Thousands of Florida Baptists—from Tallahassee to Tampa and Miami and all points in between—celebrated “Fill the Tank” Sunday, which also took place among Southern Baptists on a nationwide scale, Sunday, April 27.
People are hungry, and seeing the celebration of new life in Christ provided a great deal of hope for our church and community.
Southern Baptist churches across the nation earmark Baptism Sunday on their calendars by celebrating new life in Christ through the ordinance of baptism. Also known as “Fill the Tank” Sunday, messengers voted to add the April date to the Southern Baptist Convention calendar at the annual meeting in 2018. Since then, the Florida Baptist Convention consistently is a leader among all Southern Baptist state conventions in annual number of baptisms. In 2023, Florida Baptists reported nearly 30,000 baptisms, a 33 percent increase from the previous year. In 2024, there were 30,701 baptisms recorded across the state.
This year is no exception. From baptistries and beaches to troughs and lakes—believers went public with their faith throughout the Sunshine State.
“Our Florida Baptist churches are intensely focused on the mission of reaching people with the gospel and making disciples. As I’ve talked with our pastors in the past week about Baptism Sunday, so many of them have told me that setting aside a special day to encourage new believers to follow Jesus by being baptized has made a huge difference in reaching people,” said Stephen Rummage, executive director-treasurer, Florida Baptist Convention.
Here is a glimpse into lives changed by Jesus Christ and baptisms celebrated throughout Florida.
Sporting T-shirts with “Raised to Life” emblazoned across the front, almost a dozen new believers at Calvary Church in Clearwater embraced the perfect weather and warm Gulf Coast waters to participate in Baptism Sunday.
Mission Hill Church, a three-campus church in Tampa, had a lot to celebrate over the past two weeks. On Easter Sunday, the church celebrated its first baptism in its new worship center. The excitement had ripple effects into Baptism Sunday when another young person was baptized.
Hibernia Espanol in Jacksonville, led by Pastor Frank Falto, celebrated several baptisms on Baptism Sunday. As new believers were baptized, during either a morning service at the church facility in an indoor trough or a bit later in the afternoon in a nearby lake, church leaders declared, “Every step in the water is a declaration of faith, a life transformed. A beautiful moment of faith and obedience.”
In Tallahassee, City Church baptized 49 on Baptism Sunday, a needed celebration after tragedy rocked the community with the shooting on the campus of Florida State University just ten days prior.
“Seeing 49 people step into the tank to be baptized was a day of great joy in our church family, especially after the tragedy at Florida State the week before,” said Dean Inserra, lead pastor of the North Florida Baptist church. “People are hungry, and seeing the celebration of new life in Christ provided a great deal of hope for our church and community.”
Iglesia Bautista Estrella De Belen in Hialeah, led by Pastor Javier Sotolongo, celebrated 13 baptisms on Baptism Sunday. As Pastor Sotolongo baptized new believers in an outdoor trough, church members gathered nearby, clapping and encouraging the individuals who were publicly declaring their faith in Christ. Church leaders and members agreed, “God is so good.
At First Naples, it was just another Sunday. For more than a year, the baptismal waters have stirred almost every Sunday at the Southwest Florida church where the church regularly reminds members to “go public with their faith.”
With the desire to “reach all of Jacksonville with all of Jesus for all of life, First Baptist Church Jacksonville, also participated in Baptism Sunday with multigenerational baptisms.
In Central Florida Baptist Association, led by Associational Missions Strategist Richard Williamson, at least two churches celebrated Baptism Sunday. Scott Lake Baptist Church in Lakeland, led by Pastor John Harris, baptized two new believers in Christ, and Iglesia Bautista de Lakeland, led by Martin Portillo, celebrated five baptisms.
Reality Church in Miami, led by Pastor Carlos Lollett, baptized five new believers in Christ. “It never gets old,” church leaders proclaimed.
Many other Florida Baptist churches–of all sizes, in varied settings and reaching different ages and many ethnicities–celebrated new life in Christ with baptisms on “Fill the Tank” Sunday. To read more baptism stories, follow the hashtag #FillTheTank on social media.
