Baptisms Symbolize Freedom and Renewal for Mat and Kristine.
For the first time ever, Thursday’s All Team meeting featured baptisms, and ten people took the plunge in front of a crowd of volunteers.
Lead Pastor Paul Andrew explained that the practice of baptism goes hand in hand with the decision to become a Christian. “It is an outward sign that I’ve given my life to Jesus and his blood has covered all my sins. It’s the work of Christ that was perfect once for all.” He also described it as a memorial and a commitment that allows a believer to “cross a line” into a place of breakthrough.
As Mat Rosa crouched in the inflatable pool in the marble lobby of St. Paul’s German Church, his baptism was a statement of rebirth and freedom from his past.
Mat grew up with parents of mixed faith backgrounds. He recalls, “The ethics that I learned clashed, so my own value system was a conflicting mix of trying to become the best I could be while always believing I was the best at everything.” Mat explained that his pride led him down a road of addictions and destructive behaviors.
After a divorce, Mat carried the damages into his new relationship with Jen. Their relationship was “rocky at best,” but it was Jen who pushed Mat to join a church in Las Vegas, where he began to grow in his understanding of and love for God. But, as Mat admits, “Along the way, the dirt all had to come out.”
Mat says his baptism symbolizes a new step for him. More than ever, he is ready to let go of his fear, anxiety, and guilt in order to pursue the forgiveness Jesus offers. “Now at Liberty, we are surrounded by a loving family of leaders, mentors, and friends. I’ve been pushed to face, repent, and forgive myself for the hurtful and regrettable things I’ve done.” More than one friend at Liberty has described the guilt Mat carries as a “claw in my back.” “With this baptism,” Mat asserts. “I tear out that claw and toss it away. I don’t say that I am free of sin, but I choose to accept that Jesus paid my debt through grace and love.”
When Paul prayed over Mat in the makeshift baptismal, he called him “known by God since he was in his mother’s womb.” Throughout his unsteady past, Mat has had a sense of that divine presence. “I know that God has been pursuing me all along,” Mat reflects. “He’s blessed me with a wonderful wife who persevered through difficult times…She is my inspiration and she keeps me in check.” With his mainstay Jen cheering him on, Mat focused on Titus 3:4-7, “But when the goodness and loving kindness of God our Savior appeared, he saved us, not because of works done by us in righteousness, but according to his own mercy, by the washing of regeneration and renewal of the Holy Spirit.”
To Kristine Banasik, her baptism signified a new intimacy in her relationship with God and a memorial to all that he has done for her. Nine days past her thirtieth birthday, she smiles and calls it “a birthday present to myself.”
In 2005, Kristine moved to New York to pursue a fashion internship in Chelsea. During a lunch break, she walked past St. German’s Lutheran Church and had an overwhelming premonition that “something significant, like a wedding” was going to happen in the ornate church building. Six years later, at an Easter service at Liberty Church, Kristine made the decision to give her life to Jesus. She has become planted in the Union Square community and is an integral part of Visionaries.
“When I heard that baptisms were being held in the Rockaways and I couldn’t make it, I didn’t sign up.” Just a week before the baptisms were to be held, the location changed to Chelsea so that the church’s team of volunteers could be there to support those who were being baptized. “I kept looking at the address, and I couldn’t believe it!” she said, visibly shaking. Kristine understood the serendipitous change as a sign that she “was meant to be in this moment right now.” She also shared, “It kept reminding me of something Rhema [Trayner] said: ‘Faith is when your soul sees things in the spiritual before they happen in the natural.’”
As Kristine came up from the water, Paul prayed that her baptism would mean the start of “new things, new power, and new confidence to stand out.”
Kristine’s family in Missouri has been supportive of her decision to follow Jesus, and she has been telling them about her journey at Liberty over the past two years. Now that she is able to share the video of her baptism, the excitement brings tears to her eyes. “I feel refreshed, renewed.”
Cricket Leigh, Noah Matos, Adrienne Weidert, Angela Null, David Mele, Megan Stein, Sunni Spencer, and Gracie Gordon were also baptized. Congratulations to all of you and thank you for sharing this moment with us!
