376 Baptized in First-Ever Church Services at UNC’s Dean Dome: ‘Heaven Is Rejoicing’
Michael Foust
Audio By Carbonatix
By Michael Foust, Crosswalk.com
In a facility known more for fast breaks and Final Four celebrations, hundreds responded to the gospel Sunday at the Dean Dome on the University of North Carolina campus during two historic services that saw thousands gather for worship. According to the Biblical Recorder, it was the first time a church had held a service at the legendary sports venue, which opened in 1986.
The Summit Church hosted the morning and afternoon worship series, seeking to draw college students from the campus and anyone who is hungry for hope. In total, 376 people were baptized in portable troughs outside the arena under sunny skies. J.D. Greear, pastor of Summit Church, delivered the plan of salvation at both services, urging everyone—men and women, young and old—to respond to the gospel.
“All your life has felt like a quest to find some missing piece,” he told the audiences. “You thought you might find it in the sorority, or the frat party, or the job, or the perfect body, or the boyfriend, or the marriage, or the kids, or the drugs.
“You spent your whole life loving things that just didn't love you back. What you're looking for is found in the resurrection. It's found in eternal life. It's found in reunion with God.”
Greear paraphrased the words of Augustine, an early church father. “Our hearts will always be restless until they find their rest in You,” Greear said. Jesus calls everyone to come to Him exactly as they are, Greear said.
“For some of you, you feel like there's an obstacle between you and God, shame over past choices, addictions. You can't seem to shake an inability to find happiness -- happiness always feels like it's just beyond you, an inability to be the kind of father or husband or person that you want to be.
“[But] Christianity is not just a new worldview, it's not a new set of beliefs, it's not a new set of morals -- it's the power of an empty tomb. Christianity is not turning over a new leaf. Christianity is the power of new life.”
At the close of Greear’s two messages, hundreds stepped forward to meet with counselors — beneath championship banners and even the retired jersey of basketball legend Michael Jordan — many expressing a desire to be baptized.
“Heaven is rejoicing and so are we!” the church’s official social media account said, noting that “lives were forever changed.”
“To Him alone be all glory and honor!”
Photo credit: ©SummitChurch
Michael Foust has covered the intersection of faith and news for 20 years. His stories have appeared in Baptist Press, Christianity Today, The Christian Post, the Leaf-Chronicle, the Toronto Star and the Knoxville News-Sentinel.
Listen to Michael's Podcast! He is the host of Crosswalk Talk, a podcast where he talks with Christian movie stars, musicians, directors, and more. Hear how famous Christian figures keep their faith a priority in Hollywood and discover the best Christian movies, books, television, and other entertainment. You can find Crosswalk Talk on LifeAudio.com, or subscribe on Apple or Spotify so you never miss an interview that will be sure to encourage your faith.
