Church-Wide Water Baptism

This is the Lakewood Church water baptism with Pastor Joel Osteen and we are just so excited for what the day holds. How honored can you be to baptize so many great people? And for the last six months, people told me, "I'm flying in from New York. I'm coming from the Bahamas.

I'm coming from all over." So, it's just a it's a great day to be alive and very honored here at Lakewood to be able to do this. Good morning, Lakewood family. Honored that you are joining us today for our water baptism. We have individuals that are tuned in from all—and we want to welcome— here at Lakewood church for our awesome water baptism.

Again, we're going to baptize individuals from all across the world and we're grateful for Pastor Joel who will baptize hundreds of individuals today. We're so grateful. How are you feeling today? Oh, JJ, it's always an honor. It's an honor to do this. It's an honor to be with you guys.

Thanks for tuning in. But so many beautiful people here making a decision just for the Lord and uh show what he means to them. And so I I just it's one of my favorite times of the year. We do it twice a year and so I'm looking forward to the the next little while.

Absolutely. And it's amazing, pastor, when we see individuals making that public display within their walk with Christ. And again, this is one of the most special moments that these individuals will make in their lives. I know it really is. It's a memorial stone moment. They so many of them come, bring their whole families, they write it down, they remember it, and it's a it's a great act of faith.

So, we're excited about it. So, JJ, how about I pray? Absolutely. I'll pray. Lord, thank you for this day. Lord, we commit it into your hands all the lives, the people that are here, even those that are watching the new beginnings. And Lord, we do this to honor you to to put you first place.

And Father, I just thank you for a beautiful day today that people will be refreshed and re-energized. They'll know your power and your love. And Lord, all those that are watching and that listen, Lord, just working in their lives, fighting their battles, we thank you for the honor of being able to do this in Jesus name.

Amen. Amen. Amen. Thank you so much, pastor. We love you guys. Well, again, thanks so much for being a part of our water baptism here at Lakewood Church. God bless you, my friends. We'll see you soon. Good job. Good job. Woo! Better! 
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 Water baptism is one of the two traditions or sacraments that Jesus instituted for his followers while he was here on this earth.

He said these words, "Go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the father, son, and the holy spirit, teaching them to obey everything that I've commanded you." Water baptism is a way that we publicly acknowledge that we're followers of Jesus. It's an outward demonstration of our inward faith, a visible sign of our invisible relationship with Jesus.

When we're baptized, we identify with Jesus death and burial as we go under the water and his resurrection as we come up out of the water. It's also a beautiful picture of the fact as followers of Jesus, we lay down our old life of sin and we're raised to walk in a new life with Jesus.

A life where we're forgiven and righteous in God's eyes. A life empowered by the Holy Spirit. A life where we're being changed more and more into the image of Jesus. A life of abundance and victory that he came to give us. Woo! 
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 Lakewood family. I am standing with my new friend Kim—Kimberly who lives here in Houston and she was just sharing this story with me and you have to hear this which I think is incredible.

Kimberly, you said that this was your first time that you attended Lakewood Church on Sunday and tell me how you found Lakewood Church. Through Google search. Yeah, I just Google search it and you guys have the fanciest church and the most reviews and I I I was like, "Okay, I need to check this out."

I love that. You you were also sharing that that you wanted to reconnect with God in the way that you used to. And so, and you would drive past this building cuz you're here just temporarily and and you you were saying you would drive past this building, but you had no idea that Lakewood Church existed, but you walked in.

Tell me what it was like when you came in on a Sunday morning. Well, I feel really impressed just by like how huge this building is and so many people and the security here make me feel really safe. Yeah, that that's a plus. Talk talk about the message.

I know Pastor Joel gave the invitation at the end and you heard about water baptisms. What made you make that decision that you wanted to get water baptized? Well, I want to get uh water baptized because like um there is a lot of things happen in life and um uh sometimes I just get lost but um I want to go through the baptize and feel that I'm connecting with uh the um Holy Spirit and the church and just Jesus.

Yes. Yeah. Well, today represents something really special for you. I know you had mentioned you're originally from China. you're here. You just happen to come on a Sunday and we do these baptisms twice a year. What does today when you think about what today represents in your heart as you go into that water and when you come out what does today mean for you?

I mean today feels like a new start. Just uh what happened in the past just let it live in the past. um future is better and is something I want to pursue just to um re—recognize who I am. Yeah. Through the through the water baptism. We're so proud of you as a church and we're celebrating with you that your new life with Jesus that God's going to lead you and guide you in every which way.

Church family, would you celebrate with us? Thanks, Kimberly. Thank you so much. 
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 Hello, I'm Eric Luchetta and I want to personally invite you to tune in to Lakewood Bible Study every Monday night. You know, sometimes it can be challenging to understand the Bible. So, we'll take you through the books of the Bible, explain their meaning, and show you how to apply it to your day-to-day life.

So, if you want to grow in your walk with God, and you want to understand the Bible better, tune in to Lakewood Bible Study every Monday night, you can find us on our homepage, lakewoodurch.com, our Facebook page, and on our YouTube channel. I hope to see you there.

Thank you. Woo! 
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 Yeah. 
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 Woo! 
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 Lakewood family, it is a phenomenal day. We are here at Water Baptisms and actually I am here with some of our very own Lakewood youth students and one of our kids life students as well, but soon to be Lakewood youth student. So everybody, can you please just introduce yourself and tell me what grade you're in?

Um I'm Foster and I am in fifth grade. My name is Finley and I'm in sixth grade. My name's Avery and I'm in sixth grade. My name is Amaryn and I'm in sixth grade as well. Now, this is a very special day because Finley and Foster actually got the opportunity to get baptized today.

So, tell me, Foster, Finley, how do you feel about getting baptized? It was really just like a special thing that like I felt like in my heart there was like that feeling of like I got closer with God. So, how do you feel, Foster? Good. I didn't really know what to think about it when like my parents asked me.

I was like I didn't really know what to think about it, but now like I realized that it was like really special. So, now something really cool is like you your dad's is actually a pastor here on staff and he got the opportunity to baptize you guys today.

So, how does it feel to just make it to where now it's just this beautiful family moment for all of you guys. It It's just like really special that like not a lot of people like get to do that and especially being here like getting the opportunity. How do you feel?

I feel the same like yeah. I love it. Listen, this is such a beautiful time. I want to tell you like as you guys' as pastor, I'm very very proud of the both of you. As you know, Avery and Amaryn are both proud of you to just be your friends here.

And this is just a great day. Not only is this a win for you guys' family, it's a win for Lakewood youth, for the whole Lakewood church. And family, we want to say thank you so much for tuning in and just being willing to just have a space where the next generation can get to know Jesus in a real way.

We're so proud of Finley and Foster and we pray there's going to be many, many more baptisms that we get to see today. Woo! 
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 Hey, Austin. Woo! 
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 Good morning, Lakewood family. I am so excited and honored to be here with an individual, Mr. DeMarco, who's here at Lakewood.

What made you make that public display of wanting to get baptized today? So, in the last 6 years, ever since COVID had came, I haven't been going to church. We haven't been going to church as much as we usually would. So, then one day, my mom was watching Joel on the TV and then I just decided to tag along.

So one day we had found his channel and then whenever we were in the car I told him I told her to turn the 128 on Sirius XM and for the past two years the only things we listen to in that car is either Joel or Christian music.

So then a few months ago I made the decision that I wanted to be baptized and then whenever I came back out of town from Easter with my mom she had announced that I'm going to come here to get baptized on today. Today? Yes. So, I was pretty So, I was pretty excited.

Oh my goodness. And what's so amazing about Demarco is that today is his first day here at Lakewood Church. And so, I bet you're overwhelmed with a lot of different emotions and so grateful to have your mom here who's cheering you on. And most importantly, DeMarco, this is going to be the most important decision that you're going to ever make.

And so, you got any final words for those that are watching on Facebook, on YouTube? God is good. I was born a Christian. I will die a Christian. God is good. Amen. Let's say amen on three. One, two, three. Amen. Great job. I'm proud of you, man. Great job.

Woo! 
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 Thank you. Yeah. 
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 All right. 
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 Hi, my name is Ray Perez and I'm the assistant director for Champions Club here at Lakewood Church. Champion Club is a special needs ministry that serves children, teens, and adults and gathers together during our 8:30 a.m., 11:00 a.m., and our 2 p.m. services.

But the impact that Champions Club makes goes much deeper than our services alone. Champions Club is a place where young people gather together to discover that God has a purpose and a plan for their lives. A place filled with hope to remind every champion that they're victors and not victims and there's nothing that can hold them back from fulfilling the very plan that God has for their lives.

For more information, please go to Champions Club webpage at lakewoodurch.com. There you can learn more about our ministry, review any available resources, and discover how you could be a part of this amazing team. With that, have a wonderful day and God bless you. Hey, Lakewood family. Listen, I don't know if you have heard, but we have a midweek service every single Wednesday night.

So, if you're a young adult or you're a young family, we would love to have you in Houston every single Wednesday night at 7:30 right here at Lakewood Church. So, maybe maybe you're not in Houston yet, but you can get to Houston or you're around Houston. We would love to host you and have you here.

If you're a young adult, young family, or watch this, if you have youth, listen, I might be a little biased as a youth pastor here. We would love to host your youth students. If you say, "Hey, you know what? Well, listen. I don't know how to get there in this mate. 7:30 seems a little late."

Guess what? You can drop your students off upstairs every Wednesday night as well at 7:00. We have a great service planned for your junior high and high school students. And at the end of the month on April 29th, I'll be speaking in midweek. So, I would love to see you there.

Would love to shake your hand. Would love to host you when you get to Houston. Come meet us every Wednesday at 7:30 at Lakewood Midweeks. 
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 Parents, if you have a child from a newborn to fifth grade, KidsLife is the place to be. We bring the hope and love of Jesus to kids in a way that's fun and impactful.

KidsLife services are filled with engaging worship, exciting Bible lessons, interactive small groups, games, activities, and so much more. We are dedicated to creating a safe space where kids can thrive, have fun, and learn about Jesus in a creative way. Join us on Sundays at 8:30 or 11:00 a.m.

We can't wait to see you there. 
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 Fellas, we have something just for you here at Lakewood Church at Church. We want you to mark your calendars for May 29th starting at 7:30 for our men's night. It's a great way, fellas, in which we can continue to lock arms with each other, continue to praise and worship.

There's going to be awesome games and just a great opportunity for us just to be in fellowship and to continue to sharpen our irons as as the Bible says that iron sharpens iron. So fellas, we want to invite you out to be a part of our men's night.

That's going to be amazing. We're going to also have mini golf. And I know there's a lot of fellas out there out there that love playing golf. And again, we look forward to seeing you again for our men's night. Mark your calendars for May 29th. Let's go. Woo!

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 Thank you. Hi, I'm Jeremy, director of the Lakewood Leadership Program. Years ago, my wife Tara and I were conducting a leadership program. We had a young man come through the program and complete it. As soon as he was finished, he got an opportunity, an interview at a big corporation.

He called us and he asked us one simple question and he said this, "Have you adequately prepared me for this opportunity?" And I thought, what a great question. So I want to ask you the same. Do you feel prepared for the influence that God has given you? Listen, you can do it and we can help whether in person or online.

If you'll text the word leadership to 77377 or you can email us at leadership program.cc, you can find out how now. Lego family. I'm here with a amazing couple that I just got the opportunity to meet and so I wanted to make sure that you get to intro I can introduce you and just let them know their story.

So tell us your name and where you're from. Uh my name is uh Tylon Riser and I'm from Houston, Texas. And my name is Samantha Ramirez and I'm from Houston as well. It's a pleasure to meet y'all and I'm glad everybody gets to meet y'all. Hey, listen. They have a phenomenal story of why they even rededicated their life to faith in the first place and why they made a decision to get baptized.

So Ty, please share with us your testimony. Uh so I would say of June 20 of 2025 and uh June 20 25th I uh had a motorcycle accident and in my motorcycle accident you know I was living my life how I wanted to you know doing whatever I wanted to pleasing all the places I wanted and when with me doing that not following God you know he he had he had to take something away from me and when I uh when I was driving you know I had a big uh big motorcycle accident with a 18-wheeler and uh with me uh you know I feel like when God when I was Um, when God had that 18-wheeler, you know, I was trying to pass it or whatever.

When I was trying to pass it, I felt like that car that was in front of me that was trying to stop me from going, you know, I feel like that was God telling me, you know, calm, be chill, you know, stay back, you know, it's okay. Um, and I was just like, you know, I want to I want to, you know, do live my life, you know, live how I was doing it.

And with me doing that, you know, it got it got my bike taken away. And I had uh you know I had crashed into the wheel and I had uh and my bike had slid under the wheel and it snapped like the whole uh sprakle like it just snapped in half and uh I flipped over and I landed in between the uh the tractor and the um the yeah and the truck.

And I just thank the go thank the Lord that he I had no injuries. I had no like no scars. Like I I'm good. Like I'm I'm so I'm so thankful. when all I had no motorcycle gear at all. Like I didn't have all I had was a t-shirt, some sweats, and some OG patent uh o uh ones.

And she, you know, she got more injuries than I had. And I just thank I thank the Lord that I was good. He was coming to me that night. Um and I was washing dishes and I heard the wreck. I heard the sound and I looked outside. I went outside and I started running.

I didn't even I wasn't even for sure if it was him. I started running and it was him. And thank the Lord that, you know, I slipped on concrete, but my knees got cut open. Even the police was like, you know, were you on the bike? I was like, no, no, I'm not.

But he got out safe. Thank God, man. That first of all, a phenomenal story. Grateful that you're alive. Grateful that you're safe as well. Um, so what does it mean today for you guys to make this profession of faith together that both of you guys baptized on this day?

For me, it means that like I'm I'm walking with I'm walking with God. I'm I'm following every step that he tells me to take. you know, I'm not living my life for my own. I'm letting you know, he paid he paid for me for a high price with the blood of blood of Jesus.

And I'm just so thankful that he kept me here, still have still giving me the chance to still walk on the earth and obey all his commands. Mhm. And for me, I will say that we're still young and he has a mission and a journey for both of us together.

And it's our, you know, we choose to accept his guidance and for this journey. Yes. Listen, we're so proud of the both of you. I'm so glad that you made this step, but also God is way more proud and you are a children in whom he is well pleased.

Listen, Ty Smith have a phenomenal story and this is just one of many that have been happening here at Water Baptisms on this day. Well, hey Lakewood family. I am standing with my friend Bernice who is just about to take that step today. Bernice, you were telling me you're originally from Honduras and there's a little bit of a story how you're connected to Lakewood Church.

Tell us today. So, I used to come to Lakewood since I was a little girl and then I came here to Houston to study in University of Houston hospitality and I was even volunteering here. I was a greeter in the entrance and then I I graduated. So, I have to move back to my country and I've been watching Lakewood online um for the past four years and I I realized that there was uh we were going to get baptized here today.

So, I organized a trip with my mother and we're here today. I'm super excited you are here and I remember you you were sharing with me a little while ago just what this decision means to you because for for a long time you were kind of searching waiting wanting to really get connected to God and into a body of believers but you you you were like I'm going to stay connected and watch Lakewood my online family right and God got a hold of you but what what does this decision mean for you today?

I feel I I just try to like have my actions like be according with like my connection with God and I felt that this was the next step I needed to like really feel that faith and yeah I just felt the calling right now and I I'm ready and tell me a little bit how it feels to have your mom even here by your side.

She's super proud of me. She she was telling me when she got baptized I was like 5 months old and so it's something that she remembers her for like her whole life and this moment is going to be very special to me and have her next to me is amazing as well.

It's beautiful. I love how you were also sharing with me that you just started a business now. You graduated from the University of Houston here. This family I think this is going to encourage someone. And you graduated, you started a business and what happened after that? So we opened two years ago with my sister.

She used to come to Lake We used to come together to Lakewood and we started it's called Kida in Honduras. It's a health bar. And so we opened up two years ago and now we have have four locations. And my sister and I were surprised how blessed we are.

And we the only answer to that is God. Like the only reason to our success is that God has been by our sides. And we always tell our like our people close to us is anything you do, you have to put in the hands of God because that's the only way it's going to work out and it's going to be successful and you're going to be happy doing it too.

Amen. Bernice, I'm so happy that you are taking this step today and we're it's so clear that God's hand is on your life and so congratulations and I know this is your story is going to encourage someone. So even for you if maybe you've been watching online for a long time and like Bernice and you thought, man, I I need to take this step.

Um, take it from her. What would you say in one line? What would you say to someone watching? Um, keep believing and just trying to make God proud and everything is going to be okay. Amen. Woo! 
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 Hey everybody. I'm here with John and I'm just so excited. We were talking in line.

You're getting baptized today and you were saying you got baptized because your parents had you as a kid. Yeah. Tell us. Yeah. Well, I was bapt I was raised Catholic and so I was baptized when I was a baby and I don't even remember it and um we were at Lakewood and I volunteered to help today.

Yeah. And I do my Bible study and my readings in the morning and I kept getting this you need to go get baptized. I went well no I'm going to volunteer. And u I was going to cancel. I'd said, "Well, okay. I I'll I'll res reserve a spot, but I think I'll probably cancel because I'm I'm volunteering."

And I kept getting this, "No, you're going to volunt you're going to get baptized." Wow. So, um, as I said, last time was my parents decision. This time was mine. And actually was the Holy Spirit said, "Go get baptized." Amen. I love that. It's your decision of faith that you feel like God was saying, "It's your decision now, not not your parents."

And you were saying something about how you came to Lakewood was it's been 24 years now. tough life. Almost 25. Um, we had been going to a church and my uh daughter special needs and she wasn't wasn't really welcome. So, she was watching Joel on TV and I had a friend say, "Why don't you go out to Lakewood?"

Yeah. So, we came out here and she asked for a hug from an usher. We went to the it was the old church and he gave her a big hug and took us down front, seated us. My wife loved it. My daughter loved it. I did too. So I said, "Well, after I don't know, a couple months, I said, "Well, I guess I'll volunteer as an usher."

I got I owe this church a lot. I mean, they really pull our family back together to go to church. So, I started as a volunteer as an usher and then I moved to operations when they started that. And then I was asked if I'd become a ministry assistant.

So that's what I do now. I've been doing that for about 17 years. Wow. And praise God. I think it all started. You just had Faith just say, "I want to go." Cuz my daughter wanted to come to Lakewood. My daughter's Yeah. She's the one that really selected it.

I love it. Yeah. She's uh she's a real She'll be 50 in uh in June. Wow. And they said she would never live out of her 20s, so she did. Yeah. Praise God. Praise God. Yeah. That was It's a God thing. Amen. Yeah. Thank you so much, John.

We're We're just so proud of you. I'm so grateful to serve with you. Thank you. Thank you guys. Hi everyone. I'm Sarah Moses, director of volunteer teams here at Lakewood Church. If you're ready to take that next step and grow in your relationship with Christ, join one of our amazing volunteer teams here at Lakewood Church.

Each week, men and women grow in their relationship with God, build relationships with others, and serve the congregants and guests of our church to create that one-of-a-kind experience that you know and love. All you have to do is go to lakewoodurch.com/volunteer to find out more information. Let's build relationships together by serving others.

Thank you so much. 
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 Thank you. 
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 Lakewood family. Listen, I'm here with a great father and daughter duo who actually are about to get baptized very shortly. So, please introduce yourself and let us know where you're from. Efron Tilman. I'm originally from Houston, Texas, born and raised. And what's your name and where are you from?

Carmela Tilman. I was born the same place that my dad was. Got you. Very cool. It's a pleasure to meet you both. Listen. Likewise. What does this day mean for you guys, man? Getting baptized to both of you. Your daughter's here with you to see an example. How do you feel?

It means everything to me, man. I feel great. I feel blessed. God has been so good to me. Like I said, man, I could stand right here and talk about him all day about the goodness that he's done to me. And I'm just giving him the praise for it, man.

I'm g just give him the praise for it. And like I said, I'm just trusting and believing that he's always been by my side, staying with me, and I'm just giving him the thanks, man. I'm just I'm just I'm just here lead by example from my babies and uh you know, be the best man that I've been called to be.

Yep. That's what that's what we're here for, man. And you just said it perfectly, leading by example. What does it mean to have the next generation, literally your bloodline, here to be able to see this as well and participate with you, man? The bloodline is everything. You know, the bloodline is everything. and and I know that God has revealed that to me.

I got three other babies, you know, that that uh have my last name that are looking up to me. And uh I got to show him the way. I got to show him the way. And uh it's an honor. It's an honor to be a father. You know what I'm saying?

And and I'm just so blessed. Yeah. Well, listen, you're doing a phenomenal job as a father. Carmela, you're doing a great job as a daughter of God, but your heavenly father is proud of both of you. And so we're so excited. Your Lakewood family is proud of you.

God is even more prder. And again, Lakewood family, I hope that we're cheering them on because they're making this great, great decision and profession of their faith. Hey, we're Clayton and Ashley, the marriage pastors here at Lakewood. And we want you to know that no matter where you are in your marriage journey, we're here to support and encourage you.

Whether you're newly wed, celebrating decades together, or somewhere in between, we have incredible resources to help strengthen and enrich your relationship. One of the best ways to invest in your marriage is by joining us for one of our amazing classes, either online or in person every Sunday. Hey, you can also get connected and build community with other great married couples through our marriage life groups.

Some meet virtually and others gather in neighborhoods near you. So, there's a perfect place for you to get plugged in here at Lakewood. At Lakewood, we believe marriage is an ongoing educational course that neither one of you will graduate from until one of you takes your last breath.

That's why having a strong community and ongoing support is so important. You don't have to do marriage alone, and we don't want you to. Hey, marriage isn't just about getting through life together. It's about thriving, growing, and building a love that lasts. And we're here to walk along your side every step of the way.

Find out more about our marriage ministry at lakewoodurch.com/marriage. We can't wait to connect with you and help you build the best marriage of your life. Lakewood Church, we also have another mighty man of God, Mr. Bobby, that's here today in terms of the water baptism here at Lakewood Church.

Bobby, what does today feel like for you, my friend? And I know you mentioned you watch Lakewood a lot online and we're just so honored that you are joining us today. Uh it's an amazing experience. Uh I've seen it all my life on TV and uh felt called here about a month and a half ago.

Started coming and uh decided to get baptized. I've never been baptized. Wow. Bobby said he's never been baptized. What are the emotions that you're feeling right now? I know you went through some ups and downs, went through some life, some situations, but to see you're right here planted at Lakewood and you're about to get baptized.

How does this make you feel? I feel terrific. It's an amazing experience. I'm glad I can be here for it today. I fought to be here. I fought for this. Well, Bobby, we are praying for you. We're believing that God is going to continue to use you in such a mighty way.

There's a reason why you're tuned in today to see individuals from all across the world getting baptized. And Bobby, you exemplify what a mighty man of Christ looks like. And we're just so proud of you. And we look forward to seeing all the great things that God is going to continue to do in your life as well, my friend.

God bless you guys. Amen. 
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 Hi everyone, I'm Gladis, the senior coordinator for Lakewood Life Groups. Life groups are small groups that meet in person and online to create community and connection. We believe that connection throughout the week is a vital part of Lakewood Church and your Christian walk.

Life groups are a great place where you get to truly begin to live life together. They help you put down roots with other Lakewood Church members. We here at the church have a variety of groups for you to choose from from all men, women's, marriage, and youth, just to name a few.

If you would like to get connected, please visit lakewoodurch.com/lifegroups or text lifegroups to 77377 and a link will be sent to you. We look forward to connecting with you. Woo! Woo! 
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 Lakewood family. Listen, I'm here with a beautiful family. Can you introduce yourself really quickly? Erica. Erica and Adam.

And Adam, listen. Part of our Lakewood community getting baptized today, making the decision to go and recommmit their lives. So you we were already talking a little bit off camera where you were saying what went into this decision, but would you tell somebody out there what what made what made you all make the decision today to say I'm going to get baptized now?

I needed to recommmit my life to the Lord. I was I've been stuck in so much grief and pain in a dark hole of just sadness and uh the Lord has redeemed my life and just restored my heart and given me so much joy. and it's my birthday today and I'm just excited about giving my entire life right back to him to the creator that gave me my life.

So that's what made my decision. Amen. Amen. Well listen first and for I don't want to move on to the next question without saying happy birthday you know happy birthday. What better way to celebrate a birthday than to say you know what God the life you gave me I'm giving right back to you.

What about you Adam? What went into the decision today as well? You know, sometimes in life we uh we kind of veer off and we get into a comfort zone and uh God's speaking to us. And in the Bible, the Bible says there and says that apart from him, we are nothing.

And apart from him, we can do nothing. And you know what? It's always good to come back to our first love because you know what I mean? You know, and uh uh God can love us more in a second than anybody will ever love us in their lifetime.

And he proved it at the cross. Amen. Amen. Listen, y'all are y'all are some some Bible filled believers. And I I love to hear it. Listen, I'm so grateful for you all and you know, you went through some grief and you mentioned some grief. If you if you feel, you know, comfortable.

Would you share a little bit about just that just vaguely about what you went through as far as the grief that went into this decision as we were talking about a few seconds ago? Well, I I want to say that my journey consisted of all more than five stages of grief.

It uh I went through searching and trying to find myself looking for love in myself and none of that fulfilled my heart. None of that uh gave me the peace that I found uh first of all in God's word and in his presence and in his holy spirit.

And from that I mean I I've just re rededicated my entire life and committed to my life and now I'm engaged. I've opened myself up to to accepting that God wants us to be happy and have a better life even after we've gone through all that grief. So that's um I want to say that's what's made my decision and that's so so powerful.

Well, listen, Lakewood family, everybody that's out there watching, listening, would you just put some exclamations in the chat, some emojis in the chat to just celebrate this beautiful family as they recommmit their life? It's the best decision that they can make and honestly the best way to celebrate a birthday.

So, thank y'all so much and congratulations. Thank you. 
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 Lakewood family. I have just had such an honor meeting these two individuals. This is a father and son. Tell me your names first. I'm Joseph Ray Penoa. Uh my name is Lil Joseph. Yes. So, we've got Joseph and Joseph.

This is father and son, which I think is just so incredible to hear a little bit of your story. Would you share a little bit about how you got here? You you did come to Lakewood a few weeks ago, but there's a story behind it. Would you share a little bit of that, Joseph?

Yeah. Uh, we came down homecoming because my mother saying she listens to Lakewood Join uh every day, all day and you know, we came over here and we felt where he come from. He gives you It's all right to have bigger dreams, bigger pictures, and reach for bigger things.

You know what I'm saying? Never just stay inside the box. Think outside the box. And you know for me know saying I that's what I want through what God will talk to me through someone that know saying could motivate you to go to another chapter in life cuz you know I'm saying before then we were lost broken saying it just you know I'm saying been in them streets been in the pen tree saying just trying to find happiness and freedom know I'm saying but it took a little minute but coming over here it helped know I'm saying and I thank my mama cuz she she found him and then now we we really like it Well, we're so happy that you're a part of this church and what God is doing in your life.

You were even sharing how you have a testimony. Just briefly tell us kind of what happened, but but also how you feel like God spared your life. Well, you know, I my testimony is, you know what I'm saying? Like I did time know saying I did eight years in the penitentary came to the world try to be the still owe me got shot saying the bullet went through my chest from here and went out over here it barely missed my heart so I was blessed to be here God gave me the spare so I'm saying to to live still to reach for the my purpose you know I'm saying my purpose is know saying it it's big big big things know I'm saying and you know I don't just sit there and and think small saying I started my business I still been doing my business and the saying and and I'm going to keep pushing and pushing you.

No matter if it goes up or down the same, but I'm going to make sure it go up. And you know, it took a lot saying, you know, I was broken. I was lost and I was I was lost every weekend just going through saying, but I still work.

I still do my thing. But now I'm saying I I got the brighter picture and it took saying then I'm my son's here. his first time getting baptized. I saying, but but you know, really going to the streets and seeing that saying you could go like that and you're still here the same and God spared you.

It's it's a beautiful thing. Joseph, I was just talking to you and we were talking about how a lot of people they wait maybe their whole life to to take this step. But for you at 14 years old, what does this mean for you? Uh it means like something big change going to change in life and going to be a new start to something different and yeah it's basically going to change the way I like the way I do stuff and the way I see stuff.

So yeah that's what it's going to do. Well this is really huge for a father and son to go and in just a moment you're going to step into that water and just like you said the old life is gone and the new life is coming. So it's a new beginning.

It's a fresh start. We're so proud of you and we are cheering you guys on. Thank you so much for being here. Thank you too. You know what I'm saying? Yeah. Lakewood family. Listen, I am here with a beautiful family that has just made decisions to get baptized all together.

So, I'm going to have everybody introduce yourself. What is your name and where are you from? My name is Malain and I'm from I'm from Paris, France. Love it. My name is Dalanson. I'm from Houston, Texas. Very cool. My name is Ariel and I'm from France. My name is Taliana and I'm from France.

That is so sweet. Listen, we see all the way from Paris, France. This is so beautiful. Welcome. So glad you guys are here in Houston. But listen, I wanted to ask Darlington, what does it mean for you to get baptized today? Uh, so baptism for me is identifying with Jesus and I want my family to be identified with Jesus, for Jesus to guide us and keep us together.

Um the lady um asked me uh in 2020 I was here uh but I was here by myself alone. Um I lost my family back then. I lost my job. Uh I had nothing you know I had I was alone during covid I was by myself and I asked God to restore me and to make me whole.

And so this day is very meaningful for me because I'm here with my my lovely wife and our kids and God has given me two jobs. We're about to close on a new house. Um we have our business running and he's just restored my entire family and I'm so grateful that I'm here in 2026 and I'm not by myself and Jesus is with me and he's given me a lovely family.

So, thank you, Jesus, for everything that you've done and thank you for being a part of my life and for being a part of my life. That's just beautiful. That is so sweet. Listen, one more question I want to ask. How what does it mean to have your kids here to be able to witness this with you?

Um, I always want my kids to grow up in the way of God because I know it's a it's a job of a father, of a man, to lead the home in the way of Christ. And I'm trusting God that they will follow after God and they will leave their mark on this earth and influence their generation for Jesus.

And that's my greatest desire in life. And I believe that he will lead this family to influence the world, not just by what they accomplish, but that the name of Jesus will be mentioned all over the world because of them and because of this family. And I'm grateful that he's given me the opportunity to do that, to be a man of this home.

It's a beautiful thing. Listen, as somebody who comes from a a household that had a praying mom, I can tell you I'm the testament of training a child up in the way that they should go and they would never depart. So, not only is your family so proud of every single one of you, but God is even more pleased.

So, thank you guys for even willing to partner with us to be able to have this special day with you guys. And Lakewood family, please make sure that you cheer them on because again, this is a phenomenal day for this beautiful family. Thank you. Woo! 
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 Hello everyone. My name is Sarah Rididgeway and I would like to take a moment to speak to all of the ladies who are listening.

If you are someone who is looking for a place at Lakewood specifically designed with you in mind, then we would like to meet you and help you get connected. We have both online and in person opportunities for you to find your place to laugh and love and learn together with other women.

It's easy to do. All we need from you is to take that next step and to text the word women to 77377 or you can find us on social media either Facebook or Instagram. It's all under Lakewood Women's Ministry. Last thing, if you are here on a Sunday, any Sunday, we have a class called New Beginnings that meets after the services.

There's always someone in that space that can help you find your place to get connected. Lakewood family. This has been such an exciting moment here today at Lakewood Church and we want to say thank you for those that are watching on Facebook or YouTube and being a part of today's wider baptism. you know, individuals have tuned in and you know, they drove in all across the world and there's hundreds of individuals that Pastor Joel is baptizing and we just want to let you know on behalf of Lakewood Church that first of all, we pray for you on a day-to-day basis and as Pastor Joel says, but if you give us a year of your life, friends, your life will never be the same.

We are praying for you. We're believing and we're declaring that this this year, this is a breakout year for you. And you know, there's times where we all go through challenges when we go through the difficulties in life or we're dealing with a setback. Maybe if it's in our career or or maybe a bad relationship or we're feeling emotionally challenged.

But as you continue to stay dialed in here at Lakewood Church, we are community of love and we're going to continue to inspire you and to believe that the best Oh yes, it's yet to come. And so we want to welcome you again to being a part of our baptism here in Houston, Texas.

And and if you get a little time or you're in the area, guess what? There's still some time for you to be a part of our wider baptisms here at Lakewood Church. And as I alluded to earlier, Pastor Joel and his amazing team, they are here and it's exciting.

You're seeing individuals and you can see that there's a change in their life. There's a transformation. And and to be honest with you, this is one of the most important events and exciting events that I'm so fortunate to be a part of. And again, my name is JJ Moses and I'm a former uh NFL football player and I used to play in the NFL for numerous of years.

But during that time when I was playing in the National Football League, I began to feel that there was something else that I needed to do. And I wanted to feel this closeness with God. And so during the off season, I would begin to, you know, serve here as an usher.

And I began to, you know, meet individuals. And I was growing in Pastor Joe's word each and every day. And eventually I end up meeting my wife and of course started a family here. And you know, I love how Pastor Joel says it, but you just see a transformation.

And I can honestly say this that yes, it was a blessing to play in the National Football League, but I have had more joy and fulfillment by serving here at Lakewood Church than playing in the NFL. And again, that's that's what the power of Christ does. He continues to equip us. he continues to, you know, give us this boldness, this confidence, and most importantly, we begin to just rise higher within our walk with Christ.

And so, we want to invite you to be a part of our Lakewood services. If you're watching online on Facebook or YouTube, continue to share the word or continue to share the gospel. By doing this, we're continuing to spread the good news of Christ. And I know it's making a difference.

And so, we want to invite you out to be a part of our Lakewood services on Sunday. And also we have a dynamic service on Wednesday nights. And so I'll talk about that a little bit later. But overall this community here at Lakewood Church, as you can tell, friends and family members are here for our water baptism that's taking place.

And again, we want to thank you for being a part of just an awesome experience. And we're believing for a transformation within your life, within your family's life. You know, I remember getting baptized years ago and since then, it's amazing to see the trajectory that God continues to put us on as believers.

And just last year, our daughter who was in seventh grade got baptized for the first time. So, we're seeing kids from all ages from parents, you know, if it's maybe in their 70s or 80s or even young kids, maybe that's 13 or even in middle school that's that's making that uh public display.

And that's that's what it's all about is making that public display of saying, you know what, I belong to Christ and I want to continue to grow closer with him. And so we're excited about that. And as you're tuned in to Lakewood Church throughout the course of the week, we have so many great resources for you to tap into, of course, with our pastor, Pastor Joel, who's uh just a renowned speaker.

And and over the years, we've seen Pastor Joel's books continue to make a difference. and I remember his first book many years back, but he has another book out and that's entitled re rediscovering the forgotten you. And so I want to encourage you if you haven't done so is to find a way to get a hold of pastor's new book.

I promise you this that by reading his book, it's going to bring that faith out in you. It's going to encourage you. It's going to inspire you. And most importantly, it's going to bring you closer within your faith with Christ. And you can feel free to friends to get the book wherever books are sold. and I know it's going to leave you feeling inspired again.

It's called rediscovering the forgotten you. And also, I just want to encourage our Lakewood family. You guys are some awesome givers here at Lakewood Church. And whether if it's serving here or or being a part of our uh actual blood drive. We're at least we're teaming up with the GF Coast Regional Blood Center on April the 19th.

And we want to invite you to be a part of that. You guys are amazing givers. By donating blood, we are literally saving someone's life. And so, I want to invite you to be a part of that again on Sunday, April 9th. And uh you could be here in person on April 26th and plan on staying after service and donating.

And by doing that, you're just making a difference as we continue to be a part of our blood drive as well. And of course, we have our Freedom Nights here at Lakewood Church. And it's happening every Thursday at 7:30. So if you are in the Houston area, we want you to be a part of that part of that.

It's a course talking about life challenges that we're dealing with or you're dealing with a a setback. The freedom programs are here just to really to help you just to grow closer within your walk with Christ. And so we want to encourage you if you haven't been a part of our freedom ministries and freedom nights, come on out on Thursdays.

I promise you one thing, it's going to leave you feeling inspired and equipped as you continue to move forward. And I cannot believe this, but summer is already around the corner here at Lakewood Church. And luckily, we got some great weather here at Lakewood throughout the this weekend.

But we want to want you to be a part of our summer camps. And it's a great way for our kids to be a part of something great. And whether if you're in junior high or high school registration starts around July, mid part of July. And so we want to encourage you if you haven't done so, is to be a part of our young our summer camps.

It's a great way for our young leaders to continue to grow closer within their walk with Christ. And so if you haven't done so, you can go to lakewoodurch.com to get more information of how you can continue just to grow and see your kids' life continue to move forward in within their walk with Christ.

So we want to encourage you for that as well. And also our Lakewood music, they are so gifted. You know, we hear songs and albums that they continue to produce each and every year. And uh we're just grateful for our Lakewood music and they have another album that's entitled House of Worship.

And guess what? It is out now. And so we want to encourage you if you haven't done so, you can buy their music wherever music is sold. I know you're going to leave feeling inspired. And I love that scripture in the Bible, but praise it precedes victory. And so we want to encourage you if you haven't done so, man, tune in and find a way to get their album.

I know it's going to bless you. you know, couple of their songs. It's entitled Rejoice Again, Abundance of Rain and Made You Well. And so, God didn't bless me with a voice. And so, I wish I could sing, but u I do know one thing. By hearing those songs, it's going to leave you feeling encouraged, refreshed, and most importantly, like I said earlier, your walk with Christ is going to continue to advance.

And so, I see Alexandria Ostein over there right now, matter of fact. But her and her music team, man, they're just making a difference. And we're so proud of them. Again, we want to encourage you if you haven't done so, is to make sure you go out and get the House of Worship.

I promise you that album is going to leave you feeling blessed. And lastly, we talked about this earlier. Um, it's our Lakewood Midweek. We're seeing each and every week, Pastor Nick and his awesome team. My goodness, there's thousands of individuals that are coming in to be a part of our Lakewood Midweek.

And we're seeing lives changed. We're seeing testimonials. We're hearing it all. And you know, it's amazing. If we want you, we want you to be a part of our Lakewood midweek. Stop on by that word with Nick and his amazing team. It's going to leave you feeling encouraged and it's taking place on Wednesdays here at 7:30 and it's only for an hour, but you'll hear a great, you know, testimonies.

You're hearing Nick's word and again, it's going to leave you feeling refreshed for that. So, there's a lot of great opportunities for us to stay involved. And we have our Lakewood youth uh kids life taking place. And then also we're having having our healing services. You know, it's it's amazing when you think of all the testimonies that you're seeing God heal individuals on a day-to-day basis.

And you know, we stand on the shoulders of Mama Miss Dodie who went to be with the Lord. And u you know, she was a prayer giant. She was a prayer warrior. And you know, the scriptures say that the the prayers of the righteous is going to avail of much.

And so let us come in agreement and let us continue just to pray for you. What if what if you're dealing with a setback in your, you know, finances or in your career, you're dealing with health challenges. In the name of Jesus, I declare friends that no weapons formed against you is going to prosper.

That you are the head and not the tail. And that every cell, every ligament, every joint, it is going to function as it was designed to. Our Lord is the Lord of He's the Lord of peace. He's the Lord of abundance. He's the Lord of um res restoration.

And so he can do what medicine cannot do. And so I just stand in agreement right now. Those maybe that are dealing with health challenges, those that are sick, those that feel forgotten about, those that might feel unadequate, that God, friends, he has a plan for you, his plans is to bring you joy, is to give you peace and happiness.

And so we stand in agreement and believe that all is made well and that God will continue to guide you and lead you in Jesus mighty name. And Lakewood, if you agree with that, let me hear you say amen to that. So again, we're grateful for your involvement here at Lakewood Church.

And as again, we're here for our water baptism that's taking place here in Houston, Texas. We're seeing individuals from all across the world that's making that public display and saying, "You know what? I'm saying yes to Jesus and I am making that display of saying, you know what, I want to grow closer with him.

That is the most important decision that you and I will ever make. Friends, you know, there's times in life I read where we're going to make lots of decisions, but the most important decision is when we accept and accept Jesus Christ as our Lord and personal savior. And when we make this public display and we come out here, amen, brother, we make that public display.

That's power in that. And again, we're seeing individuals and friends and coming out for the first time at Lakewood Troy Church. And it's it's rejoicing when we can see individuals that are tuned in or that are coming out and it's an exciting moment. And you know, I'm seeing individuals full of emotions that's happy and that's excited and and they're feeling this this thing where it's like, man, I I want something new.

And so we're grateful Lakewood community that you are part of our services and we know that God is going to continue to just be with you and just want to let you know as well your Lakewood family. We pray for you on a day-to-day basis and we look forward to seeing all the great things that's a store.

Thank you again for being a part of water baptism. We look forward to seeing you again real soon. It's been a long incredible journey for us over the last uh 5 years. We both decided to come up here cuz Lyanna, she was diagnosed in 2017 with cerebal pulsy and was told she was not going to walk or talk.

So, we came up here because I had heard that Dallas Fort Worth was doing Botox injections for children to help them walk. I want to say we were there maybe 3 months when my husband fell sick. He got very ill. I'm diabetic, so my symptoms haven't been strong for years.

And all of a sudden, they started to come back. The car broke down as I was in the hospital. And she was struggling to keep working, keep all the bills paid. And wasn't too long after that, we lost our apartment. We were evicted, just sleeping in the car overnight.

It was devastating. We hopped around for a while in hotels, right? And there was a couple that they they would kick us out early in the morning and you got to go. That was tough. I tried so hard to not fall apart in front of my kids. Every day when I felt like I was going to just start thinking negative, I just pull out my phone.

I kept listening to Joel's word every day going in the car. I just had him playing in the radio. I just had my YouTube going all the time. I feel like had I not listened to him as much as I did, and I still do now, we would not be where we're at now.

Kept telling myself, "It's going to get better. I know we're in the storm right now, but it's not here to stay. It's just passing through." I remember him saying, "Give with what you can." I started small. I said, you know, I'm going to start with this. Even being in the hotel for 9 months, every month I t if I got extra from anybody from Instacard or Door Dash, I would separate a little bit more and give a little bit more.

In January of 2020, I applied for uh a grant. I kept believing. I I said, you know, I believe that we're going to get this grants. I still gave. When I gave, I gave on that purpose for that grants. I got the call back that we were getting the grants and that's when we got the house in Plano and we got a whole year of rent paid.

Yeah. Not long after we got in the house in Plano, uh they told us that Lyanna would never walk and she stood up in the middle of the living room one night and walked across to her and she's crying and you know it was unbelievable. and we had all these amazing things that were happening.

I was at a point where I need to make sure that I have some sort of income and and career so that we would we'll have stability. So, I just decided one day out of nowhere, I was like, I'm going to I'm going to try and learn how to program code, you know, online.

I remember spending $27 on the online class and being terrified that she was going to be mad at me for spending the $27 that we don't have. But I told myself, I was like, if you spend this $27, then you're going to make sure that you go sit down that computer every day and learn this. 7 months I learned all of the the course.

Uh within 2 months after that, I had my first job as a as a web developer. It gave me opportunities for not only to get positions in the workplace that were higher paying and offered, you know, stability uh and longevity, but also um allowed me to work from home.

Somehow someway uh Erica was driving, delivery driving one one day, but she had driven down this street that we're on and she told our daughter, "Hey, we're going to live in this neighborhood." And so out of nowhere when we're looking for new houses when our lease was up, this one popped up.

We signed within a week and a half probably of that, look at where we are. And I cannot believe where we were a couple years ago. We get in this house and I start kind of teaching her how to code, how to do some some programming. Now she's working at the same company I am.

It opened up financial doors for us and we're we're both in positions that we never thought we would be. Every year it's gotten better and better. Even though you're going through the problem, God is bigger than our problem. Every word of that is printed up on our wall upstairs.

Lots of affirmations from him are posted on our on our index cards on the computer. We have to release our problems to him. When you're in a a dark spot, in a tough time in your life, it's easy to let everything go, to just be so selffocused and in despair.

And it it is hard sometimes to keep that faith. It's hard to keep believing that things are going to get better because I know that when we were getting blessings from other people, all I could really think about is, man, I can't wait till I'm a able to help other people like we've been helped. just keep that faith going and keep pushing forward.

I actually grew up in the church with my grandmother, so I always had Jesus. I always prayed every night, so I always knew Jesus. But I think once I got into that street life, I just kind of stirred away from it. Violence in our neighborhood was just normal.

I end up going to Cook County Jail. When I first got there, it was just something that I had never experienced. You know, you walk in and you finally sit on this cold steel. you kind of know it's it's real. This is real. This is your life. When I walked out, I never forget they gave me my belongings and I was putting my jacket on and I was saying, "I never come back to this place."

Just a normal day. And uh one of my friends was saying, "Somebody been looking for you in the in this red car." So, I didn't really think nothing of it. But as I'm reaching for the door, he's running up, said a few words, and then I just heard boom.

When I heard boom, I I thought something hit my face, but it hit my neck. So when I was on that ground, I never forget when them bullets was going in me. I kept saying, "God, don't let me die like this." I'm just thinking I'm just going to get patched up and right back to the battlefield.

But they was like, "No, you got several fractures in your foot. Almost all the bones are broken." And they was like, "Uh, you going to need some therapy." When I got shot, I went to go stay with my grandmother. And it was just like, you know, my grandmother, she was a pastor.

She talked about God night and day. So I used to be so bored just sitting in the house, couldn't really do nothing. Turning the TV one day, I see I see uh Joel Longstein on church. He was talking about, you know, like it's not over for you. You know, one touch of God and suddenly things turn around.

Suddenly giants come down. Suddenly addictions are broken. Suddenly doors open. You see increase abundance. I would just watch him constantly week after week. He would just keep pumping these positive messages every week. Every week I came across the freedom classes. So I took authentic manhood first and they were just talking about the freedom of a man and just teaching us things of how to handle situations.

It was a non-judgmental uh safe space. So now when I got into this group, like I said, it's freedom. So I understand what they saying about freedom. It makes you feel free. And I and I feel free to continue to keep going, keep going. It didn't feel like a group or a school or anything like that.

It just felt like we were just having open conversation with my family. I've always knew God in my heart, but now I wanted to have live God on the outside. I got him here, but how do I live it on the outside? Because one thing Joe said, you know, he said God will open some doors, but he will close some doors.

So what was happening was this that street life was closed and that door was closing. But what was opening is, hey, this is this God life. This is what I want you to do. Go in there and help somebody else. Yeah. So, like I told you all, when I left that prison, I said, "I ain't never going back."

But I end up going back and I'm helping guys go through the same things that I went through. So, now I'm in there. I'm doing restorative justice peace circles with the guys. And so, what we're doing is working with firsttime nonviolent felonies cases, and helping those guys get their cases dismissed.

And also, once they get it dismissed, also help them get it expuned. So, they will be able to get jobs so that convicted felon won't be on their background. But the thing about it is I wanted them to I want it to feel real to them. I don't want to just hey do this, you need to do this.

You need to do this. You should do this. No, I want I make it authentic. This is what I did and this is how I can help you get through the same process. I didn't understand it at first when I was going through it, but now I know my purpose is to help somebody else that went through what I went through to help them.

No matter what you're going through, put your 100% trust in God and it's never over. Never over for you. No matter what you're going through. I look at myself. I'm sitting here with you today. A person who's been shot 10 times. A person who's been to jail. And I never gave up hope.

And now I'm thriving. And I know if I can do it, another person can do the same. I've been through a lot as I was growing up. There was a suicide just one right after another. And then my birth mother was just not a very pleasant person. She never really had anything nice to say to me.

You know, you're ugly. Nobody's ever going to want you. Uh you're never going to have anything. You're never going to amount to anything. And you're never going to own anything. You're always going to struggle. In fact, you're going to be homeless because I'm going to kick you out.

I mean, it was constantly telling me how evil I was. My mother's mother, my grandmother, her mother, begged me to leave Georgia. She says, "Here, here's $20,000 that your granddad doesn't know that I have." And he says, "Get out here before she kills you." I always just wanted a home.

And that's when I started listening to Joel. And he started more and more I would listen to the same thing over and over again of family curses. Yes, you may have some generational weaknesses. depression passed down, addictions, divorce, poverty. But this is a new day. There's about to be a generational breakthrough, generational freedom, generational abundance, generational joy.

God is putting an end to it once and for all. Not just for you, but for your children, for your grandchildren. The enemies you see today, you will see no more. And that's when I made the decision that enough's enough. It's not going to it's not going to affect my family.

It's not going to move that. My realtor didn't have any idea that this property even existed. She said, "You'll never get in it. You'll just never happen." And I mean, I got into it because God, it was God's blessing cuz God sent me there. I could feel him pulling me to see this.

I literally said, "Father, you sent me to this property." And so I literally stood in the front yard in the house that I'm in now that I own. I said, "Father, you gave me this home. This is our home, mine and yours." I literally took a stick and I drew a big line in the front right there in the front of the house.

And I said, "Father, as I step over this line, I'm believing that all family curses are done." And I stepped on. And I can't even begin to tell you from that moment on how everything changed, you know, and I would have never thought that my granddaughter would have come to the Lord in my home.

And then my birth mother hadn't seen her in 13 years. And God says, "I want you to forgive her." I said, "Okay, I don't understand it." But this small voice inside of me said, "But I forgave you." And I picked up the phone after 13 years and I said, "Mom, do you know who this is?" "Yeah, it's my daughter Laura."

And that day that I asked for her forgiveness and we hung up. I have never been so free in my entire life. I was just free. There was no, it was like no more hurt, no more nothing. And you hear people say the phrase of what's it going to be like on the other side?

You know, it was free. I didn't hurt anymore. But I had toed all that anger. And the one thing I never wanted in my life was the word hate. If I had not walked over and broke the family curses in my life, there would be no Laura. There would literally be no Laura.

I know now when I leave this world and God decides, okay, I need you here. You know that my family will be okay. They'll be more than okay because I know they're going to be saved. I know they are. If you're going to hold on to everything that's happened in your family's past from generations to generations and not break those curses, you can't be free to move on.

And it'll keep on affecting generation after generation till somebody just finally says enough. No more. I I can't even begin to tell you how wonderful it is to be who I am now. I am proof that you can walk away from generational curses and not look back. I met my husband at Fort Lewis Army Base in Washington State.

I was air cargo specialist and so we load and download the air cargo planes. While I was in Japan on military duty, I was working with a group of people and Lieutenant Mete came up to me and says, "Alexander, I need to speak with you." And we end up at the door of the small office and inside was a man who was introduced as a priest.

And the priest was shaking holding this paperwork from the Red Cross and he says, "Angela, your family has been in a car accident." The day before, my husband and four children was driving down the highway in California and a car cut them off. Our car hit the center divider.

Then our truck went backwards across that highway and fell 25 ft below. Your husband, he's in the hospital, but he's okay. Your daughter Angela, she's in the hospital, but she's okay. Your daughter Angelina, she's in the hospital, but she's okay. But your two 8year-old sons, Maurice and Reggie, they didn't make it.

Now, most people think by me being on the other side of the world was the worst place possible. But you know what? I needed to be that far away in order to hear God's voice. The next day, I was on that 10-hour plus ride from Japan to Los Angeles.

And about an hour into that flight, I almost sat straight up in my seat when I recalled this letter Maurice had written about a month before the car crash. Dear mom from Maurice, mom, you're the best mom you could ever have. If I got to choose a mom, I would choose you because you are very, very cool to me.

You're very smart to me. You're very good with kids like me. I'm glad to be here with you. That's why I would choose you. The mom that I got is very cool and very fun. Bye-bye. It is a very detailed letter, especially for a 8-year-old little boy. Truly the Holy Spirit.

And I was praying in my kitchen and I prayed, "Dear God, thank you so much for me this letter is truly the reason I can stay here right now. But I need to know that Reggie's at peace. I need to know that Reggie's also visited by the Holy Spirit.

God need to know that you are in control of this hot mess, but it's only as God can create it. Only as God can orchestrate it. That very evening was open house at my children's elementary school. Now, two weeks before the car crash, Mrs. Blessie had given all of her second graders all kind of arts and craft supplies and simply said, "Do something for open house.

Your parents are coming." So Reggie, he cut out the shape of his house and it says, "Mommy, I have a big backyard and a big house." I said, "Wait a minute. Wait a minute. Stop right there." Cuz we had the smallest backyard on the block. And I realized that he was referring to his heavenly home where he does have a big backyard and he does have a big house.

These letters were miracles from heaven because these letters were the foundation of my ministry. God gave me what I needed to stand here and praise his holy name. Following the deaths of of of my sons, I needed these letters. You know, it's it's He gave me what I needed to stand here and praise his holy name.

I had no choice but to be still and know that God is still God. Because whenever and wherever there's a crisis, Christ is My name is Glenn Bone and I'm Carla Bone. In 2002, we planted a ministry in Chicago, which kind of shifted me from being full-time in financial services to being full-time and planting a church in inner city Chicago in one of the toughest communities in Chicago.

The church continued to grow. I knew God was calling me outside of that and I was praying about it. So God hands down said to me, Carla Houston, you know, I'm used to if God says one transition is up, what's the next one? Well, this door closes and he hasn't said anything.

Days became weeks and weeks became months. In one part of my mind, I'm seeing the account go down, but in the other part of the mind, Pastor Joel saying, "It's going to be all right. Trust God." And every time I would work that spreadsheet, it kept coming up negative.

I know for a fact in many cases for God to answer a lot of things, obedience and trust is important. And I'm driving home from the leadership class and he says, "That's where you going to go." I look over and it's the 7-Eleven. I said, "7-Eleven? I'm going to work at the 7-Eleven."

And I could hear him say, "Yeah, that's where you're going to go. You're going to go and work at the 7-Eleven." So, I knew if he told me to go to 7-Eleven, there's something at 7-Eleven. It just didn't make sense. He was getting paid barely put food on the table.

It wouldn't pay one of my alone paid any bills. And during that time, that 3 and 1/2 months, it was like me and God had our private time. Everything was hitting us within this small window of time. And I laid in the bed and I looked up at the ceiling and I just started crying.

As usual, I'm up the floor and I can literally hear God talking. He says, "The season is up here at 7-Eleven." Put in my two weeks notice. The spirit told me plain as day, why don't you get back into the industry again? Those same people that you helped 25 years ago and now in a new season in their lives, you can help them in the area where they're in.

It was vision wall day. And so I walked out of the church um went to the wall and I said, "Lord, help me to develop a consulting firm that will be able to bless my family as well as to be able to bless ministry and Uganda." I spent money, registered for all the classes and everything.

God brought me back into the industry. Within two weeks, what I wrote on the walk, clients start coming in. I didn't know how much money I had made in the first two weeks of January till my wife called and she started screaming one morning. She said, "Do you know how much money just got deposited to the account?"

In two weeks, he had made six figures. To be able to have that infusion of hope being put in us every week allowed me to even be able to go into a 7-Eleven and understand through obedience and trust that God was still going to answer my prayers even as I swung a mop at 711 at night.

I would say to people who are about to write on the vision wall, he may come at the last hour. He may come at the last minute, even the last second, but here's what I know for sure. He comes at the age of 19. I was diagnosed with kidney disease and I just went about life from 19 to 30.

As I I mean I never checked my blood pressure. I never went back you know for that diagnosis. But it did stick in the back of my mind that you know they did diagnose you with this kidney disease. I was hoping that it would disappear go away. That does not go away.

Kidney disease is a progressive disease. So at the age of 30, I went to the I took life more seriously. I had my daughter in 2009 and in 2011 I could barely walk because when you have kidney disease and your kidneys aren't functioning, so all those toxins aren't leaving your body.

And because they're not leaving your body, you're in pain. There's nothing you can do. You are in pain, constant pain. So I was going back and forth to the nefrologist and he said um we need to get a port in you to prepare you for dialysis. And he said but I want you to get listed.

And I said listed? What do you mean for a transplant? What compelled me to list in multi-states is because my antibbody level was at 99%. and my blood type level is O positive. That's a double negative. So that only means 1% of the world can donate to me.

Then you start, you know, placing your mind, oh my gosh, what are my chances? Pastor Joel Olste and his wife, I mean, I got to tell you, it's just amazing. He said that his mother was diagnosed with a terminal cancer. And I know when you say terminal that means there's no hope.

He said but his mother ne her her faith never wavered. And she just continued to believe. He um said that she would write words of encouragement on post-it notes and stick them everywhere. So I began to do that. I began to write little notes and I began to stick them everywhere.

I I just felt it in my heart. I was like, "God is not finished with me. He didn't allow me to to have this child and she's so young and then leave her." No, no, no. He has a plan and he has a purpose for me, for my life.

So, and I know that and I felt it. And then from that moment, I took charge. I had to stand on that faith. I mean, I still ushered every Sunday. I was at church every week. you know, those, you know, friends that I thought were friends and family members that had brushed me off and wrote me off.

I just stood on my faith. I got a call unknown number and I was just going to let it go to voicemail because like I don't know 6:00 in the morning. I'm being dialized. I don't not in the mood. Okay. But something said pick the call up. Pick the call up.

Hello. Hi. Is this Lanetta? Lynetta Sllayton. Yes, it is. Hi, this is so and so from Florida Hospital. Okay. Um, you've listed with us and we'd like to know how soon could you get here? Could you get on the next flight? I said, "Well, I'm being dialized right now."

She said, "Okay, we'll finish that." She gave me specific instructions on what to do, where to go, how to get there. 6:00 a.m. I'm in New York. being dialized 400 p.m. I'm in Florida transplanted. I give God all the glory. All the glory and honor. He deserves all the He deserves all the victory.

So, anything that has happened is because of God. And I'll stand tall and stand strong on that. Every day that I am here, I want this to be a word of encouragement to someone who needs that, who's going through what I went through. I just want to be an inspiration and encouragement and just know that there is hope out there.

Stay stay strong in your faith. Stay in your word and just continue to believe. All right, let's go to El Paso, Texas. Check in with Sherry next. Hello, Sher. You're on with Victoria. Um, my daughter was in a car accident. She was a passenger in a car 5 years ago.

It's a parent's worst nightmare to get that phone call. But um we got the phone call. I was a principal of an elementary school and I was just fixing to pull out of the parking lot and on my phone it said, which is a hospital in El Paso.

So I answered and it was a lady and she said, "Ma'am, you need to get here now." Babe, I just got a call the hospital. I think it's bad. We got to get there now. You know, when you walk into the hospital and there's all the people sitting in the emergency room waiting for their loved ones and the doctor or the nurse or whoever tells you, follow me.

And they put you in a small room. Um, you know, it's probably not going to be, hey, she broke her ankle or you you're ready. We instantly started praying. We started calling everyone. We need you praying. And that's hard to do when someone's telling you she's not okay.

Your daughter's not okay and this isn't going to be okay. And it's really, really hard to do when they're telling you she's not going to live through the night. Both of the sides of her skull removed on both sides um to relieve the pressure from her accident where you know her brain had swollen against the skull. and I saw her and you know at the time she was unresponsive just laying in a bed.

She was not there at all. They they told us that Jacqueline if she does wake up she will never be the same. She will never walk again. She will never talk again. She will never be able to eat again. I said, "Father, God, you love my daughter more than I do, and I know that."

And as a parent, I can't do this. I looked at my son. I said, "This is the worst day ever." And he said, "No, Dad. This is the greatest day. God didn't choose to take Jacqueline. He left her here." Lakewood was an inspiration to us while we were in the hospital here in Houston with Jacquine.

Joel helped get us through what we needed to hear. gave us exactly what we needed to hear at the right time. Now, you may not see how your situation could ever change. How God could reverse the trouble. Doesn't look possible in the natural, but God is supernatural. He has ways that we've never thought of.

Be a believer and not a doubter. We really chose to just move forward and live each and every day to its fullest potential and know that God was in control. U Mr. Pelott would, you know, once in a while send me pictures. You know, one day he would send me a picture of her like sitting and she's like he would be like, "Oh, Jacqueline's sitting today."

And then he had like her his hand by her like, you know, kind of holding her up. I'm like, "Yeah, yeah, yeah, sure. You you're like holding her up, you know." But when I really knew that she was back because I hadn't heard her voice for 10 months and I remember we had put her in bed.

We were home at this point but we heard her wrestling around and I went in there and I said, "Are you okay?" And she does this and I said, "Do you need anything?" And she puts her thumb down and I said, "Okay, Jack. Well, I love you." And she looked at me and she whispered, "I love you, too."

And I started screaming. It's like 2:00 in the morning. Woke up Dennis and Jacob, our son, and they're like, "What's wrong? What's wrong?" Like, "She's talking." There's no way I thought Jacqueline would make that leap. And she already has. And she's already exceeded all my expectations for her from where she was to where she is now.

Is is it's just it's amazing. God brought me back to life and gave me another chance at life. And I knew that I'm not going to just always be sad about where I am right now. But God has led us the entire way and is still doing so today.

We've never said we hope. We've always believed that when Jacqueline walks again, when Jacqueline talks again, when Jacquine can eat again, that's what we say. On December 8th, I had taken my mom to get breakfast and then we went back to her apartment and I left her there and I went to work and all day I was trying to call her, check in with her cuz we talked daily and she wasn't picking up.

But my mom was always forgetting to take her phone off, vibrator, just kind of flickering with it and turning it off and put it on silent. So, I didn't really think anything of it that first day, but on the second day when I couldn't get in touch with her, I knew something was wrong.

She retired 2 years ago. After she retired, we saw some decline in her cognitive ability. So, I um went to her house. When we came in, it looked like she didn't sleep in the bed cuz it was completely made and the blinds were open and it was really early for her to be out and about.

So, I knew that she probably didn't come home the night before. We ended up calling the police and filing a missing person report. The first night that she was missing, I just drove around the neighborhood. We had a bunch of flyers and we literally just went from gas station to gas station, businesses to business asking had had they seen her.

There were a few places that said, "Yeah, she looks familiar. We've seen her." Yeah. She used to come around here all the time and it wasn't a good area. So, we were very concerned. God is the first one I called on. I mean, it was no one but God who kept my peace, brought all the people around who needed to be around us.

Our prayer warriors like Binda and John's mom and our family, our church communities, they really really rallied around us and kept us lifted in prayer, like gave us hope. I knew that's where God had to step in and my prayer was that Katherine was found, but that she was found alive. detective that was on the case called and he said that they had gotten a hit on her license plate up near Fort Stockton.

They saw it on the freeway and then they didn't see it hit the next camera. So somewhere between Fort Stockton and the next camera was where she was. He called the local police department there in Fort Stockton and asked them could they send people out to search. It was not even an hour later.

He called again and he said, "We found your mom." My mother had gotten on the highway and gotten either turned around or lost, but we know that she drove herself 7 hours away up to near Fort Stockton. Her vehicle eventually stalled out on her on the side of the highway.

The officer that found her, he said, "We found your mom. She was in the car. She was on the side of the road. They're taking her in the ambulance to go get her checked out. They said she was very disoriented. I just rejoiced. I cried. I I smiled for the first time in days.

It was so obvious that God had was guiding her because she doesn't drive at night. But there are photos of her at 1:00 a.m. 3:00 a.m. driving through various towns and never hit a single object. She didn't have any car damage. She drove seven seven hours away and God just it seemed as if he just I mean obviously he had his hands around her.

Now I know that was nobody but God. Hallelujah. Because the way that she got where she got only God knows. And I know that he never sleeps. So when we were asleep, God was awake guiding Patherine. And I'm just so grateful to him. Amen. I grew up on the dirt roads of a teeny tiny town in Texas called Claudine, Texas.

I went to Texas State in San Marcus, Texas. It took me about one minute to recognize that my strict 6'2 in father was not at college with me. So, we were drinking, we were doing drugs, cocaine, LSD, just having the time of my life. When I was 20 years old, I went home for my spring break and I went to visit my older sister Tina Ford.

And my sister shared a simple scripture with me found in John 3:16 that God so loves you, Deborah, that he gave his only son, Jesus Christ. And with tears running down my face, I fell on my knees and I asked God to forgive me of my sins for the first time in my life.

That day I felt brand new. And when I went back to my campus, all of my partying friends came over and I just shared with them. I was so nervous. I didn't know what to say or how to say it. But I said, "I invited Jesus Christ to come and live in my heart and I'm done partying."

Well, they all started laughing. Several of them made fun of me. I got plugged into a great church on my campus. I made new friends and I immediately came off of alcohol. I immediately came off the drugs. I immediately began to pray for people on my campus. When I graduated from college, which was a miracle, I began to teach elementary school.

And during this time, I met a wonderful man in my church. He was a man of God. We fell in love. We got married. And he walked in one night and said, "I don't love you anymore. I'm getting a divorce and I have another woman." It was a very dark time.

I had to continue to go to my teaching job every single day. And my plan was when my next paycheck comes in, I'm going to buy a gun and I'm going to end my life. My identity was so wrapped up in the identity of my husband. And now that I look back on it, I understand fully that we have an enemy and that the attack was not against me personally.

The attack was against my purpose, my Godgiven purpose, because Jesus knew that my life did not end with my divorce. He knew it was just beginning. And so I began to cry out to God. I began to pray. God, I want to win more lost souls for you, but I don't know where they are.

You do send me to them. One day, I pulled into a parking lot. I saw two beautiful ladies standing in that parking lot. And I just knew inside that I was to go share God's love with them. And so I said, "I wish you would let me pray with you today."

And they agreed to that. So both of the ladies invited Jesus Christ to come and live in their heart. They took me into their neighborhood. I saw all of the drug houses. I saw the young people roaming the streets with no direction. And I knew that God was speaking to me, calling me if you will to reach these people.

And then fast forward many years now I go into churches everywhere and I train soulwinners to give them a handson experience of praying for people outside of the church because these people are forgotten. These people go unrecognized, unnoticed and unseleelebrated. and we go in and we begin to reach out to them with the love of Jesus.

And of course, you know, the food and the gifts, all of that is wonderful. But the thing that makes the difference, we pray with them one on one. I would not be doing what I'm doing today if it were not for the prayers of my sister Tina Ford.

Many of my family members are now serving God because of the prayers of my sister. So, mom, dad, grandparent, family member, possibly you have a loved one, a child, a grandchild that has run away from home, that is living on the streets, that is in a bad relationship, that is battling an addiction.

I want you to know your prayers are working and it's just a matter of time until your loved one comes home, receives the Lord, and begins to be used mightily by God. Well, Lakewood family, as you can tell, it's a party over here and already hundreds of people going public with their faith.

You know, I was thinking about this from Houston to Honduras to China. I mean, all around the nation, all around the globe, there are just thousands of people, including the family members that are here and cheering those their family members and their friends on for the decision that you're making that's happening right behind me.

And I I just thinking about baptism as a whole. What a beautiful symbol of what this represents. That you're gone with the old and and and representing Christ in this new life. And every person that steps into this water has a story. A story of redemption, forgiveness, and a story of something new that God is doing.

And so, let's celebrate. It's an awesome day to be at Lakewood Church. We celebrate with all of our friends and family who are watching. Beautiful celebration. 
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 Hello Lakewood family. We're so again excited that you are part of our water baptism here at Lakewood Church. And I'm with Daniel who's being a part of our water baptism that's taking place.

And Daniel, we go back a few years almost, right? Or a few months. A few months. Few months. I've been coming to Lakewood for about uh 3 weeks already. What? about a month already. Uh I started the new beginning class with you uh two weeks ago and you were the one that gave me the book and I came into this church kind of I think it was just like in any other church but once I first started doing the sermons spoke with you and the whole new beginnings uh really spoke to me in heart that's where I started opening that book every single day and I started really really assessing my life on how you know you grown and go through hard you know hard times in life and once you they mentioned the baptism I was all like I should be able to do it again even if I did as a child I did not go through those you know struggle struggles in life which I struggled since 2009 with addiction um being very not with in with Christ.

But as soon as I came into this church, I knew something in my heart had to open up and just a new beginning start going down that path. And once I opened up that book, I got a job offer literally that same day. And it's kind of just it's I'm taking off from here.

Amen. Daniel, we love you so much at Lakewood Church. And you know, the Bible talks about this, friends, but the steps of the righteous are ordered by the Lord. And Daniel, I want to let you know that your steps are already ordered. And it's no surprise that we're seeing God's display of goodness over you.

And we're just so proud of you that you made that public step of faith to take that step of being baptized today. You and your awesome girlfriend. And uh we're just believing and declaring that you're going to continue to do amazing things and that the best is still yet to come.

We love you and we look forward to seeing all the great things and thank you again. Thank you, sir. Thank you. Appreciate it, J. Hey Jason, how are you? Lakewood family. Hey, listen. I got something really exciting that I want to share with you. We have our annual youth and yoga conference happening this summer in the month of June.

It's going to be June 24th to June 26th. We have amazing special guests coming through, guest pastors, guest worship artists. And so I want to make sure that you are there. So if you're in 6th, 7th, 8th grade, 9th grade, 10th grade, 11th grade, 12th grade, if you're a college student, or if you were just here in Houston in the summer and you want something amazing to come to.

It's completely free. All you have to do is RSVP so we know that you're coming. But again, I do not want you to miss. It's going to be a powerful time. The theme this year is set apart. And we're going to learn what it truly means to be a set a part generation for God's glory.

So again, Hope and Life Conference June 24th through 26th. You do not want to miss it. 
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 Lakewood. We have a family that's been here at Lakewood Church since November of last year. And feel free to let us know. What's your name again? William. William. Divia. Divia. Well, first of all, you guys have such a beautiful family and we're grateful that you guys are part of the water baptism.

What has this been like for you, William? It's wonderful. Wonderful. We love it. Wow. And what about you? Are you enjoying it? Yeah, we are blessed actually. Yeah, I'm a born Hindu. Okay. Um, uh, we've been married for last 6 years and I've been following Hinduism ever since I was born till 41 and then we got married and then it took a while for me to, you know, understand the difference of the religion, the living God.

I was totally confused which to follow. We did have a very hard phase. We moved from Dallas last two years ago and when we moved down sorry we did go through a rough phase of you know our continuity of our family and life and everything. Um one morning I just sat turned on the TV and I saw a podcast from Pastor Joel that just hit me very hard.

I told my husband about it when he came from work that that evening and he said uh yeah we'll we'll see because he used to go to the church but ever since he married me he stopped doing that as well because I was not ready to understand the living God but then I told him I need to go to this church so we didn't start coming to this church but for a few weeks every Sunday we started being the online you know um people of the church uh that could not stop me from there.

I would keep watching his podcast. I would listen to his music. I would listen to Lakewood music. It totally changed me from then onwards. I had too many test I have too many testimonies to say how our life changed, how our finances took over, God was under control and everything.

And that just told me that this is where I have to be. I told him someday I want to come to this church. church. I want to serve my complete life to this church. I want to come here every time. And that's where it is. Day and night, we have Lakewood music at our house in our home.

We play that. My children enjoy it. We We did not miss one online church. Uh Sunday mornings, if we can make it, since we live in Montgomery, it's about more than an hour, but if we can make it, we are there at 11:00 in our living room. Wow.

Yeah, we're just again so grateful for your family. Thank you first of all for sharing your testimony. Those are tears of joy and we're witnessing right now of how God has become strong in your life. And as Joel, Pastor Joel says, but you give us a year of your life.

Your life will never be the same. And Lakewood family, that's what we're experiencing right now is God's transformation and the power when we continue to trust in our Lord. And we're just so proud of all of you, a beautiful family. But thank you again for being a part of our water baptism.

And we know Happy birthday tomorrow. Oh, and happy birthday. Happy birthday. Let's Well, let's say we're going to say happy birthday on the count of three to mom on the camera. Is that a deal? Let's say happy birthday. 1 2 3. Happy birthday. God bless you guys. Hey guys, my name is Serena Gonzalez and I'm the young adult pastor right here at Lakewood church.

If you're between the ages of 18 to 30, I want to personally invite you to come and join us. We have a weekly service. So, if you want to find a place where you can grow in your faith and be in the best community, I want to invite you to come and be a part.

We can't wait to see you here. All right. Hey Lakewood fam, we're just so glad. Another great story with Chris and Rachel and Richard here. Hey, tell us why why why is the family here today? Uh for water baptism. Oh yeah, for sure. So I I was baptized in October and I've been a member, well, we've been a member here for quite some time.

Um oh gosh, for years, but I felt like it was time for a fresh or a new beginning. My husband was baptized year many years ago when he was young and our son is on the autism spectrum. So just a new beginning for everybody. We just want to start off fresh and live a great life, you know.

Yeah, I mean man, I love that. So, tell us what I guess Chris, what does it mean for you kind of having your son here for the Baptist? Um, yeah. I mean, I wanted to get this done for him for some time. Uh, so I felt like if you know, he was going to do it, then I should do it with him, you know, just leading by example.

Um, so yeah, I mean it's a great thing. Um, I'm very thankful that, you know, you guys are having this uh open for everyone and uh yeah, we'll both leave uh made new. Man, I love that. Well, we're so proud of you guys. I love that. Richard, are you excited?

More than excited. Well, thank you guys for all you're doing. It's it's a it's a wonderful moment in our faith. Congratulations. God bless you guys. 
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 Thank you so much. Friends, I also want to just share with you today, Pastor Joel has another dynamic book out entitled Rediscovering the Forgotten You.

Friends, it's time right now, maybe in your season, to start again. If it's to maybe hope again or to believe again. And you know, we know that pastors written so many great books, but I promise you one thing, this book today, rediscovering the forgotten you. It's going to speak to you in your season right now.

And so, feel free to buy pastor's new book wherever books are sold. And it's going to leave you feeling inspired and equipped as you continue to take your walk with faith with Jesus Christ. Amen to that one. 
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 Hey, what's going on everybody? My name is Dvonte Tidwell. I get the privilege of being the youth pastor right here at Lakewood Church.

Hey, listen. We have something specific for your junior high and high school students. Every single Wednesday night at 7:30, we have service for them. Listen, if you get them here, I believe we're going to do two things. We're going to introduce them to Jesus, and we're going to introduce them to community, which this generation so desperately needs.

So, why don't you meet us here every Wednesday night at 7:30? We would love to host your students. We'll save them a seat. See you soon. 
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 Hey everybody, Pastor Jeremy here and we just wanted to let you know about an incredible opportunity coming up later this year.

We have the internship program as part of the leadership program here at Lakewood Church. And if you've ever felt the call to full-time ministry, if you've ever felt the call to to to what God's doing inside the church, we have an opportunity for you. Somewhere between the ages of 18 and 30 years old, there may be this drive in you to understand who you're called to be.

And we have an opportunity for you. Opening up in the next couple months, we're going to give an opportunity to you to apply for our internship. This year we took 29 total between English and Spanish. And it's an opportunity for you to grow in your knowledge of what church ministry is all about, your personal calling, and then why the church matters in God's good world.

So, we want to give you the opportunity coming up here shortly with that opportunity. So, if you have a desire in any way to do church work, to be a vocational minister, administrator, or something inside the four walls of the church, check us out. You can just text the word leadership to 77377.

We'll get information directly to you. The internship coming up to you 2026 2027 class at Lakewood Church. Water baptism is one of the two traditions or sacraments that Jesus instituted for his followers while he was here on this earth. He said these words, "Go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, Son, and the Holy Spirit, teaching them to obey everything that I've commanded you."

Water baptism is a way that we publicly acknowledge that we're followers of Jesus. It's an outward demonstration of our inward faith, a visible sign of our invisible relationship with Jesus. When we're baptized, we identify with Jesus death and burial as we go under the water and his resurrection as we come up out of the water.

It's also a beautiful picture of the fact as followers of Jesus, we lay down our old life of sin and we're raised to walk in a new life with Jesus. A life where we're forgiven and righteous in God's eyes. A life empowered by the Holy Spirit. A life where we're being changed more and more into the image of Jesus.

A life of abundance and victory that he came to give us. 
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 Woohoo! 
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 Well, Lakewood family, the anticipation is just stirring because um we were just told that there is a family that drove in all the way from North Carolina. And so of course we're like we got to get them in.

So they're walking in through registration as we speak. And so everyone here, we're just preparing as you can hear behind me, they're worshiping, they're celebrating, and uh just in anticipation of this family arriving because we know what this day is going to represent for them. So stand by.

We'll be back in just a bit. Hello, I'm Eric Luchetta and I want to personally invite you to tune in to Lakewood Bible Study every Monday night. You know, sometimes it can be challenging to understand the Bible. So, we'll take you through the books of the Bible, explain their meaning, and show you how to apply it to your day-to-day life.

So, if you want to grow in your walk with God and you want to understand the Bible better, tune in to Lakewood Bible Study every Monday night. You can find us on our homepage, lakewoodurch.com, our Facebook page, and on our YouTube channel. I hope to see you there.

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 Hi, my name is Ray Perez and I'm the assistant director for Champions Club here at Lakewood Church. Champions Club is a special needs ministry that serves children, teens, and adults and gathers together during our 8:30 a.m., 11:00 a.m., and our 2:00 p.m. services. But the impact that Champions Club makes goes much deeper than our services alone.

Champions Club is a place where young people gather together to discover that God has a purpose and a plan for their lives. A place filled with hope to remind every champion that they're victors and not victims and there's nothing that can hold them back from fulfilling the very plan that God has for their lives.

For more information, please go to Champions Club webpage at lakewoodurch.com. There you can learn more about our ministry, review any available resources, and discover how you could be a part of this amazing team. With that, have a wonderful day, and God bless you. 
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 Well, Lakewood Church, there you have it.

What a close to such a powerful day here as our church family se celebrated hundreds upon hundreds of people going public with their faith. You know, I was just thinking about just what this water represents to so many people. It's the start of a fresh new life, a life with Christ.

And we've seen the youngest, the the the babies upon babies walk in. And we've seen individuals who have been helped into the water as well. And it's such a beautiful representation of the kingdom, isn't it? Just people young and old, uh, going public and saying, "Yes, this is what my life is going to be about."

And so, we celebrated and I'm so thankful that we were all able to celebrate this together with you. Whether you're watching at home or maybe you're you are watching a family member from far away driving whatever it may be we're so happy that you tuned in and you were able to celebrate with us.

What a power powerful powerfilled day I would say and we're such we're so honored that you were able to join us here. Hey, we love you so much and uh we can't wait to do this again at the end of the year. Love you.