92 baptised at Bournemouth Beach

Churches in Bournemouth are celebrating after 92 people were baptised in the sea upon profession of their faith.

The service on 13 July was attended by hundreds of people. It was a partnership between five local churches at Bournemouth Beach, led by Peter Baker, Senior Minister at Lansdowne Church.

This comes as many are hailing a ‘quiet revival’ happening across the UK. A recent report by the Evangelical Alliance found that evangelical churches are seeing twice as many people approaching them with questions about the Christian faith, and reported twice as many people making first-time commitments to follow Jesus compared to 2021.

‘Unashamed’

Peter Baker said the service was intended to “bring together Christians who believe in Jesus Christ and want to tell the world that”.

He stated that the church in Bournemouth was “alive and kicking” and that they are planning similar public events for Christians “unashamed” of their faith.

Liam Brownen, 35, was one of the people baptised. He explained how Jesus transformed his life: “The second I gave my life to Christ I was instantly relieved of the bondage of addiction”.

He continued: “It means everything to me. I owe my life to Christ so to be baptised in his name is unbelievable.”

Gospel proclaimed

Last month, evangelist Franklin Graham shared the Gospel with over 17,000 people in London, as part of his ‘God Loves You’ tour.

Exceeding the ExCel Centre’s capacity of 15,000, two thousand people who were unable to enter the packed venue remained to sing and worship outside. Over 550 churches participated, more than double London’s previous event in 2023.

Mr Graham said: “Many people feel hopeless, and they’re asking is the world running out of time? Many of you who have come tonight feel hopeless. You begin to wonder if the world will fall apart.

“You can come to the One who can turn that around, and that is the Lord Jesus Christ — God’s Son.”