Eight Mercy Residents Baptized

September 20, 2017

Mercy Multiplied residents who were baptized

On Sunday, September 17th, eight Mercy Multiplied residents displayed their public commitment to Christ and were baptized at Destiny Church in St. Louis, Missouri.

Destiny Church is the residents’ “church home” while they attend the Mercy program. They were baptized by Lead Pastors, Jim and Jessica Stern, and Student Pastor Jonathan Thomas.

Pastor Jeff Allensworth shared a message on how to deal with people or situations that are offensive. He encouraged the audience to be a blessing in those situations by loving your enemies and praying for them. He encouraged the audience to follow Matthew 18:15, “If your brother or sister sins, go and point out their fault, just between the two of you. If they listen to you, you have won them over.”

Pastor Allensworth closed the sermon and suggested the audience take preventative measures in handling offenses by being rooted in love. He urged them to follow 1 Corinthians 13:3, “If I give all I possess to the poor and give over my body to hardship that I may boast, but do not have love, I gain nothing.”

The eight residents received baptism after Pastor Allensworth closed his sermon in prayer.

Mercy resident in the baptism tank

Here’s what some residents said about the baptism:

I was baptized when I was ten, however it was out of fear and to make my family accept me. Now that I am an adult, I made the choice not out of fear but because I love and choose Him. I wanted to show Him I return His love by getting baptized. –Mercy resident

Being baptized symbolizes a fresh new start in my walk with Christ. My old self no longer has a place in my life. From this point forward, I choose to live a life of love and be a light in this world. –Mercy resident

For me, it was an intimate experience with God – something He has definitely been speaking to me about for the past five months. I chose to get baptized because I’ve been working on my relationship with God, my identity as a Christian, and it was the necessary step to officially bury my old self. It symbolized the purity in my walk with Christ. –Mercy resident

Getting baptized again was a symbol of my new journey after Mercy. The first time I was baptized I didn’t really understand what it stood for, and I felt like God was putting it on my heart to start a new beginning. Coming out of the water was like a promise from God that the old is washed away and I will no longer walk in fear and anxiety. –Mercy resident

To listen to Pastor Allensworth’s full message from this baptism service, please click here.

Mercy is grateful for the support of Destiny Church and for the “church home” provided to the St. Louis residents as they learn and grow in their faith.