Baptism 2026
Stories of their faith and God’s faithfulness.
We hope you are deeply encouraged by their testimony of why they have put their trust in Jesus. Enjoy!
Mitchell’s story
I wasn't raised as a Christian. I spent the majority of my teenage and adult life rejecting Christ and believing I was in control of my life, even to the point of looking down on those who chose to believe or draw strength from their faith.
Life threw me plenty of family and health issues from a young age, starting with a family breakdown, which by enduring I felt reinforced that it was solely my resilience and hard work keeping my life moving forward. That idea fell apart in 2021 when I reached my lowest point, and feeling out of options, began planning to take my own life.
It was at that point that I believe God truly made his faithfulness in me known. On what I'd planned as my last week, I walked past a street library that I'd walked past plenty of times before, and on that day there was a King James Bible inside. I took it home and began to read it each night. At the time it gave me hope and got me off the ledge, even if I struggled with the content.
In the following months, life started to get better and I foolishly put the gospel aside, believing that I'd reasserted control over things. But I can look back now and truly see that since making His word available to me, God never stopped working to bring me to Him.
The following year he brought Alexander into my life, someone whom I treasure as a true brother. He and Lydia have welcomed me into their home and family from Day 1, and both spoke so openly and assuredly about their faith and desire to see everyone saved. I am forever thankful that we could have those conversations, even if I wasn't ready to truly open my heart to God as I continued to live and engage in the sin of my old life. I ended up attending the Christmas event each year since 2022, mostly because of Alexander's tireless efforts to keep inviting me. By the time the 2024 Christmas event rolled around, I'd been able to close out some items from my old life. When Alan spoke about the Life Course, something clicked and I felt that I was finally ready to reorient my path, wanting to live a life worthy of God's grace.
As I look back over the past 5 years of my life and clearly see how God has been working to save me, I want to always try and remember His generosity, and that everything I have, including being alive, is due to his faithfulness in me. I still feel that there are two halves to my life, the before and the after, and which one people see can be dependent on which part of my life they're from. As I commit myself to living for Christ, I'll be praying that I can bring those two closer together, so that the me that lives for God is the one everyone comes to know.
I hope that my testimony will help anyone who is questioning the strength of their faith, or anyone who hasn't yet chosen to follow Jesus to believe that God's faith in us is endless. That even me, a sinner and lifelong atheist who did nothing but reject His message was still deemed worthy of being saved at my lowest point.
Jess’ story
I grew up knowing God, I was raised in a Baptist church in Wagga, where I had the privilege of watching my grandfather preach each Sunday. When I moved to Sydney as a teenager, I sometimes went to church with friends, but eventually I drifted away. Later, in my twenties, I went to another church with some work colleagues, and the kids came with me. But we drifted away from there too. It was difficult because my husband and I didn’t share the same faith, and making time for church on weekends was hard for our family. Some years later, I was talking with a dear friend, and we both said we wanted to start going to church again and so we began looking for a church together. To my surprise, during that time Sonu, who hadn’t believed in Jesus, became curious about faith and was eager to come to church with us.
I’ve always considered myself a Christian, but I told myself I didn’t need to go to church. I prayed and read the Bible, so why did I need to do anything else? Well, I was wrong.
Since finding Ryde Presbyterian a couple of years ago, I’ve begun to understand more deeply the role the church plays in our lives. The sermons have helped me understand the Bible more fully, and the friendships and connections I’ve made have encouraged me and filled a space I hadn’t realised was missing.
I’ve also realised that I wasn’t always putting Jesus first. I often tried to control my life and made decisions without seeking God. My relationship with Him was inconsistent, I would often turn to Him when something was going wrong, rather than making Him part of my everyday life. As I read the Bible and learn more about Jesus, His words have started to feel real in my life. I understand more what it means to trust Jesus as my Lord and Saviour, and how much I need His grace.
There have been times when I’ve felt very alone and faced deep struggles. Looking back, I can see that God was with me and never left my side, even when I couldn’t see it at the time. I can also see God’s faithfulness in my marriage. After 25 years together, Sonu and I are taking this step of baptism together. For much of our marriage, faith wasn’t something we shared. I’m grateful that, over the past couple of years, he has become open to discovering what it means to have a relationship with Jesus.
I’m being baptised because I want to publicly declare that I belong to Jesus. I know I haven't got everything sorted out, but I want to keep trusting Him, turning back to Him and following Him. Baptism is a picture of leaving my old life behind and being raised to new life in Christ. I’m grateful for His forgiveness, His hope and the joy of knowing I’m not alone. I’ve found a home here at Captivate Ryde Presbyterian, and I feel very blessed to be taking this step in front of you all. I’m thankful for the way God has led us here, and I want my life to keep growing in faith, love and obedience to Jesus.
Sam’s story
If someone had told me two years ago that I'd be standing here, in a church, about to be baptised... I probably would have laughed. Because, for 47 years, I believed in one person. Myself. I believed in being strong, figuring things out and relying on myself. And to be completely truthful, I thought religion was for people who needed something to lean on. I didn't think I needed God.
But on 18 October 2024, something happened that changed my life. I went into surgery. When I woke up the following day, I felt an incredible sense of peace and joy. I didn't think much of it. I thought it was probably the medication. But the following night, after returning home, at around two in the morning, I had an experience I still struggle to explain. It was almost like a dream, but I was aware of a light and an overwhelming sense of love and peace. And somehow, I knew it was Jesus Christ. I can't explain how I knew. I just knew. There was no fear. Not even fear of death. Just love and peace unlike anything I'd experienced before.
The next morning, I did what the old Sam would do. I tried to explain it away. Maybe it was a dream. Maybe the medication. I even wondered, "Am I going crazy?" But over the following days, that same sense of love and peace continued. And I couldn't ignore it anymore. One night, I realised something. I'd spent all this time asking what was happening to me, but I'd never asked Christ what He wanted from me. So, in my mind, I asked: "What do You want from me?" And immediately, one word came to me. "Love."
That was it. Love. From that moment, I wanted to know Jesus.
I started reading the Bible, visiting churches, asking questions and speaking to Christians. When I shared my experience with Jess, she helped guide me, because I honestly had no idea what it meant to be a Christian. And as I began to understand the Gospel, I realised something that changed my understanding of life.
For 47 years, I'd been relying on myself. But I couldn't save myself. Jesus had already done what I could never do. He died for my sins and rose again. And slowly, I began to understand what it meant to follow Him. My thinking changed. My priorities changed. The way I looked at other people changed.
I started attending Bible studies, and even started Bible studies at work. And suddenly, I became the person who couldn't stop talking about Jesus! Sometimes even to people I'd only just met. And that still makes me smile. Because I used to be the person who thought he didn't need God.
Today, I see life very differently. Every day is a gift. Every breath is a gift. And for the first time, I understand that my strength doesn't come from relying on myself. It comes from Christ. I don't have all the answers. I'm still learning. I'm still growing. And I can't explain everything that happened to me.
But I know what happened to my life. The man who went into surgery on 18 October 2024 is not the same man standing before you today. I went into that surgery trusting myself. Today, I stand here trusting Jesus Christ.
And that's why I'm here to be baptised. Not because I'm perfect. Not because I have everything figured out. But because I have chosen to follow Jesus. And I want to spend the rest of my life walking with Him. Thank you.