using every struggle that was happening in my life to bring me directly to him and now I can no longer believe in coincidences. My mind has been transformed, my worldview has completely changed, and my heart is so full. I’ve realized He is a God of love who wants a personal relationship with me, who loves me and who wants to do for me what I can never do for myself. I don’t have it all figured out but I’ve never felt more worthy, secure, loved, and hopeful for the future.
And after all my years of being distant from Him I am now ready to settle into Christ, proudly proclaim that Jesus is my Lord and savior, and start walking with Him through this unpredictable life as my guide.
Jaymie D.
I used to say that Jesus and I often “break up”, but truth is, I’m the one who would break up with Him. Yet, when anything was going wrong in my life, I would pray. At those times, I would say “I’m praying to a Higher Power; maybe God or maybe not” but in my heart, in my gut, this just felt wrong. Growing up, my mother would drag my sister and me to church every Sunday; my brother and dad would get a “pass” because they had to go to the barbershop - never made sense to me how it was optional for them. Sermons were in Portuguese, which made an already difficult topic for my young mind to grasp, even worse. My body was there but my attention was not. Then one day, we just stopped going. Fast forward through life’s many trying times and also precious moments, I was separating from the military at 23. I found myself in a deep depression, riddled with anxiety, and unrest. I kept going through life numb, making decisions without discernment and without God. I even found myself angry at the birds chirping in the early mornings because I was finally able to fall asleep at that time and they would wake me up with their singing. To not see the beauty and life in those birds’ songs, something had to be wrong with me! In the beginning of this dark season, I was still “praying” but very mindlessly and not giving God His glory. I reached a breaking point: my mental, physical and spiritual health were all in shambles. I realized that all the work the doctors or I could do would not be enough, and I couldn’t & wouldn’t continue living this way. I finally gave it all to God. Day in & day out, I leaned on faith that He will get me out of this place. I knew if I ever got out of that darkness, it had to be because of His light. He restored in me what the devil tried to steal! Now at 29, I know what true unconditional love is, and I know this love because Jesus is my savior. I’ve committed to be done with “breaking up” with Him and commit to always put Him first.
Brianna S.
I never thought I would feel this close to God, but it's a feeling of safety and love I could never find anywhere else. This church has truly become like a second family. My relationship with God feels a lot like when you're lost at a playground as a kid and the feeling of relief and happiness when you find your parent. I was lost for a long time, but God was always there waiting for me. He never let me be alone. He was there for every tear, every high, low and every outburst.
I chose to have my stepdad baptize me because he helped me understand what baptism is, and my mom because she brought me closer to God. Actually, when I first started going to church it was only to make my mom happy, but God pulled an UNO reverse card on me, and made me start believing again. I don't know where I would be without God's love and I'm so happy to get baptized today.