September 7, 2024
HODGENVILLE, Ky. (KT) – For many churches, 47 baptisms in a year is cause for celebration.
How about 47 in one Sunday?
Parkway Baptist Church had that joyous day last Sunday and is still buzzing about it.
“It was a good day,” said Pastor Dewayne Gibson. “I’ve been involved with churches since I was 9 years old, and I’m 55. I’ve never seen it like this, even to the point where we were getting ready for Baptism Day, and I had people calling me.”
The Baptism Day was a planned event and included both new converts and others who had never been scripturally baptized.
The baptisms were performed in Middle Creek on the 600-acre Pickrell Farm in LaRue County.
“The man that owns it welcomes churches and keeps the fields looking like a golf course,” Gibson said. “He keeps the creek clean. It’s majestic looking. We scheduled it and the Lord gave us enough rain to keep the pool up.”
Part of the creek is fed by a natural spring and that meant the water was around 55 degrees, Gibson said. He baptized 30 of the 47 in the creek, while his youth pastor baptized the 17 others who were youth group age. He admitted to being a little sore the following day, but it was a “good sore.”
A video of the day was also popular on YouTube and on the Parkway Baptist Church Facebook page. Gibson admitted he has watched it “at least 50 times.”
“I rejoice at how God is blessing Parkway Baptist under the dedicated leadership of Pastor Gibson,” said Shawn Edwards, the associational mission strategist for the Lincoln Association of Baptists. “God has created a loving and evangelistic community in this healthy church. The congregation has captured the vision of the importance of evangelism.”
Gibson senses that when he talks to visitors who say there is “something special about Parkway.”
“We want to be very welcoming,” he said. “When people see decisions being made, it cultivates excitement. They see people coming to the altar praying for each other. We have a couple in their 30s struggling with marriage and they have a tribe of people (praying for them). The couple comes to the altar, and they are joined by that tribe.”
The pastor takes no credit for the movement happening at Parkway. “It is absolutely God doing it. We are average people trying to be obedient. I have an incredible staff, working hard every day. We do want people to know, we get excited about what other churches are doing too. It’s a joy seeing it (on social media).”
Gibson, a former youth pastor, said a charter member of Parkway shared an interesting comment. He said 12 years ago, the church had about 35 people on his first Sunday. “He said, ‘You baptized more people than we had on a good Sunday when you came here.’”
This story was first published by Kentucky Today.
