Here is what Robert had to say about his decision to be baptized:
I have been been coming with my family to Eastside since Easter in 2018. My wife’s friend from work invited us to Eastside Redlands since it had just opened. I always thought there must be a God, and I kind of thought as long as I’m a good person, and I doing the right thing, then I’ll go to heaven. That’s kind of the way I lied to myself about what it means to be a good person. After coming to Eastside we decided to “make to church our thing” and committed to coming every weekend. We jumped in and attended next steps, and then I joined a small group. This group really got me thinking about what it means to be a Christian and what I believe about God.
Click Play above to watch Roberts story.
I think I’d been in the group about six month and then one Sunday, Gene was asking for people who wanted to be baptized to stand up. I’d heard this message before, and I admit I’d felt a nudge before, but I just hadn’t quite had the courage to stand up yet. I had joined Guardian ministry and was watching other people be baptized and in my head I was thinking, that’s what I wanted to do. So then finally I just couldn’t ignore it any longer.
Trust me, I still had excuses to say, “No, not today.” It sounds so corny, but we were going to Disneyland that afternoon; we had tickets and everything. So of course I was thinking, “Oh, shoot. You know, if I stand up right now to be baptized, maybe my wife would be mad because we’re supposed to be on our way to Disneyland.” And the next thing I know she had stood up! And I said, “Okay, wow, we are doing this!” Seeing her stand up gave me the personal courage to stand up and do it. Even though it’s something that had been on my heart for a while, I kept having excuses to ignore the nudges. For me, it was just like a gentle nudging that kind of crept up on me at first, and then it developed into a deep feeling, and I became convinced I really needed to take the next step.
For a long time, I thought I feel like I'm broken, and too far gone for Jesus to forgive me. It felt like Jesus wouldn't want anything to do with me because of everything I’d done in my past, the things I've seen, and been through. But I was so wrong! It was these lies that kept me stuck.
For a long time, I thought I feel like I’m broken, and too far gone for Jesus to forgive me. It felt like Jesus wouldn’t want anything to do with me because of everything I’d done in my past, the things I’ve seen, and been through. But I was so wrong! It was these lies that kept me stuck. Until I went with my gut feeling and decided to have the courage to get baptized.
Once I got baptized, it was just like a weight was immediately lifted. You know, that was that’s the best way I can describe it. Everybody should know that you’re never too far gone. You’re never too far broken. And I think the most broken people are the ones that Jesus really wants to reach.
If you were inspired by this story, we would love to tell you more about Eastside. We have a relentless love and commitment for all to know God. We are committed to finding unique ways to serve in our local communities and help our global neighbors. We are passionate about finding solutions, building bridges, and bringing the love and hope of Jesus to hurting communities. We strive to inspire ourselves and others to discover transformational change. We would love to invite you to join us in person or online. At Eastside we believe that this is a place for everyone, wherever you are on your journey. If you would like to find out more about Eastside, please visit eastside.com.