Baptism BBQ Bash - Part 1

On Labor Day weekend Northwest celebrated the life change Jesus Christ has been producing in the lives of four men connected with our church. We called it the Baptism BBQ Bash.  It was obvious to us that if a group of people wanted to have a party and celebrate the fact that Jesus Christ has restored our relationship with God and is making us into a new person that some smoked meat should be involved!    

Over the next 4 blog posts, I want to share with you the stories of the 4 men who made recent commitments to Jesus Christ and followed Him in baptism. Their stories testify of God's goodness, mercy, grace, and ability to restore what was once broken and lost.

Jason W. Story...

My parents raised me in what can honestly be described as a dying church. The sermons began to focus too frequently on tithing, so we stopped going. In junior high two positive influences, the Fellowship of Christian Athletes and Fellowship Bible Church, rekindled my spiritual interests. I invited Christ into my life at a Newsboys concert in the autumn of 9^th grade. At the time I thought I knew exactly what it all meant, but it would be another fourteen years until I understood the full gravity of that decision.

In my later teen years I made a cascade of poor decisions that led to a life of addiction and pursuit of pleasure. Literally everyday started with thoughts and actions that did nothing to exemplify Christ’s ways and focused entirely on myself. Thankfully and perhaps luckily these choices did not lead me to the grave or jail, but looking back now the world I was living in was depressing to say the least.

Fast forward several years, the setting was in a garage working on a old beat up Jeep. A friend named Tyler asked me what my thoughts were on religion and if I saw myself as a Christian. I admitted my questions and doubts I had at that time and truly felt it was God’s way of asking “Where’s your heart at, Jason?”

Jaclynn and I began regularly coming to church and joined a community group shortly after that experience. In a short time here at Northwest, I’ve had many examples of what being a Christ follower genuinely looks like. Will, Greg and Dr. Sanders have been more than generous with their knowledge and time. My co-worker Kam Ghomghani, an Iranian Muslim turned born again Christian, has likewise been a great resource to discuss all things faith related. And Chris Cantwell, an all-around great guy as long as you can get past the fact he’s a Cardinals fan. All have played an integral part in getting my life pointed in the right direction. 

And that’s basically my story, a story of a man who isn’t worthy but in total need God’s grace. I am eternally thankful for Christ’s love and forgiveness and for the opportunity for life change through Christ here at Northwest.