ORLANDO (FBW)--“People are going to die tonight.”

Not quite the first words most congregations want to hear coming out of their pastor’s mouth.

But that is what David Uth said as an introduction to “Not Ashamed” — a three-service celebration of baptism at First Baptist Church in Orlando June 27-28. In all, 337 people were baptized, including 10 at FBC Orlando's Ocoee venue.

Seventy-three were baptized in the Saturday night service; 60 in Sunday’s early service; and 194 in Sunday’s later service.

Uth, the church's senior pastor, followed up his introduction with an explanation of the symbolism of baptism, specifically how submersion represents the believer’s dying to self.

For Uth, the weekend was the culmination of a dream he said he's had since beginning at First Baptist in 2005. Over the years, he said it occurred to him baptism is one of his favorite things to do as a pastor.

“This is history for us," Uth said Saturday night. "This is one of the most incredible nights we’ve ever had.”

By evening’s end, the excitement was almost palpable. The momentum carried through the next day during the two morning services.

So, how does a church pull off such a large ceremony in an orderly fashion? Well, it takes a lot of planning, a lot of pastors and a lot of cooperation from those being baptized.

And First Baptist had all three.

The baptisms were performed in five troughs placed on the platform and occurred periodically throughout each service. Those being baptized came out in groups, with each individual wearing a brown robe. Then, one by one, each would state his or her name, followed by the words, “Jesus is my Lord; I am not ashamed.” With that, they would remove their robes, revealing a shirt with the words, “Not Ashamed,” then step into the trough to be baptized.

“If you could see our Heavenly Father up there, He’d be smiling,” Uth said. “He will be cheering; the angels will be cheering.”

He explained to those being baptized the significance of their actions.

“You will do a lot of things in your life that will make you proud, but nothing like tonight,” Uth said, over and again. “Way to step up, guys!”

Step up they did, and in big numbers. But far surpassing the spectacle the multiple baptisms provided for the congregation and those who watched via a live stream on the internet, was the incredible sense of elation expressed by those baptized.

“It’s something I can hardly put into words,” First Baptist member Anna Ginter said. “It’s all for the glory of God. I feel like I’m just beaming.”

For Ginter, like many of those baptized, “Not Ashamed” represented the response to a call.

“I was actually baptized about 40 years ago when I was 11,” Ginter said. “When we had the [Atlantic Ocean] baptisms [May 17, 2009], I really felt the calling to do it, but I struggled with it.”

But when this new opportunity arose, Ginter was not about to let it pass.

“To be a part of this and to stand up for myself and for God . . . it was a real obedience thing. I’ve been through a lot in 40 years, and this was my way of surrendering to God.”

For 19-year-old Gary Butcher, his baptism represented a new beginning.

“I was in trouble a couple of months ago and knew I had to get my life straightened out,” Butcher said. “I’d been praying to Jesus to help me fix my life.”

When he walked into the service Saturday night, Butcher said he had no idea there would be a huge baptism service.

“It was a total surprise to me,” Butcher recalled. “I knew I needed to get baptized. When the pastor made the invitation for anyone to come up and be baptized, I knew I had to do it.”

It was the right decision.

“It was like I went in with a bad soul and came out with a new one,” Butcher said. “After I came out of the water, I felt like a new man. I feel fresh and that I now have a new life.”

The sense of renewal also rang true for Lindsie Malloy, 25.

“I was living the wrong life,” Malloy said. “Also, I had lost two friends over the past six months because of DUIs and that really affected me. I finally said, ‘This is enough! It’s time to get back with Christ.’ ”

Which Malloy did — just two weeks prior to the “Not Ashamed” celebration.

“When I heard that we would be doing this, I knew I had be a part of it,” Malloy said. “It was a completely amazing experience. If I could witness to many more people [like I did tonight], I would do it in a heartbeat.”

For Dolan Foster, 37, his baptism culminated a recent decision.

“About 2¹/₂ months ago I rededicated my life to Christ — I felt that it was time to come back to the Lord,” Foster said, explaining that he had been away from Christ for about 14 years. “But before tonight, my life was like a puzzle that was missing one tiny piece. This [baptism] was the piece I was looking for that symbolized that I had come back to Jesus Christ. I realized that life was not worth living unless I had Jesus, and now I know that I have Him.”

Jaime Romano, 31, who was baptized along with her fiancé, was like many others during the weekend — accepted Jesus at a young age but either never got baptized or didn’t comprehend the significance of it.

“I was saved at 15 and was baptized, but I was too young to understand it,” she explained. “It took me this long to figure it out.”

It was well worth the wait.

“Once I came out of the water, it was like a snake shedding its skin,” Romano said. “I feel clean, uplifted and amazing.”

For David Santiago, 46, his baptism was a case of actions speaking louder than words.

“I did this as an example for my daughters [ages 12 & 7],” Romano said. “I was baptized when I was four, but this was a recommitment to God and to my family. I wanted to show my family that I am not ashamed of the Lord.”

Also not ashamed was Maryann Grabach, 47.

“Three weeks ago I was sitting in the congregation when Pastor Uth preached about baptism,” she said. “He really touched me and I felt like that service was just for me. I thought he was talking directly to me.”

Perhaps he was. Grabach explained that she had been baptized as a baby, but became convicted that she needed more.

“When Pastor Uth spoke, I realized that this was my time and that I needed to do it.”

Grabach is thrilled she did.

“It was absolutely awesome,” Grabach said. “It was something I had never experienced. When I came up out of the water, it was incredible, absolutely great.”

But perhaps no one explained their experience as well as Foster, the one who rededicated his life to the Lord after years of backsliding.

“It was amazing,” Foster said. “This is the best night I ever had in my entire life!”

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