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.