Baptism

Baptism at Sunday in the Park - Group 5

Charis Desiato

My name is Charis, and I am 9 years old. I accepted Jesus into my heart May 1. When I accepted Jesus in my heart I was inspired by my Bible. And I knew the Bible was not just some fairy tale and I believed it. I'm here today because I believe God has truly cleansed me from my sins.

One of my favorite verses is Joshua 1:9 "Be strong and courageous, do not be terrified, do not be discouraged for the Lord will be with you wherever you go".

Madison Dahl

My name is Madison Dahl, and I am 11 years old. My family and I have been going to church my whole life and attending LEFC for 6 years. One night when I was 7 my brother, sister and I had a lot of questions about Jesus and about how you know you're saved. That night, my mom answered a lot of questions and prayed with me to accept Jesus into my heart. I realized the only way to heaven was through Jesus and His death on the cross.

When I am sad or having a bad day, I know Jesus is with me. I can also give my friends hope that there is someone that loves them and wants a relationship with them too. I try and share what Jesus has done for my life every chance I get and as I grow in my relationship with Him, I want my friends to see a difference in my life.

I now want to grow closer in my relationship with Christ by reading the bible, praying, and sharing the good news of what Jesus has done in my life.

One of my favorite verses to share with my friends is Romans 5:8, "But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us."

Ava Weaver

Hello, my name is Ava, and I am 10 years old. I was raised in a Christian home, so I grew up going to church and believing in Jesus. When I was 8 years old, I accepted Jesus into my life and asked him to take control of my life. Before I came to Christ, I still had him as my Lord and Savior, but I didn't understand as much as I do now. I saw from my parents and all of my family members that I need Jesus and we all need Jesus.

My family really was a great help to come to Jesus - it would be so hard to become a Christian in a non-Christian household. I praise God for that. I love God with all my heart, with all my soul and with all my mind. Here are a couple verses from Psalm 146: "You have searched me Lord and you know me; you know when I sit and when I rise; you perceive my thoughts from afar. You discern my going out and my lying down; you are familiar with all my ways". God knows our every move, he knows what we're going to say even before we know what we're going to say.

Now that I am a Christian, I am here to make my faith public by getting baptized as a way to show I love God and he is in charge of my life. Letting Jesus into my life was a huge step in my life but it was one of the best days of my life. Now I am standing here proclaiming my faith. I have grown in my faith and love since then. Even when I do stupid mistakes every day, he still forgives me and gives me so much mercy and grace. Let Christ be magnified in me and help him use me in his big perfect plan. Jesus has a great plan for everyone. He is my god and I love him with all my heart, soul, and mind.

Ruth Kleinschmidt

Hi I am Ruth Kelinschmidt. I live in Ireland and came to Lancaster for a year. LEFC is the church that my grandparents attended and over the past ten months I feel like I have become part of LEFC as well. I grew up in a Christian home, but I accepted Christ into my heart when I was 8 years old. My life has had ups and downs, but I know that no matter where I am in my life if I am sad and lonely or happy and cheerful Christ is always there with me guiding me.

I accepted Jesus into my life when a woman at my church in Ireland spent the time to tell me about Jesus dying on the cross for my sins and that I could live forever with Jesus in heaven. She also explained that I could have a relationship with Jesus and that having a relationship with Him is a very special thing.

I am very blessed to have Jesus in my life. Jesus makes me a better person and a better Christian. When I was younger, the Bible was read to me often, and I was told about Jesus dying on the cross for my sins to be my savior. I was young so I thought they were just words, and I didn't completely understand them, but since I have had a relationship with Jesus I understand the Bible more. I also appreciate Jesus more knowing that He died for me. Jesus was innocent but he died for the guilty, one of the guilty people is me. The relationship I have with Jesus now is strong and I hope it grows stronger as I grow. Today I would like to thank my Pops and Pastor Tony for helping me grow in Christ and being here today to baptize me.

Drew Stief

My name is Drew Stief and I am a senior at Messiah University. I was born into a family with loving parents and siblings, an older brother and sister. Impacted by my family, I decided to give my life to Christ at a very young age. By the grace of God, I truly believe I've been saved since that moment, however it wasn't until more recently that I understood what it meant to be a follower of Jesus. Growing up I had faith, but it did not have a great impact on my life. I sought after the things of the earth to fulfill me and bring me happiness. I allowed things like sports, friends, and my emotions to dictate what I thoughts my true identity was. Trying to be fulfilled by the things of this earth caused me to constantly be searching for greater purpose in life because those things failed me time and time again. It all started to change in my later school years, I had a wake up call from God that made me realize I could be gone from this earth at any moment, and what would I have lived for? Finding the answer to that question; I realized my life was not on the right track. I would like to say that I did everything that I could do to change my life there in that moment but that would be anything but the truth. The truth is that God did everything he could do to make me realize that I'm his son and he is my true purpose in life. This did not hit me all at once and change my life right away, but the seed was planted. Two of the ways that God put me on the right track in life were, putting me in the right place at Messiah and putting the right people in my life, specifically my girlfriend Catie who has been a Christ-like influence on me and has been guiding me closer to God over the past five years. Once I got to college, my heart really became on fire for the Lord. This past spring break my team took a trip to Colombia which was the best 10 days of my life. At the end of the week, having experienced God's love so tangibly, I realized I never had to doubt God again. Up until that moment I had an inkling of doubt in the back of my mind, but now I can truly say I will never doubt him again. I don't want to be naïve and think that challenges don't lay ahead, but I know the Holy Spirit will guide me home.

What does this mean for my life now and in the future? The answer to this is found in my favorite verse, "Peace I leave with you, my peace I give you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your heart be troubled, and do not be afraid." -John 14:27. The Statement in this verse that God does not give as the world gives, but instead gives hope and peace that is everlasting is this most important thing in my life. He has saved me from my sins and the ways of this world.

Baptism at Sunday in the Park

Anna Stuart

My name is Anna Stuart. I am 12 years old. I have grown up in a Christian home going to church every week. And I accepted Jesus into my heart at seven years old. But I noticed I only went to church for friends and never enjoyed the lessons very much. But as I got older and started to understand more, and my life group at church got deeper, it sank deeper into my heart. I started to have a lot of questions about the Bible and faith and baptism. I went along asking questions to my family and my friends and leaders in my life group.

I signed up for a youth retreat expecting to go and just have a blast with my friends. It wasn't just that. There was preaching about sin and how Jesus is our hope and salvation, and how he is the only thing that could ever satisfy us. I already knew a lot of the things that they talked about, but it  only sank in that day when I thought about it a bit more. I realized how sinful I was, and I needed to repent of my sins. I prayed about it and really accepted Jesus. I believed that he really was the only thing that could satisfy me.

After the youth retreat, I felt closer with the Lord in ways I never felt before. I felt more at peace in my life and more dependent on him. He has been there for me, all the time, my whole life, but now I am noticing it much more. He has helped me with finding good friends to talk to and have fun with. He has shown me ways to value other friends and love them more too. He has provided so much for me and has provided an unconditional love that I have always needed.

Rachel George

When I was about six years old, I began having behavioral problems. I would get very angry and say and do mean things especially to my family. I was diagnosed with ADHD which helped to explain some of my issues, but medication and therapy only made so much of a difference. I made selfish decisions and wanted things my way and would bully others to get my way. I did not trust God to help me.

I have grown up attending LEFC my whole life. I have gone to Sunday school, Sports World and Christian summer camps. I've heard about Jesus from my family and done devotions and prayed with my family every night before bed, but I didn't know Jesus personally.

When I was 10 years old, I accepted Jesus as my savior. I read my Bible and went to G56 but not much changed in my life. Several months ago, I heard a sermon by Tyler Morris. Afterwards I started to read my Bible more and I wanted to understand it more. I realized that God still loves me when I do something wrong, but I also need to ask forgiveness and try to do what makes God proud of me as his child.

I still struggle with anger and taking responsibility for my actions, but I am trusting God more to help me get through and overcome my problems. My favorite Bible verse is John 3:16 "For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life." This is my favorite verse because it reminds me that I am saved by Jesus and his death on the cross and that because I believe in Him, I will live in heaven for eternity.

I am being baptized today because I want to follow Jesus for the rest of my life, and I want to let others know that I have made this decision.

Rachel George

Camryn Schwartz

Before coming to LEFC, I attended another church where I didn't have many connections and truly didn't understand how someone I couldn't see could affect my life so much. I felt very distant and disconnected from God. Church was just a Sunday morning ritual. I started coming to LEFC on Sunday evenings and my family started to watch the LEFC services at home during lockdown. After lockdown, we began to regularly attend LEFC. I noticed myself more spiritually inclined and wanting to learn more.

I started to listen in church instead of just acting like I was. I asked Jesus into my heart at a young age but didn't know what it meant. I asked him again later and actually started to act on my feelings. I wanted to read the Bible and share the word with others. My family has had a great impact on my spiritual life because they always had a desire for God. My grandparents were always at church and making sure I read my bible, prayed, and went to church also.

This past year has been a year of growth. I was a huddle leader for the Manheim Township Middle School FCA. This helped me to connect with God because it was a commitment that I had made. Every Wednesday morning, I would be at school by 6:45 in order to spend time with friends as we studied His word. The other members would ask me questions that I had to dig deeper into what I knew from reading the word. As I participated in the group discussions on Sunday morning, I noticed how my deeper understanding of the lessons Tyler gave furthered my interest in learning more. I knew I wanted to be baptized at some point but didn't know when God would tell me it was the right thing to do.

I attended the 8th-grade retreat towards the end of May, and I noticed God speaking to me the entire trip. I knew at that moment that I wanted to be baptized. One verse that helped me through this process was Joshua 1:9 "Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged, for the LORD your God will be with you wherever you go."

Jackson Stringham

Hello. My name is Jackson Lee Stringham. I'm 11 and I just finished 5th Grade at Bonfield.

My family calls me a miracle. I was very sick when I was in my mom's belly. My family prayed all the time and fasted. The Dr. one time said "I can't explain this! The only explanation is that God has intervened!" When I was 3 weeks old, I was dying in the ICU. 2 years later, I told my mom about how Jesus and I watched from the air above the bed while the Doctors tried to get the long IV into my neck. I don't remember that anymore, but I think it's cool that I remembered it then. I'm lucky that He always keeps me safe, and I know I can ask Him anything - when I'm sick, scared or just happy.

I love going to my Pop pop's Awana club on Wednesday nights. It's over for the summer, so I want to start my own group on Wednesdays for my friends so I can teach them all about how much Jesus loves them. I've started collecting Bibles for it. At Awana, I learned my favorite Bible verse - John 3:16 "For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only son that whoever believes on him shall not perish but have eternal life."

I know that I don't deserve to go to Heaven because I am full of sin. I have committed so many sins in my life- I still commit sins even though I am a Christian. I am not perfect, just forgiven. Jesus chose to die on the cross so we could go be with him in Heaven. I thank you for listening but now I am going to get wet.

Jimmy Stringham

Hi, my name is Jimmy Stringham. I go to Bonfield Elementary. I am now in fourth grade. I will be 9 years old this week, and my favorite bible verse is John 3:16. I memorized it at Awana. "For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only son that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life."

I asked Jesus to be a part of my life during Sunday School at LEFC. But he has always been in my life, and he helped me through many things. Like when I broke my finger and my nail ripped off and when I used to throw up really bad and end up at the Doctors. He helped heal me and I know I can always trust him.

I know that I'm going to Heaven because I trust, love, and believe in Jesus. We all don't deserve to go to Heaven, but Jesus died on the cross to forgive all of our sins so that we can live eternal life with him. I know he forgives my sins. I have probably sinned every day of my life, but he has forgiven all of my sins because I asked him to. Even when I sin in the future, he will forgive those sings too. I hope he comes into everybody's life that is here today!