Emily was baptized in April 2024. If you have interest in getting baptized at Hope Community Church, you can learn more by visiting hopecc.com/baptism.
I grew up in a Catholic household with a big family that really emphasized the importance of faith and God. I grew up knowing God and knowing all the classic stories in the bible. I went to private school where I learned my faith through my school’s religion class. However, my type A personality of wanting to always have the right answer and ace every test prevented me from fully viewing my faith as a personal relationship with Christ. Sure I knew “all” the answers to bible questions and prayed, but I didn’t truly know God in my heart and see Christ as my source of salvation.
It wasn’t until college where a new roommate who constantly encouraged (or nagged) me to go to Cru weekly meetings/Cru bible study with her, that things started to change and grow in my heart and mind with regards to God and faith. I started to attend Cru and really started to learn/figure out what I believe and what a personal relationship with God truly looked like. My christian community through Cru truly changed my walk with the Lord. After one semester of attending Cru, I made the decision to fully trust Jesus with my life and stand firm in my belief that Jesus is my Savior. Since then I have grown so much in my faith.
It has been these past few years after taking Hope’s membership class during Covid and learning what Hope believes about baptism, that I have been challenged in what I believe about baptism. I was baptized in the Catholic Church as a baby and was not sure if I really felt called to get baptized again. These past few years God has truly moved in me- I have focused on what the Bible truly says about baptism and been in constant prayer about the topic of baptism – how do I navigate what I grew up knowing and believing in relation to what the bible says about baptism? What does baptism mean for my relationship with God but also my relationship with my family? Through this time, my community, in particular the ladies in my Hope small group, have helped to encourage me in my thoughts on this topic. I have now made the decision to get baptized and publicly display and express to both myself, my friends and family, and all of my Hope CC community – my devotion to God, my continued decision to pursue Christ, and acknowledge that it is by Jesus that I am saved. What more beautiful of a way to do that than on Easter Sunday where we celebrate Christ’s resurrection and what God has already done for us. It is finished! I am saved.
