2011 BAPTISM TESTIMONIES
Don & Marie Blackmond
Our family decided to be baptized together. Baptism will represent the fresh start we each have in Jesus Christ. Even though we have daily struggles as individuals and as a family, we take comfort in knowing that we are renewed through Him. Baptism is an opportunity for us to demonstrate our love for Jesus Christ, and to rededicate our lives to faith in God, individually and as a family. As Paul said in Romans 6:4, "We were therefore buried with Him through baptism into death in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead through the glory of the Father, we too may live a new life.
Connor Caple
About a year ago, God really blessed my life in a huge way and I will never be the same again! I feel God drawing me closer to him each day so I want to show everyone how much I love him by being baptized.
Michelle Caple
I was baptized as an infant like a lot of people are. God has really blessed my family this past year and I have really felt the nudging from God to be baptized at this time in my life. I want to be obedient and show the Lord that I love him and that I want to draw even closer to him.
Sam Effa
I’ve wanted to be baptized for awhile now. I used to go to youth group just to mess around, but last year our pastor, Chris, talked to me and my friends and I accepted Christ as my Savior. Since then, my life is completely changed. I am a much happier person and I want to be closer to God.
Griffin Nowell
At age 8 I invited Jesus into my heart during KidZone. I asked God if I was ready to be baptized, He said “wait.” Two years later I'm being baptized. The reason I want to be baptized is because I want to be more like Jesus/God and follow Him.
Cameron Wright
The reason I want to be baptized is because I no longer want to live in fear of things I can’t control. In choosing to be baptized, I am telling the world and the Lord that I have turned those fears over to Jesus and that I trust Him with my life and want Him to live in my heart for the rest of my life.
Matt Ascolese
Being baptized at birth as a Catholic, I was always in and out of Catholic churches without any consistency of God in my life. The last eleven years I have been attending Church of God, and have had an incredible journey in my walk with God. Now I feel my relationship with God is stronger than ever. He has blessed me with a great wife and family, and now I feel it is the perfect time to display my faith through baptism.
Vincent & Elizabeth Ascolese
We have loved the Lord Jesus Christ for many years. We now feel that baptism will bring us so close to Jesus Christ and we want to follow the Lord’s Word.
Kerry Brink
I am a 34-year-old single mom with four beautiful children, now engaged to be married next June. I have always felt something was missing from my life and knew that the path that I was on was not what God had meant for me. I have been searching for Christ for the past four years and I am proud to say that a few months ago I accepted the Lord Jesus Christ as my personal Savior. I have asked the Lord to come into my life and help me to be the person He wants me to be. Baptism, to me, means washing away the old and beginning a new. Letting go of my old life and living my new life for Jesus Christ. Almost like being reborn again.
Mackenzie Leigh Ecker
I want to be baptized because I’m ready to give my life to God. I want God to be in control. I want to thank my mom for being such a special person in my life and showing me what it means to be called a child of God. I accepted Jesus when I was ten, and I want to follow Him for the rest of my life.
Ryan & Sara Eckert
Last year we attended the Lake Michigan Baptism as spectators and immediately wondered why we weren't participating! We promised each other that we'd take a year to continue to learn and to grow, then sign up the following year. We wanted to accept Christ together, as a couple and as a family unit. Although both of us have had religion in our lives from an early age and have born witness to the special, personal relationships that our grandparents specifically have had with Christ, we are just beginning our personal walk. We are excited to make it official and publically place our trust, hope and FAITH in Him and all that He has in store for our family. Thank you First Church for leading us in such a special evening of celebration.
Kaitlyn Brooke Grapis
I was socialized in a Christian environment. I thought by saying the right words, memorizing the right verses and doing the right things that I could call myself a Christian...wrong! I thought at age eleven I would follow suit and get baptized with the mindset of "yeah yeah, Christians are supposed to get baptized, its about time for me." I fell away from the church, gave in to more and more sin, threw my Bible in a dumpster and openly blasphemed God. It came to the point where I had no friends on whom I could rely, no places to hide; I hit an all-time emotional low, broke down and realized I needed help. I dug out the Bible that Karen Kietzer bought me for my high school graduation and read like crazy. I spent many frustrating nights spent crying on the phone to my sister, saying, "I want to believe in God, I want something better than this, why can’t I just buy into this?" The prayers paid off, the puzzle pieces came together, I met some great people in my life, went back to church, took Alpha, joined a Life Group with friends whom I love. I came to a new understanding of what it means to be a Christian with the help of great friends, lots of prayer, and good talks with pastor Alex Tunnicliff, all to the glory of God. Through this journey, I decided to publicly announce my commitment to live under the cross. I am saved by His grace, and grace alone.
Carrie Hartzler
I grew up in a Christian home, was baptized as an infant, and had a Christian education. As I grew up, church became something I was supposed to do. After a while I was going less and less. I came to First Church about 5 years ago. I felt a connection here. I started taking Just for Joy classes and realized that faith is more than just a Sunday spent in church. I have found a real relationship with God. The realization of that has been an amazing experience. I am so excited to be able to make the choice as an adult to affirm my faith in Him.
Christie Hartzler
I was baptized as an infant. God has been with me all my life. My walk with God has led me from the Lutheran church to First Church five years ago. My relationship with God has grown and I want to re-dedicate my life to Him, to live for Him, to put Jesus Christ first in my life. My life is a growing experience everyday. I can’t wait to see what God has in store for me.
Gisela Holz
I was baptized as a baby and have been a Christian all my life, but it wasn't until I started attending First Church of God that I learned what it was like to have a relationship with Jesus Christ. I have enjoyed taking all the Bible study classes and being a part of the Alpha team at this church. I now know what's is like to be a born again Christian and want to take this opportunity to be born again through baptism. I've made a lot of friends here who have helped bring me to this decision so I especially want to thank my church family for their love and support.
Jeff Landrey
I, like some others, was baptized in the Catholic Church as an infant. Growing up I always had a strong religious belief and understood what Christ did for me. However, I had never really read the Bible and followed as much that scripture has to say. I knew Christ was always by my side as I've had ups and downs, like most of us, and felt comforted when I prayed. However, the more I look back on my life now I've come to realize I was not the faithful follower I should have been.
About 3 years ago I was introduced to a book from my Father-in-law The Total Money Makeover, by Dave Ramsey. After reading this book it of course lit a fire under me and my wife to become completely debt free. But something else came along with it. I remember Dave referring to scripture and the testimonies of others that were debt free and now giving like no other. My wife also encouraged me to read another book Dave recommended. In this book the author gave an example of how he prepared for his day by setting aside some quiet time to read the Lord's word and "prepare himself spiritually for the day". This struck a cord with me. So I decided to follow this example and started reading my Bible. I found myself not only reading in the early morning, when the house was quiet, but also at night before bed.
Something seemed to grab me and I wanted to know more!!! I remember this event which really spun me around...I was reading the story of Joseph in the book of Genesis and thinking how does this apply to me?
Well, one day I was driving home from work and for some reason turned on the radio and hit the seek button. It stopped on a Christian radio station with this Pastor talking about Joseph. I mean this was verse by verse with were I was in my Bible. I was floored!!! Well I kept listening to this station and reading in my Bible. Things just made so much sense and how it applied to me. I don't even remembering praying for explanation. It just seemed like God knew what I needed and set everything up just perfectly. The next thing was a real challenge for me.
All this time I was still in the Catholic Church. The church we were going to was pretty plain, no statues and a very small quant place. Then the priest started putting up these statues and talking about venerating a picture of Jesus. I even saw people praying to some of these statues. This just didn't set right with me as I had just read in the Bible not to do this. I kept going for a little while longer, but I kept getting an uneasy feeling about everything there. The church also didn't have any programs for the kids. I noticed my son wasn't getting anything from the service. He was more interested in telling people about a toy he had. I really wanted my family to grow and understand God's word. During all this I had found the contact information of that Pastor on the radio. I was surprised the day he called and talked to me. It really helped me out as he was brought up the same way I was. After talking it over with my family we decided to leave the Catholic church.
I had it in my mind for some time to come to First Church to see what it was all about. Of course it was very different than what I was used to. But wow, it just seemed like our family had gained so much for all that was offered. My son talks and knows about God. My wife and I have more open discussions about our faith. My wife...now remember she was the one who suggested that I read that book that ultimately put me were I am. For the past year and a half it has been my prayer that she too would see God's word and gift as I see it. I would leave her parts of scripture on the stove in the morning so she would read them. I even bought her a Bible of her own. We even went to Alpha together. All this time I was hoping to see a response from her, never really pushing her to do anything. I myself wanted to be baptized as an adult acknowledging my acceptance of Christ before others. But I did not want to do this without my wife. Because as God's word says in Genesis 2:23, she is "bone of my bones and flesh of my flesh..." "For this reason a man will leave his father and mother and be united to his wife, and they will become one flesh."
Therefore as one we will be baptized together. I'm glad this time has finally come. Her salvation is definitely a treasure to me. In Matthew 6:19 Jesus speaks about not storing up treasures on earth, but storing up treasures in Heaven. Her salvation is definitely a treasure I want to store up in Heaven. I know God agrees and I glad he will get her back someday.
Looking back and seeing how God was moving in us the whole time, using my wife to lead me to Him and me to lead her to Him, just completely amazes me. I just can help but wander what amazing things God will do with us in the future and what amazing things we will see in Heaven. In the meantime I pray for others to make their choice for Christ. My sons are next....and maybe you!
Laura Landrey
I have always tried to live my life by what I thought was good and help others. While God and faith were discussed growing up and I believed in God, my family never attended church. I convinced myself that I was following "The Golden Rule" so didn't need to read the Bible or learn more about God. Things seemed to be working out by my plan. In hindsight, I had a hole in my heart but was too intimidated to come to God. I needed someone to hold my hand. God sent that person, my husband Jeff, to hold my hand during the last nearly 12 years as I make my slow, bumpy, journey. I have been given many blessings in my life and know the Holy Spirit and others' prayers have carried me to where I am today. In the past few years, I have grown to recognize these blessings as actual gifts from God (not hard-earned rewards by me) and am excited to know God and follow what He has planned for my life. I know my baptism is one of the first important steps I am taking to follow his word and grow in my faith.
Laura Machurik
I have followed God since I can remember, yet I have never been baptized. This baptism symbolizes my past with Him, my present, and a renewal of my commitment for the future with Him. I am getting married this fall and really wanted to “officially” surrender my heart and soul to God before committing my heart and life to my future husband. I want to start my marriage with the foundation of God’s word.
Ellie Moerdyk
I came to know the Lord at a young age when I prayed with my mom. I decided I wanted to be baptized this summer because I've grown so close to the Lord in the past few years and I want to show everyone how much believing in Jesus means to me. Recently things at home have been very rough and I know that without Jesus I wouldn't be the person I am today. Without Warner Camp my relationship with Christ would not be this strong. The people there are the reason I am who I am today. They have gotten me through so much and have helped me build up an amazing relationship with Christ. For me, being baptized is a reminder of how great God's love is and how unbelievably blessed I am to have him as my personal Savior.
Vance & Julie Price
We were both baptized as infants, raised in Christian churches and attended parochial schools. Knowing about God has always been part of each of our lives. However, having a personal relationship with Him had not. We both felt as if we were missing something in our spiritual life and wanted more, something deeper and more meaningful. A little over eight years ago we began attending services at First Church and found a place to grow and serve. We felt as if the "missing piece" had been found. We now understand what it means to be born again, because that is exactly how it feels when you begin to develop a relationship with God. We are proud and excited to publicly declare Jesus Christ as our Lord and Savior and are eager to see what He has planned for us.
Caitlin Shepard
When I was 7 years old my small group leader was talking about ways to become a Christian. She said there was only one. That day I asked her if I could become a Christian. She said, "Of Course." And she prayed with me so I could enter into God's love and accept Jesus as my Savior. After that I am even nicer and more helpful than I had been before. I love to help kids at church get connected with Christ. I love Jesus and it is a lot of fun to help at church and good to be forever friends with God.
John & Tina Tinker
We started coming to this church about seven months ago and we felt God really working in our hearts. Our relationship to Christ and God deepened and we would like to take the step of baptism to celebrate our commitment to the Lord.
Mary Tinker
I accepted Jesus as my Savior when I was 10 or 11. Since I attended a Quaker church, I was not baptized. Friends (Quakers) do not believe in communion or baptism. These things are considered to be rituals that are done only to impress other people. In the intervening years, I attended Methodist and Baptist churches. I couldn’t seem to form a connection with any of them. The baptisms that I witnessed just didn’t feel right. I have been asking God for about the past 18 months to help me find a church where I could feel His presence in the Pastor and the people, where more than lip service was practiced. He led me to First Church (via my son and daughter-in-law). It’s not like any church I have attended in the past, but I felt a connection. On the way home, Tina told me that First Church held a baptism service at Lake Michigan each year. That also felt right – after all, the first baptisms took place in natural bodies of water. It has taken 48 years for God to convince me that water baptism is a necessary step in my journey with Him, but I am finally ready.
Sean Truhn
I was Baptized a child with my parents. For the last 35 or so years I have lived my life for me. Doing what I thought made me happy. Just recently my life changed. I felt curiosity for the Lord. I went to church with friends one day and I knew I had to be closer. From that day on I have felt his calming presence. My girlfriend and I have been coming to First Church and week by week I feel like my relationship with God is stronger. So here I am wanting to make my own bond, a cleansing time for me, a fresh start.
Janet White
I was baptized as an infant in the Catholic Church; I loved the church, although I didn’t believe everything they taught me. When I turned 18 I left that church because I could no longer feel God’s presence there. I wandered for a few years before I found myself newly-married without a car or a job and in great need of the Lord in my life. I told Him that if He would look after me, He could have my whole life. I started studying the Word on my own. My husband and I tried other churches but they were either too legalistic or all fluff and no meat. They didn’t challenge me spiritually. I had fellowship with friends and family and continued my study. About three years ago my sister-in-law Beth Spruell told us about her church and a Bible study class that we just had to come and check out. After about nine months of her inviting us, we came to the class. It took another year to get us into service but we’ve been coming ever since. In First Church I have found a church that walks the walk; a church that not only believes, but puts their belief into action. I’m being baptized today in thankful appreciation of all the Lord has done for me.
Maddie Williams
Throughout my life, I have faced a lot of challenges that changed everything for me. I felt like God had forgotten all about me. Recently, on a mission trip to West Virginia, I saw people that had nothing at all, but they still believed that God was on their side, and that was how I wanted to feel. I now know that God really was there for me every step of the way, and will continue to be. I am ready to dedicate and live my life for Him.