Baptism Sunday: Kara Reinhardt, Jason Silva, And Kenny gonzalez

Baptism Sunday 2021 was a wonderful opportunity for us to see how God has been at work in our church as people publicly declare Jesus as their Lord and Savior. Kara, Jason, and Kenny’s testimonies are some of the highlights from this day.

Kara came from a split family household where her dad wasn’t a believer, which made her feel conflicted about what she believed. She started out having chronic illnesses her freshman year of high school, and it caused questions of why which in turn caused anxiety. When college came, Kara began to explore her faith more. She started going to on-campus services at Nazareth, making friends who brought her to Northridge at Easter, where she placed her faith in Christ. She was placed in a community group and met with a mentor. Since then, she has had more peace with the chronic illnesses she was diagnosed with freshman year.

Jason’s life before trusting Christ was hectic. He struggled with stress and sadness, as well as post-service effects after having served in the military. Despite hearing prayers, sermons, and perspectives, something in his heart was resistant to them. He would pray and believe that there was something out there having grown up Catholic, but felt like he had to say things a certain way. He overcame this by, in his terms, “talking to God as he would talk to one of his buddies.” Jason has also now come to enjoy reading the Bible and has prayed more for others, and he feels stronger now more than before.

Before Christ, Kenny was very angry at the world. His father left him at a young age. In 2020, his mother and brother got COVID, which led him to pray a lot more. He had thought you had to be a certain way to come to Jesus, but breaking down and asking for forgiveness caused a peace to come over him that they would make it, which they did. Doing this made it feel like a rock was lifted off his chest, and he eventually even came to forgive his father for leaving his life. Kenny now realizes that you don’t have to be perfect to be baptized because of the finished work of Christ.