I went to a baptism revival today. It’s a Kayla Gabbard ministry thing.
https://kaylagabbardministry.com
All I knew of her was a few Google searches and listening to a few minutes of some videos. I’ve been offered to go live on Substack tonight to talk about it, and maybe some other things in the news.
Had no idea what to expect, and to be real, the whole concept seemed odd to me. It was promoted just as a day of baptism. So I decided to just come and see.
There had to be 5,000 people there. The few pics I took don’t do it justice. At first, I just wandered around with a friend. At least 2/3rds of the people were in line to be baptized. In fac,t for the most part, the crowd was the line.
Just observing, most seemed to be Christians just from their t-shirts and hats. It made little sense to me. Why are all these people wanting to get rebaptized? Is this all hype?
Eventually, we found a few more friends close to where the baptisms were happening. I’m just stunned. In awe. I didn’t get it.
So I was praying and thinking, Why are all of these Christians here to just be baptized again? And then as I looked over the crowd again, as far as I could see to my left and right… I thought about the end of Matthew chapter 9.
Jesus had compassion on the crowd because they were like sheep without a shepherd. And I thought, these people haven’t been taught how to live free in Jesus by faith. They don’t know who they are and still need freedom. That’s why they are here.
The “hired hand” shepherds from John 10 in many churches today care nothing for the sheep and don’t teach them the truth of what Jesus said. Christians live in bondage, thinking that’s normal. They are lost and confused, like sheep without a shepherd.
This isn’t a post about the ministry that held the event. I still don’t know all of their theology. But I do know this… they are filling a desperate need in our modern church culture. True repentance. And baptism that isn’t a ritual but a testimony, answer, or pledge to God of a clear conscience:
1 Peter 3:21 (NET)
And this prefigured baptism, which now saves you - not the washing off of physical dirt but the pledge of a good conscience to God - through the resurrection of Jesus Christ,
Jesus said it’s the truth that sets us free. We’re going to be talking about that tonight, live at 7:30pm. Hope you can join us. Here’s the link:
https://open.substack.com/live-stream/59302
How awesome! I won't be able to watch until replay (outdoor rolling stones cover band concert), but I'll be sure to check it out later! 🙌🏻✝️