A church in Georgia is rejoicing after hundreds of people were baptized in one day when they responded to the gospel message.
Members at Bethlehem Church’s three campuses in Barrow, Jackson, and Oconee showed up on March 1 for services where they had planned to have 13 baptisms, the Baptist Press reported Tuesday.
However, 387 additional baptisms followed when an invitation to trust Jesus Christ was offered.
Lead Pastor Jason Britt had prepared to preach on the Holy Spirit and felt God leading him to call listeners to come forward for baptism right then and there.
He referenced Acts 2 when the Holy Spirit descended on believers at Pentecost. Britt said his heart was moved by the text in the Bible.
The verses state, “Peter replied, ‘Repent and be baptized, every one of you, in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins. And you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. The promise is for you and your children and for all who are far off — for all whom the Lord our God will call.’”
Britt was amazed as he and other church members watched wave upon wave of adults coming forward to be baptized.
“People didn’t want to leave. The 9 a.m. service went into the 11 a.m. service. Services were an hour and a half to two hours. Parking lots were packed,” he recalled, noting some people had been watching online and drove to a church campus.
The church later shared photos of the event that showed people smiling before and after they were baptized.
“400 people courageously stepped forward and declared their faith this weekend. That is 400 stories that all point to a faithful God. A Spirit-filled church is full of Spirit-sensitive people… and Spirit-sensitive people OBEY! We cannot manufacture or manipulate life change. Only JESUS can change a heart,” the caption read:
According to Got Questions, the act of baptism means the individual is showing the world they have placed their faith in Jesus Christ: “In the waters of baptism, a person says, wordlessly, ‘I confess faith in Christ; Jesus has cleansed my soul from sin, and I now have a new life of sanctification.’”
Britt said he did not want to definitively say the event was revival but called it a “fresh awakening” because, “In the Great Awakening, they didn’t know they were in what we now call the ‘Great Awakening’ — they just knew God was doing something.”
