A South Carolina megachurch baptized 141 believers on Dec. 3.
First Baptist Simpsonville/Upstate Church, which has more than 7,000 members across several campuses, held a sermon series on what it calls "believer's baptism," meaning each person baptized makes a decision to follow Jesus and give a public profession of faith.
"We were planning for a big day of celebration, but we had no idea we would experience the response we did," Wayne Bray, lead pastor of the church, told Newsmax. "For me, it's seeing people step from death to life, from darkness to light — it was just like an overwhelming experience for me to see that many people at one time say, Yes, I want to follow Jesus."
Bray said mass baptisms are nothing new.
"In fact, 3,000 were baptized on the day of Pentecost in Acts Chapter 2," he said. "That was 2,000 years ago."
Bray said his church is just one of many encountering mass baptisms and revival.
"I do think that there's kind of a move around our country bringing people back to God," Bray said. "I hope and pray that's true."
Bray said people are hungry for hope in the midst of negativity, division, disappointment, and pain. For the Christians in the Simpsonville congregation, he said that leads to following Jesus' example of grace and truth.
"We remain fully committed to the Scriptures, but we also want to share the good news of Jesus in the same love that led Christ to the cross for us," Bray said.
Caleb Parke ✉
Caleb Parke has over a decade of journalism experience and serves as a correspondent for Newsmax. He is the recipient of a regional Edward R. Murrow Award.
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