Baptism

Baptism Oct. 11, 2020

Sophia Himes

I got saved June 2, 2019. I asked Jesus into my heart and asked him to forgive my sins because I can’t go to Heaven if God is not with me and I can’t take away my own sins.

My favorite verse is John 3:16

For God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten son that whoever believed in him shall have everlasting life.

I’m getting baptized today so people will know that God is my Savior and I a believer of God.

Sadie Smoker

I accepted Christ when I was 5. It happened one night when I was having trouble sleeping. I heard my gym teacher and people at church talking about giving their life to Christ. At that moment, I knew I wanted to give my life to Him. I asked my Mom and Dad about it and they helped me do it. I told them that I believed that I was a sinner and that I needed Him. I knew I couldn’t save myself and I wanted Him to take charge of my life. I wanted to know God stronger. My favorite verse is Colossians 3:23: “Whatever you do, do it from the heart, as something done for the Lord and not for people.” I have seen Jesus at work in my life through how I interact with others and through the family He has given me. And this is why I am here today to tell everyone I am a follower of Him. 

Asher Smoker

I came to live with my adopted family when I was 2 years old. When I came to my adopted family, my mom and dad already had my sister Sadie and my brother Isaac. A year later my brother Solomon came to live with us too. We were both adopted from the same family. Another year later my little brother Silas was born. I am really grateful that God placed me in a Christian household with a loving family who influenced me to love God with all my heart. I love my birth family and I still get to visit them. I have a sister Aaliyah and a brother named RJ. I am so thankful that I have so many people that love me so much.

The story of how I became a Christian started when I was nine years old. I was in bed and I thought about giving my life to Christ.  I went down stairs and my sister was down there.  I was a bit nervous, so she helped me look up good scriptures. My favorite verse is “Come to me all who are weary and burdened for I shall give you rest.” Matthew 8:28 My dad came over because he heard the noise and I asked dad if he could get mom. I had prayed to accept Christ before, but I never really stopped my old habits. I needed the Holy Spirit, so I decided to do it right this time and I gave my life to Christ. I now understood that I needed to repent of my sins. Then I knew that I wanted God to be in charge of my life. I have seen the Holy Spirit work in me by helping me have self control and apologizing quicker when I realize I have done something wrong. 

Shane Newell

I was raised more as a Jew than a Christian. My family and I followed the Holy Days from the Bible. It was kind of a modified form of Christianity because we believed Jesus did die for our sins. When I was a young teen, I became addicted to pornography and tobacco. I’ve always had issues with addiction. In the latter days of high school, I started branching out into contemporary Christian churches. When it was time for me to decide what I was going to do after high school, God prompted me to join the Marine Corps. While I was a marine, I became very addicted to alcohol. We would go train, and it was always stressful for me because I had a lot of responsibility. So, when we would return from training, I would just get drunk because that’s what made me happy. While I was still in the Marine Corps, God told me he wanted me to become a pastor. I completed my four years in the Marine Corps and returned to Erie, PA. I still was addicted to pornography, alcohol, and tobacco.

Six weeks ago, I drove to Lancaster from Erie to start school at LBC. The night before I had been up all-night drinking beer. I drove here while drunk with no sleep. I made it about four hours and was about to fall asleep at the wheel, so I stopped to get a hotel for the night. When I got in my room, I started to get some serious anxiety, I was about to have a panic attack. I felt like a child who couldn’t find his parents. I took the Gideon’s bible out of the drawer and began flipping through the pages. On the early pages it read, “Are you alone? Depressed? Addicted?” and for each subject gave a bible verse. For addicted, the bible verse was John 8:36 “So if the Son sets you free, you shall be free indeed.” So, I got on my knees and began saying “set me free Jesus, set me free.” I said it about four or five times and then this incredible peace came over me. Everything I was feeling before was completely swallowed up by this liberating peace. From that point forward, I gave my life to Jesus and began to live for Him. I haven’t done any of those things since.

Baptism Aug. 9, 2020

Nathan Wenger

Hi, my name is Nathan Wenger. I am going into 9th grade at Warwick High School. I accepted Christ into my heart when I was 5. At that time, I didn’t know what that meant to the full extent, but recently, I have gained more understanding.

I have been going to LEFC for my entire life and throughout my time here, I have grown closer and closer to Christ. Some of the most important steps of my faith have been at church camps and the middle school discipleship group.

I would like to get baptized today as a public profession of faith. My favorite Bible verse is Jeremiah 29:11, which says: “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.” This is my favorite verse because it reminds me that God has a plan for my life and I don’t need to worry. I look forward to seeing what God has planned in my future.

Mya Tommasi

When I was four, in my class at church we were learning about what it meant to be a christian and to accept Christ into your heart. That night I was talking to my mom for a while when I was in the bathtub, I had decided I wanted to ask Christ into my heart and so that night I prayed and accepted Jesus into my heart!

In February I went to Winter Blast and really was able to connect and talk with my life group leaders and friends. It really made a big change in my life, both spiritually and physically!

One day I was reading ACTS and this one verse really spoke to me, Acts 2:38 Peter replied. "Repent and be baptized, everyone of you, in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins. And you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit." That verse made me realize that I want to be baptized, so today I am here proclaiming my love for Jesus!

Aydan's Testimony

 When I was around 8 or 9, my mom signed my twin sister and I up for Good News Club after school. One day, one of the leaders asked me if I had ever accepted Jesus into my heart. I said no and she led me through the process. That was the day I accepted Jesus into my heart.

We lived with our mother at the time, and although my mother and older brother knew who Jesus and God were, we all didn’t live the way we should. Although I thought I was a Christian because of what I had done at my club, I was not really living as “God's example.” I continued going about my day not worrying about it. Then things got a little rough with my mom, so we came to stay with our uncle and aunt for a summer. Our uncle and aunt did however live the Christian life. I was not completely used to it, so I just went around playing like I was a good Christian, but at the end of the summer, we went back with our mom, and I went back to the things I used to do.

Again, my home life was not the best, so my sister and I went to live with our friends, but they were not Christians, and in fact, the mother of the kids was an alcoholic. So, at the end of 4th grade, my mother decided that we would be going back to live with our aunt and uncle.

Our aunt and uncle took us to church every Sunday, my relationship with Jesus started to grow, because I was actually living like I was supposed to. Over the summer, they put us in a wonderful summer camp. One night at camp, there had been a really powerful message. I thought hard on what I used to do in the past. I resubmitted my life to Christ, and I have been trying to live as a Christian ever since.

Lately, I think God has been showing me how much fun you can have in being a Christian. I am always excited to go to church or anything that has to do with Crossover. I also feel that lately I have been wanting to put more faith and trust in him. I have been reading my bible throughout the week, and when I listen to music, it is normally Christian music. Every time I walk into church, I see happy people worshiping God and I realize that I want that too.

We have been living with our Aunt Renee’ and Uncle Jerry for about 4 ½ years now and they have really been a great influence on me about how to love Jesus. I am here today to proclaim that I am a follower of Christ and that I want to share the good news of Jesus with everyone by being baptized.

Dayna Schaeffer

When I was younger, I lived with my mom, it was not a Christian place. Then, we went to live with our Aunt Renee’ and Uncle Jerry for the whole summer. We learned more about Christ with them. That summer my aunt and uncle signed us up to go to a camp called Camp Conquest. It is a Christian camp where my aunt volunteers. We loved it!

At the end of the summer, we went back to our mom and our old habits. It wasn’t long before we went to live with our friends. They also were not a Christian family and it was not a good environment. The mother of the kids was an alcoholic and my mother decided that it would be better off if we didn’t live there anymore, so we went back to our aunt and uncle’s house. We went to camp again that summer. It was awesome to be back there. We kept going each summer. That is where I accepted Jesus into my heart.

I was 11 years old when my counselor was pulling kids aside to ask about their relationships with Christ. When she pulled me over and asked if I accepted Jesus into my heart, I said no, I hadn’t. So, then she asked me if I wanted to and I said yes.  She prayed with me and I asked Jesus into my heart.

When I got back from camp I tried to be as Christian as possible. Many times, I have re-submitted my life to Jesus. I might not have seen a lot of change in my life, but I like to see how God changes other lives, it helps me think about what he can do in my life. Being with my aunt and uncle has taught me a lot about trusting in Christ. I love going to church and worshiping, I love hanging out with friends at Crossover, and I love hanging out with friends that love Christ, and I love having a relationship with Christ. My friends and family help me understand that God has done wonderful things in our lives. That is why I want to be baptized. I want to be born again in the name of Jesus.