Plunging in: More than 6,000 faithful baptized in festival at Huntington State Beach

Kiara Taylor said she was struggling with depression, practicing self-harm and had given up on living two years ago. In one period of intense introspection, the 21-year-old Compton resident found herself praying for death.

“I didn’t want to be here anymore,” Taylor said. “I was just begging and pleading with God to take my life. And I guess that was his way of saying, ‘No, you have a purpose here,’ because that’s when I felt God for the first time.”

She had considered herself an atheist, but something about that moment inspired her to begin reading the Bible. Taylor believes it was a turning point that led to better relationships with her loved ones and an improved outlook on life.

Sisters Kiara Taylor, 21, and Milani Rice, 17, of Compton get baptized in front of thousands at Huntington State Beach Sunday, May 19.

(Eric Licas)

Taylor said she’d like to see others experience the kind of good she has since reconnecting with her religion. That’s partly why she was among thousands of people inspired to proclaim their faith by taking part in a mass baptism held Saturday and Sunday at Huntington State Beach.

“A lot of people, they’ve been hurting,” said David Hrisca of Leap Into Ministries, one of the groups performing baptisms at the event over the weekend. “And it was great for them to come down here. It was like an act of going, ‘Y’know what, I need something different in my life.’”

This is the second year Orange County-based Oceans Church has hosted Baptize California, a festival featuring Christian rock bands and sermons in addition to communal baptisms. At the inaugural event in 2023, 4,100 people were baptized, according to Ocean’s Church.

Albert Garcia, 19, of Boron, gets baptized in front of thousands at Huntington State Beach Sunday, May 19.

(Eric Licas)

The event was even larger this year. More than 6,000 people lined up along the shore to get baptized, and in total as many as 19,000 came to enjoy the festival, according to Oceans Church Pastors Mark and Rachelle Francey.

The couple at the head of the Orange County-based nondenominational megachurch hope Baptize California might help spark a spiritual revival. They would like to see it grow into a national or even global “great awakening,” Mark Francey said.

However, during an interview with The Daily Pilot on Sunday, he was willing to acknowledge that the highly public and evangelical nature of the event might not be for everyone. And he said some people may have left the event uninspired or still unsure about the existence of God. But he believes a renewal of faith is still possible for everyone at the right time, with the congregation that’s right for them.

Tubs used for baptisms sit in front of thousands taking part in Baptize California, billed as the largest synchronized day of baptism in history, at Huntington State Park on May 19.

(Eric Licas)

“I’m not trying to push that on anybody,” Mark Francey said. “But I would just invite people in to taste for themselves and judge. I don’t think there’s one church that checks every box for everybody.”

More than 300 churches participated in Baptize California this year, including some that don’t always see eye-to-eye on everything, Francey said. But for at least one weekend they saw past their differences to celebrate a shared tradition.

“For us, water baptism is one of the coolest days of a believer’s life,” he said. “You’re outwardly expressing an inward belief you have about Jesus,” Francey said.