Every parent lives for moments when their kids make them proud. For Donavan Childs, pastor at Ephesus church, that moment came on the first Sabbath of the new year. On that memorable Sabbath, he baptized his children. “Baptizing one child would have been amazing,” Childs reflected, “but God blessed me to baptize, not one, not two, but all three together!”
Childs recalls the story as such:
“At first, I had only talked with my oldest daughter Shannon. A few months prior she told me she was thinking about being baptized. On New Year’s Day, she came to me and said ‘dad I want to get baptized on my birthday’ (January 4). I was excited and started to put things in motion. When I checked back with her, she told me she was rethinking things because she didn’t want to get baptized alone. Trying to be a good parent, I agreed and told her ‘take your time and let me know.’ Baptism is an important choice, so I knew I had to leave that decision to her and God.
I have no idea what took place in that hour after our talk, but to my surprise, my son Shawn asked if he could also get baptized. Ten minutes after that, my youngest daughter Summer asked if she could get baptized, too. So, my wife, Angela, and I talked with them about the meaning of baptism. We went through scripture and the baptism vows. Then that Sabbath, with the support of the Ephesus church family, my Greater Los Angeles Region Director Lawrence S. Dorsey II, and my Southern California Conference Executive Vice President, elder Royal Harrison, I dunked my kiddos and we all celebrated their decision to follow Jesus. Praise the Lord!”
