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My last Weekend at Northgate

UNBELIEVABLE! I will never forget this last weekend with you my friends! We had a baptismal service planned. We planned for 3. WE BAPTIZED 163!  People just kept coming and publicly confessing their faith in Christ! I couldn’t believe it! They just kept coming! Heaven MUST BE ROCKIN TODAY!!! I know some of the stories…

UNBELIEVABLE!

I will never forget this last weekend with you my friends!

We had a baptismal service planned. We planned for 3. WE BAPTIZED 163! 

People just kept coming and publicly confessing their faith in Christ! I couldn’t believe it! They just kept coming!
Heaven MUST BE ROCKIN TODAY!!!

I know some of the stories of people who were baptized this weekend…

  • One man whose wife has prayed for his salvation for 14 years – baptized today!
  • One whole family, parents and children, recently recovering from a hard drug addiction – baptized today!
  • One man who was on the verge of suicide two years ago, and then found Jesus – baptized today!
  • One family who has come to Christ over the course of this last year – two of their children baptized today!
  • One family with four sons (3 of them teenagers) – all four were baptized today!
  • Multiple felons – forgiven and baptized today!
  • Tons of teenagers – baptized today!
  • A surprising number of senior citizens – baptized today!

At the beginning of the service we announced that we’d be having a baptism at the end of the service. I gave a brief explanation about the purpose of baptism… then preached! God EXPLODED in this place today!

I remember earlier this year saying that God was going to bring hundreds to Himself this year through the ministry of Northgate… IT’S HAPPENING!

I love you church! Thank you for the honor of serving as your pastor!

What you’ve seen today is just the beginning of what can be at Northgate church!

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Responses to “My last Weekend at Northgate”

  1. cashmerejm

    Dude this is what we were waiting for! Glad i could be there beside you.

    Reply
  2. Beth

    Paul,

    One of the first times I heard you preach you said. “Did you ever get one of those Dairy Queen Ice Creams and it seems so full and then you tap it on the table pack it down and see how full it really is”
    My friend I have used that so many times. So many things you have said stay with me. You have been an instriment of the true and living God.
    Today was a cup packed full of everything that God has to offer us. Today was also such a confirmation of your journey.
    Our family and our Church have been blessed.
    Thank you Paul and Sherry!!!!

    Reply
  3. mattw23

    Wow that was so awesome what God did. I will never forget that.

    Reply
  4. MirroredGrace

    Sue called to tell me, she was so excited at what God did today! Dude, you always said that it is better to leave people wanting to come back for more. I’d say that you have the inherent ability to preach the Gospel so that people want more, more, more!

    Rivers of Flowing Grace & Waves of Mercy, what more could you want?

    Reply
  5. Maureen

    Sorry we missed this mornings (and into the afternoon) services!! Thank you soooooooo much for baptizing Taylor and all the others who came forward!! You must’ve had a lot of dripping wet people because I KNOW there weren’t enough towels to go around!!!!!! AMEN!!!!!!!

    We really will miss your preaching Paul. God truly allows you to look into the hearts of people and know what they’re longing for, suffering with, needing to hear, etc. and helps you deliver HIS words in just the right way to speak to everyone!! THAT is a gift!! We’ve been lucky to have you for the last 2 years.

    I hope the leadership at MLC will let you speak every once in awhile because I think it would be wrong to not use what God has given you (you know how I feel about this, right)!!

    I’m going to miss your beautiful wife, Sherri, and The Ladies so much!! I hope she’s able to eventually settle in to wherever you end up and make some wonderful friends she’ll have for a lifetime! I’ll miss our friendship!!

    God has done a wonderful thing at Northgate, and I’m sure it will continue into the future, as long as we keep Him as “the author and perfecter of our faith.” May we hear the angels rejoicing every week!!

    Thanks for the memories!!

    Reply
  6. Aaron Boynton

    Brother Paul,

    You and the ladies were in my prayers today even though I was not at Northgate due to vacation. I promise to blog more! I’ll miss you all.

    Reply
  7. inhisgrace

    BLESSINGS! it’s always great to share in the joy that many have made the decision to step up in faith and do what He calls us to do. have a blessed week ahead.

    Reply
  8. Al

    Paul, an awesome service yesterday;stayed to see what God had in store for the second service. You baptized our Hope–thank you for the prayer–she said that she still felt the cross on her forehead at bedtime! Will miss you and Sherrie, and the “girls”. God bless.

    Reply
  9. Shalyn

    Pastor Paul,
    I have never witnessed anything even close to that in my life. How blessed we all are to have seen that with our own eyes. I hope that this church has helped to send you off with true confidence in your ability given to you by God to change lives for His glory. Wherever you go, whatever you do, you can rest assurred of the lives you have touched here at Northgate. I think you will see these kind of amazing things for as long as you live because you are allowing God to use you how He sees fit. I am so glad that my children got see all those people get baptized as well. It brought about the most wonderful conversation with my 8yr. old son about baptizing and God and the promise you are making to him. I love getting to share my faith and the truth about God with my kids. Especially when most of the time I feel it goes in one ear and out the other. Praise God for His unending awesomeness. I pray God’s blessings on you and your family as you follow God’s path for you. I look foward to the many exciting miracles God has in store for Northgate as well. Thank you for your service to Northgate. I couldn’t believe that the towels kept coming either. It was like Jesus feeding the thousands. God will always provide even we’re not planning on it.

    Reply
  10. Maureen

    The question is, were there towels left over?????? Just like the last comment, instead of fish and loaves, we have multiplying towels!! Either way, what a miracle!!!!!!!

    Reply
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  13. Dulcie

    Everybody is talking about what happened on Sunday! It’s been desribed as “cool” and “awesome”, but I guess that it was just blessed. I don’t know how you made it thruogh another service, but you seemed pretty well off when we picked up Max from soundbooth. I was talking yesterday with someone and they were saying how you said you wanted a glow, just something to happen on your last day at Northgate. I’m pretty certain you got it.

    Reply
  14. Episode 24: Your Body/God's Temple with Paul Peterson

    […] Prior to the residency, I served as senior pastor at Northgate Free Methodist Church in Batavia, NY. In our last year of ministry there, 280 people gave their lives to Christ. When we left, the church was running over 800 in weekend attendance and it continues to grow under the new leadership of Pastor Andy Sass. (Read this post to get a sense of what was happening @ Northgate!) […]

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