When people accept Jesus, their lives change. They aren't perfect and it doesn't erase their past, but God takes their experiences and turns them into people that glorify Him, no matter what they are.
(2 Corinthians 5:17; Romans 8:28; 2 Corinthians 3:18; Acts 2:21)
One of the things we do when someone accepts Christ is ask them to go through a process called "believer's baptism". Basically, it is a symbolic act that denotes their death to an old way of life and commitment to live a new life for Jesus.
There's nothing magical about the water that "saves" you or makes your commitment to Jesus complete, but it's a public declaration of what you've done. In the olden times, people baptized a lot of the time in a large body of water which was usually located near the center of activity for a town, so everyone saw it. For us, we do it in a worship service.
Here's an example of one of our baptisms in the service. This one is special because it's a father baptizing his son on Father's Day (the dad is our Lead Pastor Jim Campbell baptizing his son, Braden).
I’ll give you a new heart, put a new spirit in you. I’ll remove the stone heart from your body and replace it with a heart that’s God-willed, not self-willed. I’ll put my Spirit in you and make it possible for you to do what I tell you and live by my commands.Ezekiel 36:26 (The Message)
Below are just a few of the real faces of life change at Bay West Church. Listen to their stories and Praise God!