Baptism Testimonies AUGUST 30, 2026

Harper Werstler 
Daughter of Shanelle & Nathan Werstler

Hi, my name is Harper, and I want to tell you why I have decided to be baptized.  Many people help me learn about God and Jesus like my mom, dad and my Mamma and my friends Ellie and Kinsley. At church Miss Emilee and Miss Kate help me grow closer to God. Last year, I went through medical things that were hard and scary for me. There were a lot of things I couldn’t do for a while, and sometimes I was afraid to try things again, scared I would get hurt.   I really started asking more questions about God and about being baptized. God does hear me when I pray, and I can talk to Him when I am scared, worried, happy, or when I just need help. Going through all of this also taught me how to be patient and not give up.  I want Jesus in my heart for the rest of my life. I believe in Him, and I want everyone to know that I have chosen to follow Him. Having Jesus in my life doesn’t mean I won’t be scared or hard things won’t happen. I can pray and trust that He is there to calm me, guide me, and help me through them.  I am ready to be baptized because I believe in Jesus, I want to follow Him, and I am ready for everyone to know that He is a part of my life.

Finley Ryan Smith
Daughter of Megan & Zach Smith

Foster Smith 
Son of Megan & Zach Smith

My mom prays with me every night and teaches me about Jesus. It helps me to know that sinning is a bad thing, but if you ask Jesus to forgive you, He will forgive. I want to get baptized because other people will know that I follow Jesus and I am a Christian. This is my opportunity because I love Jesus. After I am baptized, people will see that I am truthful and responsible because they will know that I am a follower of Jesus, and people who follow Jesus are kind.

Lenora Mae Hermon
Daughter of Emilee & Brian Hermon

I have learned more about Jesus from my mom, dad, Mrs. Nieter and my small group leaders. I recently watched some of my cousins get baptized and I am excited to show everyone I am a part of God’s family. I’m choosing to get baptized today because I love Jesus and God and have accepted him into my heart. He gave his only Son and created the earth for me to have a home and be safe. He gave me a family, and I love how unique it is. I’ve seen God heal people and bring peace during scary storms. I know he’s real. God’s word, the Bible, guides and teaches me. And I want to learn and discover more about God as I grow up.  I want the whole world to know Jesus!

Jade Patterson
Daughter of Jennifer & Cody Patterson

I was introduced to Jesus by my parents, brother and my church. My parents did a dedication with the church for me. I want to be baptized because I believe in and want to live my life with Jesus. This will give me the feeling of being safe.

Bayleigh Lynn Catherine Roberts 
Daughter of Christine & Brandon Roberts

I believe Jesus is my Lord and Savior because he died on the cross for my sins. He continues to provide for me daily. And I love him.

Ryleigh Jane Roberts
Daughter of Christine & Brandon Roberts

Christine Roberts

I’ve grown up in and out of church my entire life. I accepted Jesus Christ as my Lord and Savior as a young teen. I felt the Lord come through me one day as I sat in my car completely helpless and at rock bottom. I was post-partum; my depression and anxiety were at an all-time high. I cried out to the Lord for help. Please, just help me get through this. The next day I found an amazing doctor that really helped me and got me through. I know the Lord is the reason I got through that, he has never let me down in my times of need. I know when I am struggling with anything I can speak to the Lord and he will provide for me.

Brandon Roberts

I’ve been in church as long as I can remember as a child. I’ve always felt God’s presence and the Holy Spirit has guided me my entire life, truly steering me. I accepted Jesus as my Lord and Savior and was saved. I was baptized around 13. I want to rededicate my life to Christ is because I fell out of the church for some time. I was blessed with a true gift from God, my wife. God gave me what I feel is my calling with her and we were blessed with three beautiful girls. God has shown me that through my failures he has been there every step of the way. It wasn’t until I was at crossroad did I learn to fully submit to God.  I began to see a new level of Love from God. For this reason, I want to Glorify Jesus and rededicate my life to the Lord; to let him have full control of my life. TGBTG!

Sophia Coday
Daughter of Travis & Alicia Coday

I started coming to North Webster Community Church about a year and a half ago, and I have been taught how and why I should live for God. I started to surround myself with the community of the church, and I have felt so much more fulfilled and joyful. I have decided to get baptized because I know Jesus died for me. I know I am saved through him, and I want to show the people around me the amazing ways my life has and will change because of him. 

Malaina Leek
Daughter of Jeff & Trudy Leek

I’ve always believed in God, and I grew up in a house where my mom and sister were big believers.  I want to be baptized because I have put all my faith in Jesus.  Jesus has helped me a lot, especially over the last few years.  He has pulled me out of some really bad spots.  I surrendered to Jesus a few months ago, a little while after I started going to Epic.  I know baptizing doesn’t save me, but I want people to know I’ve been saved.

Genevieve Zachary
Daughter of Mandy Nesbitt & Tom Zachary

My whole life I’ve known who Jesus is, but I never had a real relationship with Him until 7th grade. I have had lots of ups and downs in my life that have shown me Jesus’ true grace, mercy and love. Last summer I was supposed to get baptized and when that weekend came, I got real sick. I was so confused on why God didn’t want me to show my outward expression of taking Jesus as my Lord and Savior. Then this past winter, my mom went through a very difficult time and we have a close relationship and that only made it so much harder. After reflecting and praying a lot, I finally realized why God didn’t want me to get baptized. After all these dark moments, I had fully given all of myself to Jesus. I’m so thankful for Him because even through these hard times He has still provided. He provided me with a great youth pastor, great friends, and great group leaders who feel like family and so much more. Even in these tough moments God has still helped me get closer to my mom and let me know that she always loved me, even if it didn’t show all the time, and I will forever be thankful for that. Jesus has freed me from my worries, fears and doubts. I want to get baptized because I want to show people what Jesus has done for me and what he can do for you. 

Liam Baldridge
Son of Shanna Miller & Garrett Baldridge

I grew up in a broken household, the one where the parents were split up and the kids barely got to see their dad or mom. I talked bad about people that loved me, because I felt like I was not loved by anyone. I was anxious all the time to point where I would rip out my hair, and I thought no one would understand me, until I met Jesus. I encountered The Holy spirit when I was in a classroom, a kid asked if It was ok if he prayed for me, and while he was praying it felt like Jesus yanked away the urge to please the world, and my anxiety, anger, worldly desires all disappeared. Jesus truly put me back together, piece by piece. My family slowly started moving in faith and we all go to church together to this day. Now I live a life full of fruits instead of fear.

Elizabeth Rozow

Before I came to truly follow Christ, I was living a life of sin and felt lost and broken. I believed Jesus was real and knew He loved me, but that truth had little impact on how I lived. When I was eight months pregnant, my son’s father asked me to abort my baby. In that moment, I felt a deep conviction and the presence of the Lord. I knew my son was a gift from God and that, despite my fear and circumstances, God had a purpose for both of us. After he was born, I worked hard to build a better life for my son and moved across the country to be near family. During that time, my faith was growing, but I still struggled to fully commit. As I continued seeking Jesus, I discovered that the more I surrendered to Him, the more peace I found and the easier it became to walk away from sin. Having my son helped me understand God’s love in a way I never had before. Today, I know who I am because I know Christ. I want to be baptized because I am ready to fully dedicate my life to Jesus, trust Him as the leader of my life, and set an example for my son that no matter what we face, our hope and strength come from God.

Missy Long

Hi, my name is Missy Long and for a long time, I didn’t understand why God would allow so much pain into my life. Looking back now, I can see that even in the moments when I felt completely alone, God was there. I just couldn’t see Him yet. Losing someone I loved deeply changed me. The grief was overwhelming, and I didn’t know how to deal with the pain. I turned to things that I thought would help me escape it and that pain eventually led me down a path of addiction. Addiction took more from me than I ever imagined. It affected my relationships, my decisions, and the way I saw myself. Eventually, I found myself homeless, struggling just to get through each day. I felt lost, ashamed, and hopeless. While in active addiction I ended up in an abusive relationship. I knew I was hurting, but I didn’t know how to find my way out. I had become so broken that I started believing that this was just what my life was going to be. There were moments when I thought I had gone too far for God to reach me. Rehab became one of the turning points in my life. It wasn’t an instant fix, and I still had a lot of battles ahead of me. But God began working on my heart. He began showing me that my past did not have to determine my future. Even after rehab, I stumbled. I ended up in jail, and that was another moment when I had to face the person I had become and the choices I had made. But God didn’t abandon me there. He met me in the middle of my mess. He met me in my grief, my addiction, my homelessness, my abusive relationship, my mistakes, and even my lowest moments. When I couldn’t see a way forward, God was still making a way. I have learned that God doesn’t waste our pain. He can take the broken pieces of our lives and make something beautiful out of them. Today, I am choosing to be baptized because I have chosen Jesus. Baptism represents leaving my old life behind and stepping into the new life God has given me. I am not being baptized because my life is perfect. I am being baptized because I know I need Jesus, and because I have experienced His grace. My past is part of my story, but it is not the end of my story. I am no longer defined by addiction, homelessness, abuse, jail, or the mistakes I’ve made. I am a child of God, and my identity is found in Him. I still have a lot to learn, and I know there will be difficult days ahead. But I don’t have to walk through them alone anymore. God took me from a place where I thought my life was over and showed me that He was just beginning to write a new chapter. Today, I surrender my life to Jesus, choose freedom, healing and faith in a new life in Christ. And I am grateful that no matter how far I had fallen, God never stopped reaching for me.

Jett Woods

I have been blessed my entire life with a loving family, loving friends, a beautiful home to live in, and more recently a wonderful woman who I can call my wife on September 6^th.  My entire family has always had a love for Jesus.  I grew up in a Christian home, went to a Christian school, and went to church most Sundays.  As I became a teenager, I struggled with the idea of God and how he existed.  At one point I didn’t like calling myself a Christian, because it felt like I was lying since I didn’t understand who or what God is.  When I first met my fiancé, it didn’t take long to see her love for the Lord.  Now, after coming to NWCC for over a year, seeing the love, the community, and the fellowship, there are often times when I get a little emotional in church, feeling the Holy Spirit over me.  I haven’t been saved for long, but the Lord is amazing and the way he changed me is unlike anything the world has to offer!

Humberto Malagon

Before I knew Jesus, I was a ” normal” man of this world who listened to inappropriate music, consumed alcohol, and was addicted to pornography. I was selfish. I experienced some childhood abuse that no little boy should ever have to experience. I grew up in a home without a loving father or protector. As an adult, I felt like I never had guidance, and I just did what felt good. After a failed marriage, a foreclosure, bankruptcy, and a broken family, I felt like I was in a pit. Some days I even felt suicidal. But somehow, I knew God was real and he provided me with peace. In 2013, I met my (now) wife. She invited me to church, and I got to know Jesus personally. Since then, God has completely transformed my life. I have been set free from addictions, and I have a relationship with Jesus! I have even forgiven all those evil acts done against me as a child. Now my goal is to share with everyone that God can set them free too. After 10 years of being clean and being a Christ follower, I have made the decision to get baptized. God can set anyone free and wash them of their sins too. Praise God! Now that I have two beautiful sons of my own, they will never have to experience the things I experienced. 

Will Mignery

Jason Wylie