The families strolling along the sea front at Amroth on a sunny November Sunday will have witnessed an uncommon sight. Not only were two men standing in the sea fully dressed, but one of them proceeded to dunk the other under the waves, to the sound of clapping and cheering from the large group standing in their coats on the sand. The explanation? Dominic Lemoine was being baptized before the church of Penuel, Carmarthen.
Aron Treharne, the minister at Penuel, explains further:
“It was a joy to enter into cold waters on this particular day, in order to baptize a friend and fellow Christian. Dominic was once an atheist, and would laugh in your face if you suggested there was a God. However, God used the internet (of all things!) to open Dominic’s eyes to the truth of the Gospel, to the reality of Jesus, and to his need of Jesus as a Saviour. This is the transformation Dominic experienced, and this is what led to us being in Amroth on that particular day! God had done a great saving work in his life, and now it was time to express this work that Jesus had done outwardly, to the world.”
“When someone is baptized, it doesn’t make them a Christian, it doesn’t magically make you a different person, and there’s certainly nothing special in the water. Baptism is important for two reasons. Firstly, Jesus commands that we do it following our conversion, and so we ought to obey. Secondly, it is Christ’s way of enabling and helping us to publicly declare the work that he has done in our hearts. Sometimes it’s hard to express and to show and say what has happened inwardly, but baptism is a clear picture that a Christian has died to the old self as they go into the water, and has now been raised to new life in Jesus Christ, as they come back up! This is what is means to be born again. Praise God for the work he has done in Dominic’s life, and pray that many more might come and experience God’s saving power in their own lives!”
As Baptists, we believe in Baptism by immersion when a believer decides to make a public commitment of faith in the Lord Jesus. Join us in praying for Dominic and his church, Penuel as they witness to Jesus and the good news in their part of Wales.