A mass, inter-denominational baptism event over Pentecost Sunday saw over 12,000 people get baptized in California. The baptisms were part of Baptize California, which involved hundreds of churches across the state including Saddleback Church, with a main event being held at Huntington Beach. There were two days of worship at Huntington, with over 19,000 people coming to the beach to participate. There were spontaneous baptisms on Saturday and planned baptisms on Sunday, totaling more than 6,000 people being baptized at Huntington Beach alone. More than 6,000 other people were baptized across the state at other participating locations. “You can smell another Great Awakening in the air like rain before it hits. God lit a match yesterday! If God can do this in the church in California, it can — and it will — happen in the rest of America!” said Pastor Mark Francey, the event’s founder. Last year’s Baptize SoCal saw 4,200 hundred baptisms. 12,000 blows both that number and Greg Laurie’s 4,500 out of the water.

Sean Feucht, who led some of the worship at the Huntington event, praised how God always responds. “This is another wave of God moving in [California], a state that people think is too far gone because it’s too dark, or it’s too oppressive. But yet God always has a response, and his response is revival,” he said. “His response is salvations. His response is families reconnected. His response is historic church unity. His response is baptisms. His response is prodigal sons and daughters coming home, and we witnessed all of that yesterday.” Francey said they saw over 1,000 people accept Christ, including a Satanist. “You could see the change immediately,” said Francey. He compared it to “living in the pages of the books of Acts!” Not only did the event seek to baptize people, but it also sought to disciple them by connecting them to local churches.

There have been stories across the nation of mass revivals and baptisms across the nation, with movies like “The Jesus Revolution” sparking a fire for more mass events. Francey, who began his vision to baptize Southern California last year and then expanded it to the entire state for this year, is ready to push things even further. “Now we are gearing up to do this and unite the church all over America,” he said. The next event is called Baptize America and seeks to unite churches all across the country in a mass baptism event. It is slated to be next Pentecost, June 8, 2025.