After a dynamic Easter Sunday church service at a Florida football stadium, almost 1,000 people decided to take the plunge two weeks later and get baptized at a local beach.
"We didn't want a traditional Easter service. We wanted something where we could invite Tampa Bay to be a part of the biggest church service people had ever seen," Daryl Black, Associate Pastor of Grace Family Church said in an interview.
To celebrate Jesus' death and resurrection the church put on a service at the Raymond J Stadium where the Tampa Bay Buccaneers play and invited 30,000 people.
Former NFL coach Tony Dungy gave the message during the service.
"I got to the Steelers," said Dungy during the service. "I was 21 years old and there were about 15 guys on the team that said, 'You can't just do it this way. You can't just have a uniform and be on the sidelines. You got to get in the game. You got to play. You got to put God first in your life all the time.' And that's when I kind of changed my life around."
After the service was finished, 1,200 rushed to the stadium floor to give their lives to the Lord. As a result of this move of God, Grace Family Church decided to host a baptism service two weeks later at Fort De Soto Beach.
On April 14 a huge crowd showed up to worship, dance, and praise on the beach. In total, 947 men, women, and children were baptized in the ocean.
"Imagine this. It's Sunday at the beach. It's a beautiful afternoon and before you know it the beach is taken over by all of these church people. We're having worship...we're talking about Jesus. We're having fun. We are shouting and praising God and before you know it people are walking into the water with their whole families being baptized."
As the crowd drew attention, a few people who simply came to the beach for the day saw what was happening and one person floating even asked if they could also be baptized.
"Yes, you can," Black said. "Do you know Jesus? Let me introduce you to Him and you can get baptized right now."
The church staff have been doing follow-ups since the baptism and encouraging those who took the step of faith to continue with discipleship.
"There is a wave of revival that is coming. Bigger than what we've ever seen before," Black said. "Young people really want the true Gospel of Jesus Christ. It's more than just the religion. It's more than just rituals. It is a real relationship."
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