One local teenager began the new year right. On January 2, Jada Bedgood was baptized at her home church, Dellwood Baptist.
Her father leads the congregation as pastor, and he had the honor of baptizing his 14-year-old daughter there, adding to the occasion’s specialty.
Jada's mother, Michelle, tells about her daughter’s walk of faith. As it turns out, she has been in church since birth.
“We started going to Dellwood in 2008 when Jada was a baby,” Michelle said. “That same year, Joe was called to be pastor there. Since then, Jada has had a lot of love poured into her at Dellwood. From Sunday school teachers to members of the congregation, everyone has had great influence on her life in the best possible way.”
Today, Jada is an active member of the youth praise team. She is also active in the church’s youth group. In the last 10 years, she hasn’t missed a single day of Sunday school. All in all, she loves going to church—and it showed a few weeks ago as she underwent the baptismal ceremony.
“When Jada was younger, she prayed a prayer of repentance at home as well as during a local vacation Bible school,” Michelle continued, explaining the beginning of her daughter’s rebirth. “When she got older, she began to seek God, just to be sure she was really saved. We had a revival at Dellwood and during that revival, she prayed again and asked Jesus into her heart. Jada has always been dedicated to church and learning about Jesus. Since she got saved, she has been intensely studying God’s word and devoting time daily to Him."
Next, Jada went to her parents and said she was ready to be baptized. In short, she wanted to make her salvation known publicly as the Bible instructs. She wanted to be baptized at the beginning of this year, and so it was.
In front of her family, friends, and fellow believers, she was dunked into and risen from the baptismal as part of the Sunday morning service on January 2 at Dellwood Baptist. Her parents, of course, were thrilled by her show of commitment to the Lord.
“It was a very big deal for us,” Michelle went on. “As parents, we teach our children how to ride a bike, play ball, and so on, but the most important thing we can teach our children is to follow Jesus. We have to walk the walk and be a witness for Christ for them to see. It’s an amazing blessing when you see your children turn to Jesus.”
Jada, too, says it was a moving experience. She said humbly, “I was excited to be baptized. I felt like it’s what God wanted me to do.”
Moving forward, she plans to “follow God’s direction” and “pray for His will to be done” in her life.
When asked what she wants people will get out of reading this story about her baptism, Jada says she is hopeful others will be encouraged in their walk with God. She also hopes those people on the fence about following Jesus will turn to Him.
In closing, she has a simple message for the public.
“Be still and know! If you feel God tugging at your heart, know that is Him,” Jada said. “Reach out to someone—your parents, your youth leader. God loves you and wants you to follow Him.”