Baptism: Matt Welstad

Before Matt came to Christ, his family went to church regularly.  As the only deaf person in the family,  he didn’t get much out of church because that church didn’t provide interpreting.  There was no spiritual connection accessible to him, so he checked church off the list.  Matt was self-absorbed and wanted to control his own life. He took advantage of anything he could, including alcohol.  He fell into partying, going out with friends, and drinking, with no regard for the consequences.

Matt had two awesome friends who invited him to church.  One of them was his fiancée (now his wife).  In the beginning, it felt pointless to him.  He was independent and wanted to do things his own way, but his experience at Northridge was beyond his expectations.  He felt at home immediately, especially with the deaf services provided.  Every aspect of the service impacted him from the worship to the sermon.  Matt finally understood that Jesus wanted to connect with him personally, and this is when he decided to trust Christ.  His life, after coming to Christ,  looks so different now.  His selfishness is fading, and he’s been sober for a year and a half.  Now he values building relationships and can’t get enough of reading his Bible.

Matt is getting baptized today to reflect that Jesus is his Savior.  He’s ready to surrender his life fully to the Lord and follow him.  He also wants to show his community that learning about Jesus and repenting is okay.  He hopes his baptism will influence others to do the same.