Baptism: Melissa Aponte

Melissa was a strict follower of the Catholic faith growing up, going through her first communion, confirmation, and all the things you do as a follower of the Catholic faith. But prayer and personal connection with God were missing from her life because she always believed that she needed a priest to be the mediator. 

Once in college, she began to distance herself from organized religion and explore other forms of spirituality, tapping into Buddhist and Hindu practices and dabbling with healing stones, but inevitably, she still felt that something was lacking.

At this time, her mom had found a Christian church out in California that she loved and invited Melissa along. From the moment she set foot into the church, she realized this was what she was missing. After moving to Rochester, she ended up at Northridge, where she joined a Community Group. There was a moment in sharing with her group that she expressed her faith in Christ, and in that moment of professing her faith out loud, and sharing it with other people, she realized she had become a true follower of Jesus.

Life now that she is following Jesus feels a lot less lonely than it did before, both in having a stronger relationship of prayer and trust with the Lord, but also in the community of other Christians that she has surrounding her. Baptism is a meaningful step for Melissa because she is taking a step out and making her faith in God public, and not just a private thing that she doesn’t talk about. It is also a symbol of being done with her old way of relating to Christ and stepping into a new life living alongside Him.