Around 70 people were baptised in the sea at Bournemouth on Sunday as hundreds gathered on the beach to watch, support and praise God. The event was covered by BBC News here.
On one of the hottest days of the year, tourists and visitors to the seaside also stopped to watch and find out more, giving opportunities to share God’s word and love. Find all the photos from the day here.
Five churches had come together for the event. LOVECHURCH Bournemouth was joined by Landsdowne Church, Bournemouth Community Church, Coastline Vineyard and Catch the Fire.
Here are some testimonies from members of St Swithun’s and St Clement’s churches (part of LOVECHURCH Bournemouth) who were being baptised.
Steve Jones, Nikki Fitzgerald and 11 year old daughter Scarlett were baptised as a family. They worship at St Clement’s in Boscombe.
Scarlett said, “Ever since we started going to church, I’ve felt close to God and after being baptised, it just feels like I can’t be closer. He is right next to me everywhere I go.”
Steve added, “Being baptised with my family was really important. When we first started going to church, it was mainly for me because I’ve got quite a checkered history. I’d done 20 years in prison, and it was a hard time for me, and this is about putting a distance between me and my old life, addiction and crime and getting closer to God. When my family first came to church with me, my partner, who was baptised today as well, was a bit unsure about it all, but to watch her grow in God has been the most powerful experience as well. We worship a lot in the house and being baptised today has bonded us even closer as a family and with God. Ultimately, I want to let go of my self-will and I want to do God’s will. Self-will has got me into trouble in the past and being baptised is just one step closer to me getting to know God in such a way that I can do His will. That’s the way I want to go.”
Rachel Mclemen has worshipped at St Swithun’s for about 6 months.
Rachel said, “I have quite a lot of invisible chronic illnesses, and I’ve found a lot of strength through God, through Jesus, through the Holy Spirit. So, I just wanted to honour that, and I wanted to maybe amplify that, because when I’m really struggling, they’re there for me. My granny was a very devout Christian, but it kind of skipped a generation, my mother and father weren’t really churchgoers, but I found my way back. St Swithin’s is a beautiful church, and I really feel Jesus there.”
Sarah and Liam Davies have been married for 5 years and attend St Swithun’s
Sarah said, “Today I want to publicly declare that I want to follow Jesus for the rest of my life. I was brought up in a Christian family and I can’t remember a time when I didn’t believe, but I think my faith has been a bit up and down over the years.
“Like a lot of people in teenage years, you get distracted by things like boys, parties and having fun, and then when I finished university, I gradually came back to faith. I started going to LOVECHURCH about 8 or 9 years ago and my faith has grown and has helped me through hard times recently.”
Liam added, “I didn’t grow up in a Christian household and had rarely set foot in a church. I was living a very agnostic life and didn’t have much idea of what a faith might look like. That changed when I met my now wife. I wanted to know more about this church that she was going to every Sunday, that meant so much to her. I started going along, originally just to support her, but over time, I got more and more interested and started to take in the sermons. We went on an Alpha Course, and everything started to change from there. I started to understand what faith is, and what a relationship with God looks like and here I am. It’s great to be able to take this formal and such important step in my faith.”
Hundreds of people joined an outdoor service ahead of the baptisms which included testimonies, worship and a chance to meet and pray with Christians from other churches. They gathered next to Boscombe Pier for a public celebration of faith, thanks and love under the banner of the Bournemouth Church Collective.
Senior leader at LOVECHURCH Bournemouth Tim Matthews said, “It’s amazing to see these churches come together. It comes out of years of praying together as an ecumenical group. We’ve met monthly and we’ve been praying for exactly this kind of thing for Bournemouth. We’ve been praying for this sort of quiet revival that I think we’re now seeing. I think it’s also so encouraging. My hope is that today will encourage all of us from across the churches to preach the gospel. I’ve already been talking to bystanders and people who have just come down to the beach and they’re asking, ‘what’s going on?’ When you get talking to them, they’re not resistant, they’re actually fascinated, and they think it’s rather wonderful.
“Today is a sign for the church in Bournemouth of the plans that God has for the future and there’s great hope in that. I think it encourages me to think ‘right, okay, let’s really get going’.”
Hope Mhlope attends St Swithun’s after recently moving back to Bournemouth
She said, “I grew up in a Christian home and I kind of strayed away and wanted to party with my friends, but it didn’t bring me any joy. Being anxious and being scared didn’t feel comfortable and I just didn’t know who I was and over the years, that started to wear me down. I was invited to a bible study by my best friend and watched and learnt more about Jesus. Then we went on a trip to Paris, and I watched how she woke up in the morning, she would pray, she would do bible study, she would listen to worship music, she would take time for Jesus, and she was so calm and at peace. It made me think ‘I want some of this peace, this calm, this ease’.
“So, I prayed ‘Jesus, help me to get to know you, show me how to love you, how to grow’ and he’s been answering my prayers ever since. Even though I’m unemployed right now, I have so much peace, so much calm and I know that he’s got a plan for me and that he loves me. Today means the world to me. It’s like washing myself clean and strengthening my relationship with Jesus.”
Coyn Coen worships at St Clements
He said, “I regained consciousness in a police cell in Forest Gate 18 years ago and the first thing I did was drop to my knees and start praying and saying thank you. I’ve not stopped praying ever since. I was praying to God, but Jesus came into our life about 2 years ago in the form of a children’s group at St Clement’s and we’re regular attenders now.
“Faith means a lot to the whole family. It’s rock-solid foundations of our lives together. I know that we can get over any situation, accomplish any of our goals. Today is about reaffirming my love of Jesus and my devotion to the church, to God and to my family. Everybody else in my family has been baptised and it just seemed like the right thing to do.”
The scene of Boscombe beach was a powerful image of God moving in the town and the smiles and joy a witness of faith and hope to all those passing by. Some people who hadn’t signed up to be baptised, gave their commitment to Christ in the sea on Sunday. After the baptisms people stayed to celebrate and enjoy time on the beach and fellowship.
Johannes Radvan, curate at St Clements, said, “It’s an absolute privilege seeing God at work and it’s nothing that we’ve done, he’s at work. We had eight of our church family baptised today and I was just doing handstands. We’re not the biggest church but God is just working so powerfully. It’s really not about numbers. It’s about lives changed and it’s just a beautiful day.”
