Baptism is an ordination of initiation and adoption, as well as a public act, giving a testimony of faith in Jesus as others witness the public identification with Christ and the Christian church. Jesus instructed his disciples to make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. (Matthew 28:19)

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My story with Jesus started 2-3 years ago. Following a dream I had and when I bought a bible. It took a lot for me to finally believe and be baptised because I was lacking a lot before I met Christ! After you read all my needs that were not met you will see why. I knew there was something wrong and missing in my life so, as a problem solver, I tried many many things to fill the void and find a solution to my existential anguish. But Jesus was the answer to my thirst all along.

I tried doing AFFIRMATIONS, like, "I am strong" and "I am powerful"… Because I needed to be strong.

I tried using CRYSTALS because I needed safety, protection over my life and to feel connected to a higher power.

In John 17:11, Jesus prays for us to our father, “Holy father, protect them by the power of your name, the name you gave me, so that they may be one as we are one.”

Now I know what a wonderful and powerful name it is, the name of Jesus!

I tried PEOPLE PLEASING because I needed to be accepted.

I was a PERFECTIONIST because I thought I needed to be perfect to be loved

If you like you can read Acts 15:8 to see how God accepts us and Romans 8:37-39 to see the depth of God’s unconditional love for us.

I tried THERAPY, JOURNALING, MEDITATION, SAGE because I longed for peace and emptying my mind.

Now, Jesus gives me peace (John 14:26) and I can cast all my anxieties on him because he cares for me (1 Peter 5:7).

I tried other spiritual pursuits like TAROT, ORACLES, ASTROLOGY, NUMEROLOGY, YOGA, ESOTERIC BOOKS & SELF-HELP STUFF because I needed certainty, truth, liberty and freedom.

Jesus says in John 8:32, “If you hold my teaching, you are really my disciples. Then you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free”! AMEN!!

I tried to expand my consciousness through my only hopes of SELF MEDICATION and PRESCRIBED MEDICATIONS because I needed, joy, hope and purpose! Now everyday I rejoice as "the joy of the LORD is my strength” Nehemiah 8:10 

I am finally living soberly on purpose as I live for what Jesus says in Matthew 4:19 “ Come, follow me, and I will send you out to fish for people”

All this to say, my life is undeniably less needy and more fulfilled through my faith in Jesus. But how did I even consider him amongst all of these trials? This was simple! I asked God! If Jesus is real, show me! In my moment of desperation and confusion I did not expect a prompt response. But God surely delivered! Two minutes later, my husband called me and said, "I saw a truck in-front of the car while driving and it said “Jesus is coming back” so I thought of you…". That was it! I believed right then and there that Jesus is the Son of God. Fully human and Fully God! Three in one! Have you heard of Jesus’ response to Nathaniel when he said he saw him under the fig tree? Jesus says, "that’s all that it took? Do you believe because I told you I saw you under the fig tree?”. Yes! It was as easy and comical for me. What can I say I'm crazy for Jesus!

“For the wages of Sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord” Romans 6:23

All the ways I tried to help myself were just leading me to death. Jesus is the help I was looking for all along, the only one who could save me from sin and death.

This is now my prayer, “For there is One thing I ask from the Lord, this only do I seek: that I may dwell in the house of the Lord all the days of my life, to gaze on the beauty of the Lord and to Seek him in his temple.” Psalms 27:4

In Jesus’ name, Amen!"

- Ana

I'm from a place where religion is equal to superstition if not brainwash. So I never had one. Today when I picture myself in my "dead walking" years, I was like a lonely soldier who was fighting the entire world, resulting in myself being covered with bruises and a bleeding heart. A day before I turn to 50, I realized the only enemy I was fighting so brutally was myself. Well, I can't kill myself to win the battle, can I? A miracle, only a miracle will do.

August 27th 2023, instead of being on the plane, heading to South Africa where I dreamed to go since I was a kid, I ask my only friend Sir Google: church near me. Church 21 showed up, fits all my criteria, 7 minutes by drive, English speaking, gathering at 3pm that same day. I didn't know what it all meant or what to expect, to my knowledge at that time, I thought maybe there, the church, I can find a way to win myself. I went as Alice in the WonderLand.

Again my knowledge of church, God are all based on movies I have seen. I was disappointed when I went in. The only thing that struck me was there were two couples sitting in front of me, and both men had their arms around their wives. I was worried that their arms may go numb...

By a miracle, God used Pastor Dwight who preached that day to bring me to him, my lord, my maker, my heavenly Father, God. Then miracles kept happening and I cried for seeing God. Instantly I became a new human being, the old me was emptied out, I declared peace with myself in the name

of Jesus.

I became a Christian and my faith in God is every breath I take. God welcomed me with so many gifts for his lost kid coming back home. Gifts I have never seen in my life, love - both giving and receiving, joy - out of nothing, contentment - solid like a rock, and much much more. The most precious gift out of all is God told me that I am his favourite (although he tells every kid the same), he loves me uniquely and more, if it is even possible, forever.

My flesh is old, but my soul is a new born baby Christian. When Jesus Christ was resurrected, I was forgiven for all passing and future sins. I had my own death and new life given by the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit. Acts 2:38 Peter replied, "Repent and be baptized, every one of you, in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins. And you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.”

Now I shall walk in God's footsteps joyfully toward my real Home. It won't be an easy path since Satan is everywhere. But I knew God will guide me as it is said in Psalm 119:105 “Your word is a lamp for my feet, a light on my path.”

I can't stop myself when it comes to God and Jesus Christ. As I am baptised, I thank everyone who comes to witness the highest point of my life. And please keep helping me, a baby Christian to seek God and grow in God's will. Matthew 7:13 "Enter through the narrow gate. For wide is the gate and broad is the road that leads to destruction, and many enter through it.”

I want to use the three words that God said many times in Genesis to end this impossible to end testimony:

God created the world and He said about his creation, “it is good”. God created me, saved me from sin and now says about my life, “it is good” because He has made it good.

June

"I grew up in a Christian family. I attended Sunday services regularly and participated in group activities. However, I didn’t truly understand the words of God or how important it is to have a personal relationship with Jesus.

During my university years. I experienced a lot of stress from school. From time to time, I felt anxious and alone. I turned to different things to find the peace and none of them worked. I felt the sense of peace immediately after reading a few verses from the Bible. But as soon as I closed the Bible, I forgot God’s words, and went on living in my own way.

Last year, I was experiencing some health issues, I was feeling and weak and hopeless at some point. I started reading the Bible and praying. I talked to God about my struggles and prayed that God help me recover. As I was getting better and better, I began to feel the comfort and realize that God was answering my prayers. Since then, I have been following Jesus.

"For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish, but have eternal life."
God loves us, forgives our sins. He knows that we experience challenges in our lives. He sends his only Son, who sacrificed himself to save us, and gifts us with eternal life. God knows our struggles, listens to our prayers and he has plan for every single one of us."

Peng

"Most of my life I pondered as to what was the purpose of being born, who I was and how could I find that out. I lived a life filled with doubt, because I truly did believe as a child that Jesus died for us, but never got to experience the faith and knowing Jesus personally. I lived a life of fear, shame, unworthiness and the list can go on. But when I heard the gospel a few years ago that all changed. It really felt like a vail was lifted of my face and I could finally see clearly. As Romans 10:17 tell us “So then faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the word of God.”

Psalm 53:2 tells us that “God looks down from heaven on the children of man to see if there are any who understand, who seek after God.” Romans 3:10-11 tells us ““There is no one righteous, not even one; 11 there is no one who understands; there is no one who seeks God”. These words resonated so deep in my heart, I was convicted of the truth that I was filled with sin, unrighteousness, and definitely not seeking God, seeking anything else but Him.

All those years God had pursued me in so many ways and revealed Himself to me in so many ways, but I never saw that, not until I accepted Jesus as my saviour. That is the beauty of it all, He is always there, but in our sin and unrighteousness we can’t see it. He is just and we are not.

As 1 John 1:9 tells us “If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness”. When I did confess my sins, I finally experienced peace for the first time in my life, the shame was lifted and no longer burdening me, I finally felt loved and accepted. I no longer desired the acceptance of others, I no longer felt like I should please people and most definitely I felt freed from my past. The urge to blame people or the circumstances that shaped me, had disappeared and instead I desired to forgive. It is all thanks to God, He pursues us, He draws us, He loves us unconditionally, He forgives us, He calls us His children. What great reassurance that the identity we all search for is in Him and He defines who we are.

Knowing that until the day I am called home, I will still fail, I will still disobey and I will disappoint people, for I still have a body that wages war against me, one of the prayers that gives me reassurance is king David’s prayer in Psalm 51: “Create in me a pure heart, O God, and renew a steadfast spirit within me”."

Cristina

“Before having Christ as my daily bread, I lacked identity and drive. My experiences at part-time or seasonal jobs between studies showed that I could have a certain worth as a highly efficient employee. This fed a hunger for validation, making me work crazy hours relentlessly. It worked temporarily: I loved my job, and my coworkers loved me. But over the last year, I had the peace and clarity to see that their love only goes so far.

During my first year of university, I lived with two dear friends. With them, I saw that there was so much to discover, so many experiences that could change my behavior and priorities. However, I learned that my heart did not want to be part of today's corrupt culture and that being kind towards others was not just a display of good manners, but rather who I am.

By being exposed to so many opportunities to "be who I want to be," I found myself most comfortable when I was who God wants me to be, embodying the fruits of the spirit and displaying ridiculous amounts of sacrificial love. I knew from then on that I had to stop putting off my faith and learn to walk everywhere with my eyes fixed on Him.

Because reading my Bible was not consistently successful, I taught myself to recognize Him through His creations, from the smallest blooming flowers in the spring to the most colorful sunsets in the fall. In doing so, I was reminded to pray and talk to God as my friend all the time. I trusted Christ with my worries and excitements.

For the longest time, I struggled to believe I could be loved and accepted, and even if I was, I wondered what that meant, what was asked of me in return, and how easily I could disappoint people. Knowing God is a beautiful reminder that I will forever disappoint people and disobey orders, yet I shall remain loved and protected by my heavenly Father because that is who He is.

I tried to fight against how perfect to the point of unjust His goodness is, but I am no one to say who God is or is not. I must accept the grandeur of the gospel and do my best to honor His word while I am still a sinner, as praise to the Lord.”

Lydia

“I was born and raised in a nominally Catholic home where we only attended church during the high holidays. I went through all the required steps, such as being baptised as a baby, being an altar boy, having my first communion, and weekly confession. However, I never fully understood what it meant to be a Christian, and my relationship with God was nonexistent. My faith was more of an emotional attachment based on fear rather than a deep and all-encompassing conviction.

As life distractions increased, my faith quickly dissolved, and I sought solace in Native American beliefs, finding peace in nature.

Things changed when my wife Nancy and I adopted our two girls, and the topic of church came back into our lives. Nancy suggested that we consider finding opportunities for our girls to experience church. She found a house church to attend, and I reluctantly agreed to "support" the family. During this journey, God brought strong Christian men into my life who guided me and helped me grow spiritually.

I don't recall the exact date when I accepted Christ as my Lord and Savior, but I remember praying a prayer that Billy Graham was reciting, and from that moment, I knew I was a changed man.

Since accepting Christ, I am constantly reminded that I belong to Him and I am a new creation (2 Corinthians 5:17). My identity is in Him, not in my achievements, connections, or future plans. He has also surrounded me with people who exemplify what it means to live Christ-like lives. They sharpen me (Proverbs 27:17), encourage me, speak life into me, challenge me to learn more, and point me back in His direction.

I am grateful to know God and experience His love and care. I am ready to be baptised and continue this journey with my Savior, and I pray that He will draw me even closer and guide my steps.”

Fred

“I grew up in a Christian household, and when I was 6 years old, I was baptised, but I don't remember why I asked to be. When I was 7, I remember being at the counter in the kitchen and making the decision to follow Christ. That's the reason I wish to be re-baptised because I know I have now made a conscious decision to follow Christ.

I have grown in my faith thanks to Mr. Ben, who was my youth leader at Reach Montreal (before merging and becoming Church 21 West Island).

I have a hard time understanding why people get emotional during songs or how people feel God's presence. Recently, my Pop and I have been listening to an audiobook called "Blessed Are the Misfits: Great News for Believers who are Introverts, Spiritual Strugglers, or Just Feel Like They're Missing Something" by Brant Hansen. Brant has a lot of the same difficulties I have, and through the book, I understand that it doesn't matter if I'm able to feel God or not, or whether I get emotional. I believe God is always present, even when I can't sit during sermons and have to stand at the back fidgeting. Even when my mind tends to wander, I know that Jesus died on the cross for me and paid the debt I earned through sinning.

I have been adopted and made a child of God.”

Haley

“Before I knew God, my life was in shambles: I was broken and hopeless from the circumstances of life. Out of despair one day, I pleaded for a sign, and before I realized it, He answered my prayer. Through His grace, my anxiety and depression went away. Instead, He filled me with His goodness and a sense of peace beyond understanding. My experience was so powerful that today, there's nothing I want more than to commit my life to Jesus and fulfill His will. Today, I am so excited to publicly profess my love and faith in Christ and celebrate this special moment in front of friends and family.”

Monica

“I grew up in South Africa in a Christian family and had the privilege of having awesome, loving parents. We belonged to a Dutch Reformed church, and I was baptized as a baby. When I was 14 years old, I attended a Christian holiday camp, and that is where I made the decision to become a follower of Jesus. At that moment, I wrote it down on a piece of paper and put it in my Bible, not to forget my decision.

Since I was young, I read my Bible and prayed, but I didn't take it too seriously. I was just making sure that I wouldn't get left behind on the day when Jesus decides to come back for His children.

Fast forward a few years... My wife and I decided to immigrate to Canada. We had the opportunity but didn't have the funds at that time, so we decided to do it on our credit cards, with only four months of rent and grocery cash.

We researched all the nice and cool cities in Canada, not even considering Montreal because those people spoke French... And we didn't even know how to say "Bonjour" properly! And guess where we ended up... In MONTREAL!

Since being in Canada as immigrants, we compared everything to our home country... Prices, people, culture, weather, anything you can think of! While making comparisons between religious approaches, I realized that our lives in South Africa were more of a cultural and traditional religion instead of just being focused on being a Christian, our salvation, and God's word. Christianity in South Africa was incorporated into the schools and systems, and it was very much a part of our culture and how we grew up.

I realized that Quebec was the complete opposite of how I grew up. In South Africa, it was part of the culture, whereas in Quebec, it was frowned upon or you would get the comment that "I am not a religious person" when you said that you were a Christian.

For me, it became clear that I would have to make a choice to be all in or out. You can't be a mediocre Christian in Quebec; the culture does not allow it. It should be everything or nothing.

After a lot of thoughts, prayers, and discussions with close friends, I have decided to get baptized and will be all in from July 9, 2023.

Romans 8:37-39 says: "But in all these things we overwhelmingly conquer through Him who loved us. For I am convinced that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor things present, nor things to come, nor powers, nor height, nor depth, nor any other created thing, will be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord."”

Janco

“I have always been a rational person, relying heavily on my intellect and logic to understand the world around me. The high grades I consistently got in school contributed to building this perception of myself, and being a perfectionist became a defining feature of my personality. Not only did I put a lot of pressure on myself to keep performing, but I intentionally isolated myself from others as I felt like I had to overcome every challenge by myself to be worthy (of what exactly, I'm not sure. My parents' love, others' admiration?). I was self-reliant to an extreme, refusing gifts from friends and family even when I wanted to keep them. With time, I realized that I did have needs that I couldn't fulfill on my own.

I believed the lie that I had to be perfect and sinless before entering into a relationship with God. Growing up in a Christian home, I was soon confronted with the impossibility of that task and decided instead to keep God at bay. In an attempt to figure out if all my efforts were worth it, I watched a lot of apologetics and debate videos. I was waiting for that moment of realization when I would be absolutely convinced of the truth of the Gospel. However, that was really just an excuse to not personally engage with my faith.

I had some lows in my life, both socially, personally, and academically around 2018 when I was in Cegep. The pandemic was a very isolating period in my life. I had just moved from Quebec City to Montreal in January 2020, and I had an unstable and conflict-prone living situation with my sister. I had purposely cut ties with almost all the friends I had back home because I saw this move as an opportunity to start over on my own. I was very depressed, and I realized my life had no foundation. There was nothing I could rely upon to keep me going when things seemed really dark, when everybody (including myself) failed me.

In the midst of all this, I was reminded of the God of my mother, in whom she always had so much confidence and trust. My mother's testimony related to a God who never turns His back on you and always welcomes you with wide open arms, regardless of what you've done. Jesus' words in Matthew 11:28-29 were particularly touching to me as well, as I came to understand that salvation is a free gift from God. I could never do anything to deserve it; I just had to accept it and surrender to Him.

I still struggle with setting expectations for myself in my walk with God. As a recovering perfectionist, I sometimes set my expectations too low to avoid being disappointed. Baptism, a public declaration of faith, was something I knew was part of a normal Christian life, but I put it off because I was scared and anxious. However, God filled me up with His peace one day regarding this act, and I was personally convicted that it was His will for my life and that I had to be obedient. He allowed me to trust in Him that I would be able to overcome my shyness in order to do it.

As the Apostle Paul said in his letter to the Philippians (1:21), "For me to live is Christ and to die is gain." Unlike when I was going through some darker moments in my life, my earthly death is now something that I look forward to as the conclusion of a life that will have been spent glorifying Jesus and the beginning of an eternal life of worshiping Him.”

Christina

I was born into a Catholic family but we weren't really very traditional or consistently following it. I always had the feeling that God was close, watching over me but I had no guidance on how to approach him or Jesus. So I thought more in terms of talking to him without really understanding what prayer was or the importance of what Jesus did for us.

My family in the first place made me approach and be curious about Jesus. My dad was the first to want to follow Jesus so one day he took us to church. Secondly, at that time I had to take an admission exam to a school that was in high demand and I was afraid of not staying. That would imply that my life would be stagnant. I knew that I alone could not handle so much and it was liberating to leave all those burdens on Jesus and situations that are not under my control.

It was a day when my dad took us to a Christian church for the first time, I wasn't very convinced. I was confused because all my life I had thought that we were Catholic and why had we changed now? It wasn't until the third time we went to that same church that I felt something different. At the end of the preaching, the pastor asked if anyone wanted to accept Christ as their saviour and I felt a great impulse to raise my hand because that's how I felt in my heart. Later I realized that my brother and my father had also done it. At the end of the preaching, the pastor prayed for us and all my doubts about why we changed from Catholicism vanished. From there, a great motivation arose for me to follow Jesus, by trying to get to know him more through reading the Bible, praying, and trying to act as similar to him and thus enlarge our relationship.

He gives me confidence on a day-to-day basis that my value is not in how smart I can be, in how many friends I can have and something in superficial terms. I know that because of him I am invaluable in an incalculable way and although sometimes I feel shy or insecure about things, remembering what Jesus did for me gives me the strength to face the problems of everyday life.

Every time something happens that takes away my peace of mind, I get to relax by thinking that nothing can be that bad because at the end of all our place is next to Jesus Christ in eternal life and the problems of this world are only temporary. He paid with his life for us and that's how I feel safe.

Paulina