A Florida church held a historic baptism event after thousands gathered along the Atlantic coast to witness 2,552 people publicly profess their faith through baptism.
According to the CBN News, The Church of Eleven22 in Jacksonville reported that more than 14,000 attendees filled Hanna Park during the weekend event, where church members, families and supporters came together to encourage those taking a public step of faith.
The shoreline became the setting for worship, prayer and celebration as participants entered the ocean one after another during the church’s latest large-scale baptism gathering.
The congregation has hosted several major baptism events in recent years, attracting increasingly larger crowds.
"One by one, people walked into the water declaring that Jesus Christ is their Lord and Savior - that the old is gone and new life has come! Because baptism isn't what saves us, it's the outward sign of an inward spiritual reality. A symbol that we've been united with Jesus in His death and raised to walk in new life," the church posted on social media.
Church leaders also highlighted one unexpected moment from the event, saying the final person baptized that day was one of the shuttle bus drivers transporting attendees to the beach gathering.
"Only God could write a story like that," the church said.
Reflecting on the scale of the event, the church later shared another message celebrating the thousands who publicly declared their commitment to Christ before the crowd gathered at the beach.
"Still not over yesterday! 2,552 times we heard someone renounce the sins of their past, pledge allegiance to Christ, and proclaim out loud for the whole world to hear that Jesus Christ is their Lord and Savior! There is truly nothing better than that!" the church posted.
The latest gathering marked another year of growing participation for the Florida congregation. Last year, nearly 2,000 people were baptized during the church’s beach event, while more than 1,600 people were baptized in 2024, according to previous reports by CBN News.
