On Saturday, Oct. 10, on a beach in the north of England, people waded into cold water one at a time to be baptized.

CBN News reported it two days later. The organizer, Merlin Kraft, who shares his faith online as BibleLadUK, says 550 people were baptized at Bridlington that day. He believes it is the biggest baptism Britain has seen in recent years. Last month, at a beach in Bigbury-on-Sea, CBN reports more than 170 people went into the water.

"Honestly, I'm just lost for words," Kraft said afterward. He described people coming up in tears and in joy while the crowd on the sand cheered for them.

Paul wrote about what that water pictures:

"We were buried therefore with him by baptism into death, in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, we too might walk in newness of life." (Romans 6:4, ESV)

Faith in Jesus is what brings a person into God's family. Baptism is the picture of it, done out loud, in front of everyone who knows you. Going under says goodbye to the old life. Coming up is the first breath of a new one.

However you came to the water, as a baby in a parent's arms or as a grown adult in a church tank on a Sunday night, Paul's invitation reaches you this week: walk in newness of life, starting with the next ordinary day.

So let's pray for those 550 people, and for this place.

A prayer

Lord, thank You for every person who stepped into that water in England. Keep them walking with You after the crowd goes home. Stir that same hunger here in the Valley. And for anyone reading who has been thinking about taking that step, give them courage. Amen.

Say it with me: I am raised with Christ. I walk in new life today.

Pastor Reyes Castillo

More from Pastor Reyes: his books, including Called by Name and Freedom Code, are at thewayofthewarrior.org/books. Tap a cover to hear a one-minute message about why each one was written.

Share one piece of good news from your church or your town. Post it in The 956 Rundown Facebook group, and I'll carry some of it into a future Sunday Word.

Get The 956 Rundown in your inbox Tuesday and Thursday mornings. Free.