Baptism: Lauren Houston

Lauren grew up with a difficult childhood. Though she initially grew up going to the Catholic church every Sunday, her father began to struggle with alcoholism and her brother battled a drug addiction. As a result, she struggled to grasp peace and unconditional love.

At a point in her life when she was in many unhealthy relationships, Lauren had so much depression and realized she needed to turn back to God. She tried to stay consistent, but she still struggled with some of her old, sinful habits. The turning point came one day when her boyfriend pointed out the importance of a relationship with Christ and later brought her to Northridge. She felt an overwhelming sense of belonging and described her experience of “singing her heart out” for the first time during service.

It was after this point that she understood that only Jesus could truly save. She experienced a peace that she had not had in the past even in spite of coping with her past and the bad months that have come and gone.

Lauren is getting baptized today to publicly declare that she is following Jesus with her life.