Another first for STORYCHURCH

There are only so many things we can do "for the first time". We've had our first service, our first Easter, our first Christmas eve, our first anniversary, and now our first baptisms. Yesterday we had the amazing opportunity to baptize five of our own - five people with stories of life change that will never be the same. Lee, Will, Thy, Jillien, and Connie led the way and took the courageous step of baptism.

We weren't sure exactly how it was going to work. We ended up borrowing a portable baptistry from Pine Ridge Church in Burlington, NC where my friend Tadd pastors. It worked out really well. The biggest fear was whether we would get the tank filled in time, and whether we would freeze to death or not! haha. We had some trouble getting it filled at first, as all the hoses we brought were frozen solid. But we eventually broke up the ice and the water started flowing. However, the water did end up pretty cold, but we all survived.

I loved hearing the stories. Each person shared a bit about what had led them to that point. Each story is unique, and yet each one has a similar thread - people lost on their own, and now full of joy and peace as Jesus has changed them. Lee was an atheist, Will drove by for months and saw the church before he ever gave it a chance, Thy had never been to church before his wife dragged him to Story Church, Jillien has found new life in the midst of a chaotic transition, and Connie has found peace amidst a very difficult road as a single mom.

It's beautiful really. The way that Jesus takes people from all walks of life and all sorts of situations and begins to change them from the inside out. I'll never forget this Sunday. It was the first of what we hope are many, many days of celebrating life change and watching people embrace the story they were meant to live.

Posted in: baptism,Durham,Story Church