Over 1,600 people publicly declared their faith at The Church of Eleven22’s record-breaking beach baptism. In an uncommon display of faith, The Church of Eleven22 witnessed a staggering 1,614 people publicly declare their faith through baptism at Hanna Park Beach in Jacksonville, Florida. Thousands of additional church members, friends, and family joined them in celebrating. This represents an increase of close to 500 from last year’s event, where 1,126 people were baptized, making it one of the largest beach baptisms in American history.
Pastor Joby Martin, the founder and lead pastor of The Church of Eleven22, said, “God saved a lot of people, and those people were obedient to take the next step — to go public with their faith and declare Jesus Christ as their Lord and Savior. And just as amazing as the 1,614 people that got baptized are the maybe 10,000 people from our church [who] showed up to celebrate it on the beach.” Martin said the event was “like a big family reunion” and celebration for the church. He said it has been “a bit overwhelming” to see so much spiritual fruit and to take part in so much transformation.
He continued, “We are a movement for all people to discover and deepen a relationship with Jesus Christ. Today, we celebrated over 1,600 people proclaiming Jesus Christ as their Lord and Savior. It doesn’t get much better than that. The church is alive and well, the Spirit of God is on the move, and the gospel of Jesus Christ is still changing lives as it has for thousands of years.” The preacher believes the stunning mass baptism is part of a bigger pattern of faith professions and baptisms observed across America right now. Martin said, “It just seems like God is doing a thing amongst his church. It was super neat for us to be able to celebrate what He’s doing here with what He’s doing all over the place.
He continued, “[We are] just overwhelmed with the goodness of God — that God decided to flex, and God loves saving people. And it was a pretty surreal moment.” While some people continue to debate whether America is at the start — or even in the middle — of a revival, Martin said one thing is for sure: “It was a revival in those 1,614 individuals’ hearts.” He said time will tell if it’s a national phenomenon, but he knows God has been “glorified in every individual” who professed faith through baptism. Martin shared the story of one man who — based on his appearance alone — seemed to have a “pretty serious backstory.” As he was about to baptize the man during the event, Martin asked, “Who is Jesus Christ?” At that very moment, the man’s 10-year-old daughter was walking out into the water.
Martin said, “She’s looking at her dad about to go under, and she’s just bawling. And all I can think is, ‘This little girl has been praying for her dad, and she probably doesn’t have the words, but she knows what Paul says in Romans — that this guy when he comes out of the water, he’s going to be walking in a newness of life.’” He continued, “And I dumped that dude, and they embraced, and we all cried, and I know that that household has been revived.”
Martin encouraged Christians to pray for church leaders and for each of the 1,614 people who showed up to get baptized.