On a warm Sunday afternoon, thousands of people converged on a private cove in Southern California for a spiritual rebirth, part of what organizers call the world’s largest synchronized water baptism.
The event, Baptize America, drew participation from more than 650 churches nationwide, with around 30,000 people baptized. The gathering represents a broader trend: A worldwide surge in adults becoming baptized into the Christian faith, particularly among an unlikely demographic: Gen Z men.
“Water baptism is identifying in the death, the burial, in the resurrection of Jesus Christ,” said Pastor Mark Francey of Oceans Church, a non-denominational Christian church in Orange County. “Getting in the ocean to do something so transcendent in a transcendent place like the ocean, it’s just a really special way to connect with God.”
Francey founded Baptize California in 2023 and expanded it to the nationwide Baptize America event this year.
“We wanna see America experience the goodness kindness of Jesus and respond to the great commission in Matthew 28, which is to go into all the world to make disciples of all nations, baptizing them,” Francey said.
New research shows belief in Jesus among young people is rising after reaching an all-time low immediately following the pandemic. For the first time in history, Gen Z men are more likely to attend church than their female counterparts.
“They’re coming in by the thousands. And there’s this hunger,” Francey said.
Reagan Heslin, 20, is among those young men leaning into their Christian faith.
“Last summer was easily the worst period of my life. For sure,” Heslin said. “There was a lot of personal embarrassment and poor decisions that I made. And I lost myself completely and I realized that I needed to go to church.”
After his baptism, Heslin said, “I feel amazing, it’s been a long time coming for sure.”
Francey pointed in part to the COVID-19 pandemic as a catalyst for the spiritual awakening.
“There’s something about going through a hard season that wakes people up to what really is important in life,” he said. “I think it’s the first generation that’s growing up completely inundated with technology, social media, raised on tablets.”
Some observers point to another factor: A shift toward conservatism in the U.S.
“I think everything in life has to do with theology. I think the church is the conscious of a nation and when the church loses its way, the world loses its way,” Francey said when asked about the role of religion in politics.
Francey said he believes the nation is experiencing a spiritual revolution comparable to the 1970s.
“I think the holy spirit changes people’s lives,” Francey said. “I think it honors God. And when we honor him, an a lot of times we experience him honoring us.”
But for baptism participant Kandis McGee, the focus was purely spiritual.
“I can leave all of my sins,” she said, “all that in the water, and I can be made new.”
