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Drenched – Kingdom House Inaugural Baptism Service
Media Release:June 1, 2009
By: Loraine Loach
It was raining inside on the night of May 29th or so it seemed, when almost 200 people gathered to celebrate Kingdom House Christian Centre's Inaugural Baptism -Drenched.
From the youngest to the eldest, sixteen very excited individuals dressed in white gowns prepared themselves to be drenched in the waters of baptism as an act of their commitment to their faith in Jesus Christ.
Sitting in the sanctuary, one had a sense of being seated in an atmosphere of heaven as Pastor Rob Meikle addressed the crowd.
"I'd never seen anything quite like it", one attendee said through tears of joy as she witnessed her granddaughter coming up out of the water. "I know this is a very significant event in her life".
There was an awe-inspiring presence that filled the sanctuary as each candidate was called up to the stage and introduced by Pastor Tania Meikle. Behind them on the overhead screen was a larger than life photo of the candidate along with their favourite Scripture verse. That would have been thrilling enough but that was just the beginning. Each candidate was introduced and received a personal word of encouragement from Pastor Tania before going into the baptismal pool. It was like a family celebration.
The worship team lead the audience in songs of praise as each candidate went into the pool where Pastor Rob Meikle and his assistant Everol waited. Then it was like an explosion of awesome splendor as each one came up out of the water...the people cheered and as they sang it resounded throughout the sanctuary like a choir of thousands. The atmosphere was thick with an overwhelming sense of joy. It made you feel like you wanted to run and put on one of the white gowns and go through the waters of baptism all over again.
And in fact that's exactly what Cheryl did. She had been baptized several years before, but said, "I wanted to surrender myself to the Lord as an act of consecration to Him."
When I spoke to some of the candidates a week later, Cheryl said, "My confidence level has increased and now when I read my Bible it's different. It's seems more alive to me."
Damone, who was the second to be baptized said, "I'd never experienced this feeling before. It was life changing and I believe it will strengthen my connection with God. I also believe that the Baptism has also shown me not to be afraid to express my faith to others. I now know that God wants to use me as a leader and the Baptism has helped bring those leadership characteristics to light."
Tracey said "It was important for me to be baptised in water because I needed to connect to the Lord. I felt that it cleansed me and unlocked a different, higher and deeper level of connection with Him. I was also able to understand and be grateful for what Christ gave up in order for me to have eternal life. The experience was amazing."
Marcia said, "It meant everything to me. There's already been lots of changes in my life. When I came up out of the water, it was like scales fell off my eyes." Marcia had been suffering with eye problems and said her eyes were now improving each day.
Alicia said "It meant surrendering my control to God. Now I have no more worries and know that God will do the rest. It's brought me to a place of trust in Him."
And Mark said, "Life changing. It's brought me to a new perspective of my relationship to God."
Following the service there was a reception and it seemed the Kingdom House " family" were reluctant to leave and go home as friends lingered congratulating the candidates and fellowshipping one with another. Everyone felt drenched.
Kingdom House Christian Centre acknowledges with gratitude Bramalea Christian Fellowship Church for allowing them to host this event in their church building.
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