One of the most exciting and celebratory things we do in our family is to celebrate new life in Jesus and the work He is doing through our combined summer family baptism celebrations. It is a time that we get to peek into and celebrate all the things that Jesus has done among us in the Citylight Family over the last year. It’s also a family reunion of friends and family who we haven’t seen since they launched another church but who still get you. There’s nothing like that feeling to come together outside for the same common mission…it’s so powerful to see and to be a part of. It gives us all a glimpse, and to the city, who really matters and that is Jesus. The Kingdom wins and Jesus is magnified! 

This first outdoor celebration on August 8th saw 8 Citylight Churches in and around the Omaha and Council Bluffs Metro areas gather at Westfair Amphitheater in Council Bluffs. This was a new site for the Citylight Family and we weren’t disappointed! What a big and fun space for this family to gather and here’s a glimpse from that day and what’s being celebrated:

> 57 people publicly proclaimed that Jesus is their Savior!
> A community of over 2,000 gathered to celebrate and worship the one true King and His redeeming love.
> A choir of people and a band of musicians from all 8 churches lead us all in praise and adoration.
> So many serving team members came early and stayed late to make this happen. Thank you!
> Jamison Horton from Citylight Benson preached on John 3:16 giving us hope that Jesus is for everyone!

“I went back and was looking through scripture and I was praying to God on what needs to be shared. If there is one message where I walk away and that’s all that is heard, what would it be? And I think it goes back to John 3:16. Jesus is for whoever. We don’t have to complicate it or force our own things into it. It’s whoever believes will have eternal life. Jesus is for whoever.”

Jamison Horton

The second outdoor celebration on August 15th hosted the three Citylight Lincoln churches and it was also at a new location hosted at Lincoln Christian Amphitheater. The day could be summed up by two words that could also be found on all the t-shirts that were given out. They all said “Made Alive.” We were dead in our sin and God made us alive. Here are a few highlights:

> 30 brothers and sisters were baptized and MADE ALIVE in Christ Jesus!  
> A band and a community of over 700 people worshipping God outdoors!
> Brett Monge from Citylight Lincoln preached on the passage from Luke 15. The parable of the prodigal son provided great truth for all stating ‘this is my son, he was lost and now found, he was dead and now alive…we are made alive!’

“My hope is that the takeaway was God’s mercy is greater than our mess. The younger brother in the parable learns there’s nothing you can do to lose the father’s love and the older brother learns there’s nothing you can do to earn the father’s love. One part of the morning that I will never forget was one of the people that decided to get baptized spontaneously. Before he went under in the tank, he confessed to all ‘I’m tired of being a church attender. I want to now be a Christ follower.’”

Brett Monge