On-the-spot baptisms let people obey God 'now' in Coral Springs church

Courtesy photo

Scott Russell, care ministries pastor at Church by the Glade in Coral Springs (left), baptizes a young man Feb. 17 during an annual event at the church. The church baptized 176 people that day, but hadn’t scheduled anyone in advance.

CORAL SPRINGS (FBW)—Soggy, but smiling, a young man went home from Church by the Glades in Coral Springs after an impromptu baptism. The high schooler's spontaneous decision to get baptized minutes after he became a believer catalyzed what has become an annual event at the church, said Pastor David Hughes.

The "simple idea" to teach the biblical principles of baptism clearly and plainly, followed by an invitation and immediate immersion sparked the baptisms of 176 people Feb. 17, Hughes said.

"We didn't have anyone at all [scheduled] to be baptized. I didn't know if I'd just hear the crickets chirping," Hughes said. "It was just a really amazing God event. I had two of my pastors helping baptize and one had to take lots of Advil the next day because his arm was sore."

Referencing 2 Cor. 6:2, Hughes said he told the congregation the best time to obey God is now.

"There are just cool stories of people who had no intention of being baptized but when the choice was clear they made a great choice," Hughes said.

One of those people was Justin Byron. He was driving off church property with his family when he announced, "I'm going to do something crazy," he said.

Byron turned the car around and was baptized.

Church member Lori Ziegler told another story about the daughter of her longtime friends. For three years she had invited them to attend services with her family, she said. The family had been coming to church since Christmas, but the weekend of the baptizing event, their youngest daughter "went out of her comfort zone" attending services alone and decided to get baptized, Ziegler said.

"It's so true when Pastor David says 'Just bring them here, we'll take care of the rest,'" Ziegler said.

The idea of baptizing a believer immediately following their acceptance of salvation is biblical, Hughes said. Drawing from Acts 2, Hughes said the Apostle Peter tied salvation and baptism together at Pentecost and that thousands were baptized that day.

And there are far more recent examples than Pentecost of baptizing people immediately after they've made a decision, Hughes said, naming Flamingo Road Church in Cooper City and Fellowship Church in Dallas, Texas.

"It's so almost brain-dead simple," Hughes said. "An average guy like me can do it. I think a lot of pastors or church leaders if they would teach ...the biblical view of baptism, post salvation...I think they'd be really surprised by the harvest God would bring."

However, baptizing a large number of people at once requires planning, Hughes said. The church has gotten better organized in the several years since that initial student agreed to be baptized in his street clothes and went home "soggy" since, not planning on being immersed that morning, the youth hadn't brought a change, Hughes said.

Now, in the weeks prior to the event, Church by the Glades cleans two Wal-Marts out of shorts and t-shirts, assembles teams of counselors, and makes sure the logistics of parking spaces and changing rooms are in order.

You can't forget the changing rooms, Hughes said.

Hughes recalled talking to one man who could only remember having to change his clothes in front of other people when he was baptized as a child.

"I thought, 'Oh, what a terrible memory,'" Hughes said. "There's a lot of logistics trying to baptize 176 people...but it's really about trying to value every individual. ...In the context of big numbers we try to make it powerful and personal."

Calling Church by the Glades racially diverse and "very international," Hughes said many of the people who attend are from Catholic or Episcopalian backgrounds and have their baptism and salvation “in the wrong order.” Others have no church background at all or may have inaccurate ideas about baptism. Given a moment to respond, those people often want to take the next step after salvation and be baptized on the spot, Hughes continued.

In the last ten years, Hughes said the church has tried to be more intentional in focusing on evangelism and baptisms. In 1997 the church reported 35 baptisms. In 2007 it reported 519. Most of those baptisms occurred at “special events” such as beach baptisms and the annual weekend emphasis on baptism that yielded 176 baptisms Feb. 17, Hughes said.

The events create a “wonderful chaos,” Hughes said.

In such large events often entire families come forward to be baptized, Hughes said. The church’s counselors and staff are careful to make sure each family member understands what it means to be baptized. And there have been times the counselor told a child’s parents that the child needed more time before being baptized, Hughes said.

“It can definitely have some delicate moments,” Hughes admitted. “You’re dealing with a lot of people and no matter how clear the pastor tries to make it there’s always some room for confusion.”

Hughes said he relies on good trained counselors and staff to make sure that no one slips through the cracks.

All the time and effort would be worth it if even only one person decided to be baptized, Hughes said.

“If there’d been one we would have been thrilled, but 176 was awesome,” Hughes said.

One of the people baptized, Brandon Rubin, shared in Hughes’ joy in his decision.

“I’m very excited about my baptism,” Rubin said. “It’s a big life choice for me that I couldn’t be happier to make.”