Q1: What was the feeling like after you were baptized?

It felt unreal. Right after coming out of the water, I looked up at the lights, and in that moment it felt like God was looking at me. I couldn’t stop smiling. I felt overwhelmed by His grace, His love, and the peace of knowing that I had taken a step closer to Him. It was one of those moments I will carry with me forever.

Q2: Who was up there with you?

The people who were with me represented different parts of my faith journey — the people who introduced me to Christianity, helped me grow at Hoboken Grace, and reminded me that God had been writing this story long before I fully understood it.

Joe, my boyfriend, was there with me. He introduced me to Christianity a couple of years ago, and through him, my relationship with God started to change in a really meaningful way.

Brenna, my dinner group leader, was also there, along with other members from my dinner group — people who have helped me learn, grow, and feel part of a real community. Justin, my Starting Point teacher, was there too. That class was such an important part of my journey when I first started attending Hoboken Grace.

Danielle was also rooting for me from a distance. She is someone I believe God placed in my path on a random day — she once gave me gum with a Hoboken Grace card while I was on my way to the PATH, and that small moment ended up being part of a much bigger story.

I also had family and friends come to church just to witness that moment, which meant so much to me. And I can’t forget my mom, and my family in Peru, and even my uncle watching online from Europe. My mom is a devout Catholic and once told me she would never go to Hoboken Grace. But now she joins the church online, which honestly feels like a miracle in itself.

Q3: For another Hoboken Grace community member who may be thinking about taking this step, what would you say to them?

Don’t overthink it. Coming from a Catholic background, I struggled at first because I felt like I was “cheating” on the faith I grew up with. I was baptized as a baby, had my First Communion, my Confirmation — and for a while I wondered what this step meant for all of that. But I came to understand baptism at Hoboken Grace as a reaffirmation of my faith and a personal step into a deeper, more intentional relationship with God.

You don’t have to be perfect. You don’t have to feel “good enough” or “clean enough.” Baptism is not about having everything figured out. It is about saying yes to Jesus and taking the next step with Him. God already knows you, loves you, and is waiting for you with grace.

Q4: What made you take the step of baptism?

Two weekends before my baptism, I was worshiping and, for the first time, I raised both of my arms. That was a big moment for me because I had always felt a little afraid or self-conscious about doing that. But in that moment, I knew I was worshiping Him, so I closed my eyes and let go.

And then I felt God. I know that may sound hard to explain, but I felt Him so clearly. It felt like He was telling me, “Take that step.”

Baptism had been on my mind since I joined Hoboken Grace, but I didn’t want to rush it. I kept waiting until I felt fully ready. Then I thought about the story in Acts 8, when God leads Philip to approach a man who was reading Scripture and trying to understand it. Philip meets him right where he is and tells him the good news about Jesus. As they travel, the man sees water and says, “What can stand in the way of my being baptized?”

That story stayed with me because it reminded me that when God gently puts something on your heart, sometimes the next step is not to overthink it, but to trust Him and respond with faith and love.

I realized I might never feel completely ready, and maybe that was the point. Baptism was my way of saying yes to God, yes to this new chapter, and yes to a relationship with Him that feels more personal, intentional, and alive than ever before.

To learn more about taking the step of baptism click here.