Baptisms: John & Diane

John

John began his spiritual journey in the Catholic church, being born and raised there. He eventually realized that he wasn’t getting much out of church, and so after some conversations with his best friend at the time, Diane, he decided to try out Northridge.  

The first thing he noticed was how different the experience was and the energy and excitement everyone seemed to exude.  The band, singing, and laid-back environment took him aback at first, but as Drew began to give the sermon,  it started to become clear to John what Northridge was about.  He’d never experienced the idea of going to scripture to learn about God, and he loved the way that Drew read from the Bible. He explained it in terms that made sense to him and applied it to his life. 

From that very first day, John was hooked on this new way of Christian living, and it began to change his whole life. He now reads the Bible and prays, he has become more patient and easygoing, and Christ has changed how he views what’s important in life.

Diane

Diane also grew up Catholic, but as she went through communion and Confirmation, she couldn’t understand what it all meant. She remembers asking God what it was all for, and she began a years-long search for something more. 

In 1987, a family member explained the Gospel to Diane, and she was blown away by the fact that she could have a personal relationship with Jesus Christ and God. At that time, she became saved, but she never fully surrendered certain things in her life to Christ.

Anxiety and frustrations had a grip on Diane’s life for years, and she continued to run away from God in many areas. She was in a relationship with her now-husband, John, and stayed with him on the weekends. At one point, her daughter confronted her about this, and it came to her attention that the Lord was prompting her to leave that situation and stop living in disobedience. So she did. 

During this time, God was working on both Diane and John. God began to reveal himself even more to Diane, teaching her about who she was and her identity in Him through the passage Psalm 139.  Meanwhile, John had come to know Christ, and when she ran into him, she immediately noticed the change in him and was blown away..

Diane realized that the worst place to be as a Christian was to have one foot in the world and one foot in the Kingdom. She was able to witness through her obedience that Christ can make all things new, which is exactly what He did for her and John.