A large-scale baptism initiative is gaining global momentum after a California-based ministry that previously baptized thousands announced plans for an international gathering.
The organization Baptize California, led by Pastor Mark Francey of the multi-campus Oceans Church in Orange County, revealed it will host a worldwide event titled “Baptize the World” on May 24.
“We believe it was an idea God gave us,” Francey told The Christian Post in an email. “To go from Southern California the first year, all of California the next year, America last year, and now the world this year.”
This upcoming event represents the first global effort for the ministry, though organizers say the final number of participants remains uncertain.
“We won’t know for sure, as many don’t get baptized until the day of. We are believing for tens of thousands, and possibly more than 100,000. There are a lot of possibilities,” he added. “We just want to organize the nets and help the Church throw them in the water. We will leave the catch up to Jesus.”
To build local engagement, organizers plan for each participating country to promote the event under its own national identity while remaining connected to the global initiative.
“For instance, Baptize Denmark or Baptize Canada will promote themselves as their own movements, partnering with Baptize the World. This gives personal ownership and excitement for churches, but also connects all of us to something larger than where we are. It’s the best of both worlds,” Francey noted.
Francey emphasized that the gatherings aim to reach individuals who may not yet have a personal faith, encouraging immediate spiritual response and baptism.
“We hope that people who show up without a relationship with Jesus at one of these churches or events will hear the Gospel, respond, and then take the next step to get baptized right then and there.”
“We are praying for so many incredible stories of lives changed and divine appointments,” he said. “Our experience over the past three years has been that many are saved, baptized and added to the local church.”
He also pointed to cooperation among churches as a key factor in drawing interest from those outside the faith community.
“Unity among churches and their working together are attractive to the non-churched. Seeing the Kingdom expand and the Church grow is why we do what we do.”
The ministry has already seen significant growth in recent years. In 2024, it reported the largest mass baptism in U.S. history, with more than 12,000 people baptized across California on Pentecost Sunday.
By June 2025, the movement had expanded nationwide, partnering with over 600 churches and organizing roughly 1,000 events that led to about 28,000 baptisms on Pentecost Sunday.
