Volunteers from the church started by gently lifting Stamey while in her wheelchair up the stairs to the location of the baptistry. Upon being wheeled to the edge of the baptistry, volunteers helped carry her into the water and rested her on a stool which she used while in the water.
Family, friends and church staff attended the special ceremony to offer support and love, which Stamey’s daughter Julia Dancy said felt incredible.
“It is awesome to have your church family support you like that,” Dancy said. “It felt like it was home, just the way it should be. I felt an overwhelming sense of gratitude and love.”
Photos and videos of Stamey’s baptism were shown during the next Sunday’s service at all of Liberty Live’s campuses, and nine different people across the campuses were so inspired that they inquired about being baptized themselves after the service.
Stamey said she encourages anyone who has not yet been baptized to do so.
“I would definitely encourage them to do it because it’s something that they absolutely need,” she said. “I feel a lot better since I’ve been baptized. It was the best thing I had ever done and I regret not doing it a long time ago.”
Ethridge spoke of the fitting expression of joy and peace Stamey wore after the baptism. He told her even though all these people were there supporting her, she was actually the one that was inspiring them.
“I told Joy, ‘If you’re willing to obey Jesus in baptism, what excuse do we have not to do what God is calling us to do?,’” Ethridge said.
“There might be something else that we’re making excuses for. I just tried to encourage her and just let her know how much her faith and obedience meant to me personally and to everybody that was there. I just thought ‘what lesser obstacles do we let keep us from doing what we know Christ would want us to do?’”
This article originally appeared here.
