Supernatural Moment Sparks Thousands of Baptisms

A powerful movement is afoot to encourage people worldwide to be baptized. Mark Francey, pastor of Oceans Church in California, is the brainchild behind Baptize the World, an effort to rally people globally to publicly profess their faith in Jesus. Francey is inviting faith communities to join other "churches around the world baptizing as one on Pentecost Sunday." The preacher kicked off his baptism effort after feeling God impel him to rally people in California a few years ago. The result was Francey creating Baptize SoCal, a 2023 event at Pirate’s Cove, the location of the historic Jesus people movement captured in the film "Jesus Revolution." Baptize SoCal yielded 4,166 baptisms and made national headlines — but that was just the beginning. Francey then moved on to do Baptize California the next year, which saw 6,201 baptisms. And, in 2025, Baptize America — a broader effort — yielded 27,858 immersions. This year, Francey has his sights much broader with Baptize the World, an event that will take place May 24. He told CBN News about the three-year journey that led to this moment. "It [is] an initiative that we started here in Southern California," Francey said. "We started ... 36 months ago, and we felt ... the Lord put it on our hearts that if He could unite the church of Southern California, he could do it in California — and if He could do it in all of California, He could do it in America, and if it could happen in America, we believe that God could do it in the world." The preacher said he's "super excited" to see what God does through the effort — one he believes was rooted in a supernatural encounter with the Lord. "Our church was three years old when he gave me this ... open vision," he said. "I've only had one like it my whole life. But I just wrote down what I saw, and after I tried to talk God out of it, and He won the argument." Francey started writing down what he saw — a push for him to create a baptism movement — and the rest is history. He's hoping Baptize the World will have a major impact across the globe.