Aaron Proffitt

Yesterday was another banner day in the brief history of Aletheia Tampa. Since it was a holiday, we once again got the boot from our room in the Marshall Center. But this time, we were prapared for it ahead of time. Instead of not doing anything, we decided to have our first baptism, wondering at the time if anyone would even step up. There were rumors of maybe one or two people wanting to do it, but really, we had no idea. So we planned to spend the afternoon at the beach, sent a facebook invite out, promoted at our last few Monday night gatherings, and hoped for the best.

One thing I have realized after all of my years in ministry is that there are so many moments of uncertainty. From one moment to the next, I never really know how things are going to go. I have a lot of confidence in what God has called us to do, but I know how things take time to develop and how church planting is like a roller coaster a lot of times. But that’s why this job is so fun to me. I love taking risks, I love not knowing the future. I love trusting in God to see Him develop something new.

Yesterday was no exception to this. I wondered what would happen. First of all, would any of our people drive the hour to Ft. Desoto Beach? Now I must alert my readers to the fact that this beach was voted the number one beach in America in 2005, so that didn’t hurt our cause. We arrived at the beach at 3pm…only to be joined by over 30 other people. It was a great time of hanging out, getting to know some of our new people, and eating… a lot of food.

At about 5pm I decided it was a good time to have the baptisms. At that point I knew of two people who were going to get in the water and get dunked. I was overwhelmed by that, praising God that our first baptism would see two young guys publically profess Christ. But then another one of our young guys stepped up and asked me if he could do it…and then another guy…and then finally, a USF student by the name of Mandy, who had only been to one of our gatherings before, stepped up and decided to do it. When it was all said and done, five people got in the water to let everyone know that they are serious about God.

We were so excited. Our day ended with Graham and Speedy rocking out some tunes on the beach. I don’t know how the day could have gone any better. What an encouragement it was to see God work in those five young lives. Our humble little church plant is growing, people are catching the vision, and we have no choice but to be excied about the future.