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Pastor's Note | Saturday, December 14th

I remember it like it was yesterday. 

Standing in that baptismal pool, it felt like I was miles above the rest of the congregation seated below. Next to me in the waist high water was Reverend Harold Meers, Senior Pastor of First Baptist Church, Visalia. Seated down below in the cathedral-style sanctuary were my mom, dad, brother, and best friend. 

I don't remember what homework I had to do that Sunday night (though I'm sure I hadn't done it earlier in the weekend like I should have).

I don't remember what we had for lunch at the kitchen table after church (but it was probably a Sunday staple around my childhood home: tuna fish sandwiches). 

But I can remember standing there in that baptismal pool with Reverend Meers as clearly as anything. Truth be told, we couldn't have been more than 10 - at most 15 - feet higher than the rest of the congregation, but the meaning of that moment made it seem like we were towering above everyone else. 

And it makes sense, in a way: The moment of my baptism was like a foretaste of heaven. 

And if it weren't for that moment, and the people seated in that congregation who nurtured my faith in the years prior and following, I wouldn't be who I am today. 

Tomorrow morning at our 10:45am Modern gathering, we have the opportunity take part in a similar event for a number of Good Shepherd's young people. Their involvement in FLIPT (our Sunday morning class for 6th-8th graders), RUSH (our Wednesday evening youth group opportunity for 6th-8th graders), and our Confirmation Retreat at Campus by the Sea in Catalina has prompted them to confirm their faith in Jesus through remembering their baptism, or to be baptized for the first time! 

Don't miss this special opportunity to support these students in their journey with Jesus!

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