{"id":10406,"date":"2024-05-14T10:00:01","date_gmt":"2024-05-14T14:00:01","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/christnewstoday\/?p=10406"},"modified":"2024-05-14T10:00:01","modified_gmt":"2024-05-14T14:00:01","slug":"pastors-vision-from-god-set-to-spark-potentially-record-shattering-mass-baptism","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/christnewstoday\/2024\/05\/pastors-vision-from-god-set-to-spark-potentially-record-shattering-mass-baptism.html","title":{"rendered":"Pastor’s Vision From God Set to Spark Potentially Record-Shattering Mass Baptism"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Oceans Church\/YouTube<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

The pastor responsible for a historic mass baptism last year is now setting his sights on what could once again break records and lead hundreds or thousands of people to Christ. Pastor Mark Francey of Oceans Church in California shocked the nation last year when he hosted Baptize SoCal, an event that attracted thousands of spectators and led to nearly 4,200 baptisms.<\/p>\n

At the time, it was reportedly the largest recorded baptism in U.S. history. One year later, Francey is gearing up for an even greater effort:\u00a0Baptize California<\/a>, a state-wide initiative that could shatter other historical baptism markers to become the “world\u2019s largest synchronized baptism.\u201d Francey told CBN News his baptism efforts started with a vision from God. His church was just three years old when he embarked on the ambitious Baptize SoCal event, which unfolded last May, and, at the time, he wasn\u2019t looking to launch into such an endeavor.<\/p>\n

Francey said, \u201cI\u2019m originally from California, but [had] spent the last 17 years in a different state, so moving here, starting a brand new church, treading \u2026 water after COVID \u2014 the last thing on our mind was uniting \u2026 this global baptism initiative.\u201d But after reading a book about one of the largest water baptisms in American history held at Pirate\u2019s Cove in California, he was surprised to learn the mass immersion took place in the 1990s. Francey said he assumed it would have been much earlier. He was also intrigued by the fact it took place at the very same location where the late Chuck Smith baptized masses of young people 50 years ago during the Jesus movement. Pirate\u2019s Cove continues to impact people\u2019s lives today profoundly.<\/p>\n