Baptism 08.10.2025
Justin Weist
I feel like I've always known about Jesus; I don't remember a time when I didn't know about Him. My parents have attended LEFC since the nineties, and they raised me to follow Christ. They helped me accept Him into my heart when I was four years old, enrolled my into a classical Christian school, and helped me grow at LEFC. Over the years, my knowledge of Jesus continued to grow through school and church. I believe my first year of Beach Camp was when I began to get to know God personally, although my relationship with Him periodically felt distant through most of high school. Sometimes I didn't have my relationship with God as my top priority, and I would center my life around sports, friends, or academics. During those times, my relationship with God felt silent. Other times, I centered my life around Him, and I felt closer to Him.
This gradual development of my personal relationship with God led to Beach Camp this summer. By the second night of the week, I had clearly seen God move. I personally felt God's overwhelming love after the Thursday night session. Rather than simply learning and knowing about God's love like I did in the past, I felt it and recognized it. This sparked an overpowering desire in me to dedicate the rest of my life to Him.
I want to be baptized today to proclaim that Jesus is my Lord and Savior. For the past year, I've asked myself, "Why have I not been baptized yet?" without ever having a good answer. I'd tell myself I just wanted to get to know Him better fist, but I wasn't thinking that I just needed to experience his everlasting love and personally grow closer to Him. John 3:16 perfectly states why I want to get baptized today: "For God so loved the world that He gave His one and only Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish but have eternal life." I personally felt God's love this summer, and now I want to proclaim that I believe in Him.