North Carolina church baptizes 458 people in a single day: 'God at work'
A multisite church in North Carolina baptized 458 people in a single day, setting a record in the congregation’s 137-year history.
Biltmore Church baptized 458 people at a private property in Fletcher, North Carolina, as part of its annual Outdoor Baptism event, held Sunday, Sept. 13.
Biltmore Executive Pastor Devin Goins told The Christian Post in an interview this week that it is “very humbling for us” given that “baptism represents lives being changed and God being at work.”
“We see and celebrate all of this while being continually reminded that we do not invite God to be part of our story and that instead He invites us to be part of His story,” Goins said.
The property, which includes a lake, belongs to a friend of the congregation and is near several of the church’s campuses.
“While we baptize believers nearly every week as part of our Sunday morning worship services, once a year, we bring all of our locations together to celebrate those who are taking their next step as a disciple after coming to know Christ through salvation,” Goins explained.
“In the days before Outdoor Baptism, anyone interested was personally contacted by our staff to confirm that they knew Christ personally as their Savior and were ready to take this next step of obedience as a Christ-follower.”
Goins told CP there were “countless amazing stories” among those present, including a New York resident who drove to Fletcher to be baptized.
“There were also individuals who use wheelchairs who knew this was an important step of obedience and were carried into the lake and baptized with additional assistance,” he said.
“We also saw several families where a child’s step of obedience encouraged a parent or another family member to take the same step.”
Biltmore contacted each person baptized at the event about follow-up discipleship opportunities. Those who don’t live nearby were encouraged to join a local congregation.
“Our job as disciples and disciple makers is to journey alongside people in their relationship with Jesus and help them continue taking their next steps,” Goins told CP.
“While some are newer to our church, most of those who were baptized are already part of our church. Some came to Christ through a member or family in our church.”
Overall, Goins said, seeing so many people get baptized creates "an opportunity to celebrate and praise God for being at work in our midst and Jesus dying in our place.”
“For those who don’t know Jesus personally yet but saw others get baptized, our hope would be that it sparks a desire to ask questions about Jesus and stir a genuine curiosity about what it means to be a Christ-follower,” Goins added.
In September 2023, 279 people were baptized at Biltmore’s Outdoor Baptism event, and three others were baptized at the church’s morning worship services earlier that day.
“Baptism is a great step for a Christ-follower, but it is often just the beginning,” Goins told CP in an interview at the time. “We’re excited to continue to guide each person as they continue their discipleship journey.”
Biltmore traces its origins to the 1889 founding of Fern Hill Baptist Church, which was located on the Biltmore Estate. The church began with 25 members and started opening satellite campuses in the 2010s.
