Churches share celebration stories from Easter

At Converge, our goal is to give every person the opportunity to hear the gospel in a clear and compelling way, say "Yes" to Jesus, grow in their faith, be equipped to serve and be sent out. We've heard from dozens of Converge churches about how they saw God move in mighty ways this Easter season.

Thousands of people said yes to Jesus for the first time. Lives were changed forever by the power of the gospel. We pray you will be encouraged as you read these stories of the great things God has done throughout our movement. We are truly better together.

Bethel Church, Owatonna, Minnesota, celebrated 29 baptisms on Easter Sunday.

Church of Celebration Metro, Aubrey, Texas, had over 900 in attendance.

Church of Celebration, Maricopa, Arizona, had 1500 in attendance and 22 salvation decisions.

Cornerstone Christian Fellowship, Chandler, Arizona, had 12,332 in attendance during nine services over two days; 1,210 people stood to surrender their life to Christ, 153 recorded their salvation decision on paper and 138 indicated their rededication. The church also raised money for 18 wells in India, donating $6,640 ($10 for each of the 664 first-time guests).

Crosswind Church, Aurora, Colorado, filled its sanctuary to its capacity of 200 on Easter Sunday and celebrated the baptisms of nine people.

Crow Hill Bible Church, Bailey, Colorado, had 417 people attend Easter services, with over 100 people watching online.

Eagle Brook Church, Centerville, Minnesota, had 52,225 in attendance during 56 services across seven campuses.

Encompass Church, Parker, Colorado, had over 100 people attend its Good Friday service and 270 on Easter Sunday, including many first-time visitors. At the close of the service, 10 people indicated they prayed to receive Christ or reaffirmed their commitment to him.

Faith Mountain, Lakewood, Colorado, started the weekend with Easter for Lakewood, an event for families attended by over 2000 people that featured games, bounce houses, a pancake breakfast and thousands of candy-filled eggs. On Sunday, the church saw many new faces from the previous day’s event and had 10 people make a decision for Jesus and many others rededicate their lives to Christ.

First Baptist Church, Paso Robles, California, had an overflow crowd of about 1700 people attend its Easter service in downtown City Park. After pastor Gus Bess shared a gospel message, 30 people responded by giving or rededicating their lives to Christ.

Chris Meirose, senior pastor of Glory Baptist Church in Aitkin, Minnesota, said the church nearly doubled its previous largest Easter service attendance. The church added extra seating in its worship center and needed nearly every seat. “God is moving in our church!” the pastor said. “New families weekly, students giving their lives to Christ, youth group doubled in size, families finding peace and a place to grow in faith!”

Grace River Church, O’Fallon, Missouri, had 345 in worship and 2400 attended its helicopter Easter egg drop. 

Heartland Church, Indianapolis, Indiana, had 3788 in attendance across four campuses and 469 worshiping online, resulting in 117 salvation decisions.

Rise Frisco, Frisco, Texas, a new church plant that launched in January, saw 175 people attend its Easter service and 12 people accept Jesus as Savior. The church celebrated its first baptisms April 8 as seven people made a public profession of faith, including two spontaneously. "It was such a powerful moment in the life of our young church," said pastor Grant Diamond. 

Mission Hills Church, Littleton, Colorado, had 6,650 in attendance at its three sites, with 4,000 watching online. Sixty-seven people made first-time decisions for Christ.

North Hills Baptist Church, Lingle, Wyoming, had 418 in attendance and one salvation decision.

North Valley Community Church, Phoenix, had 700 in attendance and 15 baptisms.

Orchard Church, Brighton, Colorado, had 5,345 people – including over 300 first-time guests –­ attend seven services over two days, with 220 saying yes to Jesus and coming forward to light a bulb on a cross to symbolize going from darkness to light.

Tim Birdwell, lead pastor of Phoenix Bible Church, shared that a man whose daughter will be attending ASU Preparatory Academy (the church’s meeting location) next fall saw the church’s sign at the school, came on Easter, gave his life to Jesus and got baptized.

Redemption Bible Church, Mount Prospect, Illinois, baptized five (the first in its new church home), set an attendance record and had about 100 people attend an egg hunt after service.

Redemption Church, Belvidere, Illinois, had its highest attendance of the year, four salvation decisions and scheduled five baptisms for April 8.

Renovation Church, Blaine, Minnesota, reported that despite a snowstorm and freezing temperatures, 1877 people attended services and an egg hunt outreach, resulting in 41 salvation decisions.

Rise Church, Visalia, California, saw almost 800 people attend one of its four Easter services and 24 people accept Jesus as Lord. Church volunteers put on passion play for the kids, complete with live animals and a reenactment of the last 12 hours of Jesus’ life, followed by his resurrection. Thirteen children made first-time decisions to follow Christ at the end of the performance.

RockPoint Church, Schertz, Texas, had 309 in attendance over three services.

Paul Weir, lead pastor at Simi Community Church, Simi Valley, California, reported that SCC had its best-attended Easter service ever, and three people committed their lives to Christ on Easter Sunday.

Stapleton (Colorado) Church added a third service and had 575 in attendance, an increase of over 100 from 2017. Eleven people made a decision to follow Jesus.

Sun Valley Community Church, Arizona, saw a record attendance of over 14,400 across its campuses, with 364 people saying yes to Jesus. “It was a great weekend, and we believe the best is yet to come,” said Tempe campus pastor Kyle Glenn.

The Springs Church, Tucson, Arizona, set an attendance record of 702 and saw two salvation decisions.

Converge missionaries J.J. Alderman and Azlyn McCarthy witnessed nine baptisms and five salvation decisions at their newest Togo Palms church plant in Togo, West Africa.

Trinity Baptist Church, Jacksonville, Florida, which has been focusing on building an evangelistic culture among its people, had 400 more people in attendance on Easter Sunday than last year.

Clark Pfaff, senior pastor at Valley Brook Community Church, North Granby, Connecticut, said the church was blessed to have almost 750 people attend its Easter services, with over two dozen people accepting Christ.

Four years ago, Valleybrook Church, Eau Claire, Wisconsin, nearly shut its doors for good. This Easter, scores of families took a step of faith and invited friends, neighbors and other family members to hear the gospel, resulting in the largest-attended service at Valleybrook in the past four years.

Vertical Church, Yuma, Arizona, had 1,962 in attendance and 44 salvation decisions.

VIA Church, Clovis, California, saw 1,089 people attend Easter Sunday services, with 10 making a public profession of faith through baptism.

Woodlands Community Church, Homewood, Illinois, enjoyed “an amazing time of celebration and redemption” during Easter, welcoming 290 people, including many first-time guests, on Easter Sunday.