A North Carolina multisite church baptized 458 people in one day, marking the largest baptism event in the congregation’s 137-year history.
Biltmore Church held its annual Outdoor Baptism event Sept. 13 at a private property in Fletcher, North Carolina, where a lake provided the setting for the baptisms.
Executive Pastor Devin Goins told The Christian Post that the turnout was “very humbling for us” because “baptism represents lives being changed and God being at work.”
“While we baptize believers nearly every week as part of our Sunday morning worship services, once a year, we bring all of our locations together to celebrate those who are taking their next step as a disciple after coming to know Christ through salvation,” Goins explained.
“In the days before Outdoor Baptism, anyone interested was personally contacted by our staff to confirm that they knew Christ personally as their Savior and were ready to take this next step of obedience as a Christ-follower.”
Biltmore also followed up with those baptized to connect them with discipleship opportunities. Participants who live farther away were encouraged to become involved in a local church.
“Our job as disciples and disciple makers is to journey alongside people in their relationship with Jesus and help them continue taking their next steps,” Goins told CP.
“While some are newer to our church, most of those who were baptized are already part of our church. Some came to Christ through a member or family in our church.”
Goins said the event offered “an opportunity to celebrate and praise God for being at work in our midst and Jesus dying in our place.”
“For those who don’t know Jesus personally yet but saw others get baptized, our hope would be that it sparks a desire to ask questions about Jesus and stir a genuine curiosity about what it means to be a Christ-follower,” Goins added.
Biltmore previously baptized 279 people at its September 2023 Outdoor Baptism event, with three additional baptisms taking place during morning worship services that day.
