As Victory in God Church members, family and friends stood on the creek’s rocky bank while hymns were sung, those being baptized slowly made their way toward Pastor John Ward and Pastor Chuck Hall, who waited in chilly, waist-high water.
The six baptisms included one married couple, Bradly and Jacqueline Fenker, and Faith Anne Ward, an 18-year old girl with special needs who was adopted from China as a baby by John and Jeanne Ward of Franklin Twp.
Bradly Fenker, 28, said his drug and alcohol addictions led to violent behavior. He had “been through the gutter” and his life was “a constant battle,” he said.
Ward called Fenker “one of the spark plugs” in the church.
Standing on the bank, his black T-shirt with the words, “Left It In The Water” still soaking wet, Fenker was asked again about his life before the creek baptism.
“There is no need to think about that stuff no more,” he answered. “I don’t need to dwell on the past because coming out of the water signifies I’m a new man. The renewal is absolutely amazing.”
Before he and his wife were baptized, Ward asked him if he wanted to say anything about his commitment to Christ.
“No matter the scars you have on the outside and inside you can become a new man,” Fenker told his pastor. “It’s never too late.”
This spiritual rebirth is happening around the U.S., church leaders say. Recently, thousands of people gathered in a private cove in Southern California for what organizers called the world’s largest synchronized water baptism.
The event, Baptize America, drew participation from more than 650 churches nationwide, with around 30,000 people baptized.
Ward said he opened the creek baptism to his small congregation and anyone on Facebook.
His daughter recently confessed during an altar call her desire to be baptized, he said. As Faith was led through the water by Gary Eversole, her father joked she might be baptized three times by falling in the water.
It was “with such joy” to baptize his daughter, Ward said.
Later, while walking from the creek to his car, Ward talked about the differences between a baptism in a river or creek and one performed in a church.
He said the “essence and the accomplishment” are the same, but outside baptisms are more traditional.
Ward called baptisms “an outward expression of an inward repentance. Down with your sins and up with your repentance. It’s a new sign to all those around us that Christ now is the Lord of our lives and we are a witness and an example to all.”
When Kirk was assassinated last month while speaking to a group of students at Utah Valley University, Ward said it “stirred both sides of the religious spectrum. Those that did and those that did not believe. It stirred the question in the heart where are we as a country, as a people, as a church?”
He paused, then added: “It simply energized what was already there. It fueled the desire for religion more than it has in a long time.”
Columnist Rick McCrabb writes about local people and events every Sunday. If you have an idea for a story, contact him at rmccrabb1@gmail.com.
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