It is always a beautiful moment whenever anyone decides that they want to walk with Christ but maybe even more so when done so earlier in life.
Naturally as Christians, our goal should be to spread the gospel and help those around us draw near to Christ. Toward the end of 2023, Angela Settle did just that by studying alongside Hannah Render (27) and Zhaniah (14) to prepare them for their baptisms. Michael Lewis (38) grew up in the Adventist church and found his way back. Miles Frazier (35) joined by profession of faith; his grandmother retrieved a flyer for an evangelistic series that was held at the Delaware Avenue church, that she had previously thrown out, and started attending. She then told her daughter Dana Frazier (Miles’ mother), who also began attending, which in turn brought Miles to start attending church as well. His grandmother and mother were both baptized in the years prior. Zhaniah and her mother used to come to the Delaware Avenue food bank and started attending church shortly after. Hannah is originally from Ohio and discovered our church one day while she was out walking after she had moved into the Santa Monica neighborhood. Throughout the year, one by one, they reached out to Pastor Frazier, as well as members of the church, and voiced their desires to live for Christ.
For Render, her baptism was a life-changing decision in more ways than one. “Ever since my baptism, I look at things in its totality,” said Render. “I am more conscious of the foods I eat, the environments I expose myself to, and I desire to go to a school that has like-minded people. I am considering transferring to La Sierra in the fall of 2024.”
“I was baptized early in life and did so without any true understanding of what it was I was committing to,” Frazier shared about his rededication to live for Christ in adulthood. “This time around, I had to first strengthen my relationship with Christ and rededicate my life all over again—and it was one of the best decisions I’ve ever made!”
