The Center for Praise and Proclamation Church of the Nazarene in Zimatlán, Mexico, celebrated the baptisms of 17 people who were also received as members in full communion. More than 100 church members attended to celebrate and witness this public expression of faith in the Lord Jesus Christ.

The celebration took place at the Los Pinos spa. Before the baptisms, the group celebrated and sang praises to God. The church's pastor, Juan de Dios González, encouraged the baptismal candidates to always keep moving forward in their Christian life and to persevere to the end. He emphasized that baptism is not the end of a process in Christian life but it is the beginning of a life walking with God in obedience and holiness.

Christopher Castellanos, one of the young men baptized, said that despite his youth, he had problems and that nothing was going well for him until God had an encounter with him and that through His Word and praise, the Lord gave him answers to his heart. 

“I realized how much I need God, and from that moment there are things that have ceased to be important to me, such as video games,” Castellanos said. “My passion and desire is to know more about God and always to obey Him.”

Pastor de Dios said he is grateful to God for allowing them to baptize the 17 people even during the aftermath of the COVID-19 pandemic. Like most of the world, Zimatlán was closed for several months due to the pandemic 

But the great challenge, according to de Dios, came later when the churches were reopened because they had to face “post-pandemic church.” While the city the shopping centers and restaurants had returned to normal, it seemed that the church was taking time to reactivate. 

Little by little, the congregation has returned to normal, and the baptism was a large step toward restoring what they had prior to COVID-19.

"We could see the result reflected now with this time of baptisms because we can see that the church and the work of God are moving forward," de Dios said. "Seeing people take this step of faith in this very critical time that we have had to live strengthened us a lot and challenge us to continue preaching the gospel of Christ and to make disciples like Christ."

--Church of the Nazarene Mesoamerica