Recently, the Orange County Register asked me to comment on the recent mass baptisms in California. Images of mass baptisms have circulated widely across social media and news outlets. Hundreds, sometimes thousands, of people are entering the water together. For many observers, these moments raise an important question: Are they simply powerful events, or do they point to something deeper happening within American Christianity?

Part of the answer starts with the nature of baptism itself.

What Is Baptism?

Baptism signifies the death and resurrection of a person in Christ: as Christ was buried after his crucifixion, a believer is "buried" under the water, and as Christ was raised from the grave, a believer is raised up out of the water in new life. As Paul says in Romans 6:4, “We were buried with him by baptism into death, in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, so we too may walk in newness of life.” It is a public declaration of an inward transformation.

Jesus was himself baptized at the beginning of his ministry, modeling the public declaration he would later command his followers to make. Baptism has always been meant to be public. From the earliest days of the church, followers of Jesus stepped into the water not simply as a private spiritual exercise but as a visible declaration of their faith. That is not to say there aren’t occasions where the “public” nature of a person’s baptism is with a select few other believers, such as is often the case in places where conversion to Christianity is a punishable offense.

Baptism outwardly expresses an inward commitment and transformation. It’s a way of saying to the watching world, “I now belong to Jesus.”

When large numbers of people gather for baptism, that public witness becomes even more visible. In many ways, mass baptisms amplify what baptism has always represented. They place faith on display in a culture where many believers increasingly feel the need to be intentional about living and speaking openly about what they believe.

That kind of renewed intentionality may be one reason why we’re seeing these moments more frequently. Over time, the secularization of our society has introduced the idea that faith is a private affair and does not belong in the public sphere. This has implicitly pressured Christians to keep their faith quiet or confined to their private lives.

But this dichotomization between private and public life as it pertains to living out one’s faith, would not only have been foreign to the first Christians, but to most humans of any religious conviction throughout history. Some believers have chosen to go against the tide of secularized pressure and return to a more ancient, holistic view that integrates faith into all aspects of life. As Christians embrace the public nature of their faith, baptism is a natural and powerful way to do that.

The Power and Peril of Big Events

That said, the event-driven nature of large baptismal gatherings also plays a role. Large events have always drawn attention. We see these events at large public venues, beaches and church buildings. And when a church, ministry or movement organizes a massive baptism service, it naturally creates excitement and momentum.

People invite friends. Social media spreads the news. Curiosity grows. In that sense, the event dynamic can become a catalyst that draws people toward genuine faith. It can also activate our FOMO (“fear of missing out”) herd instincts, simply drawing people to the moment itself. In that regard, discernment matters.

That reality raises an important pastoral concern, because baptism should never be driven merely by the energy of a crowd, the emotional pull of a powerful gathering, or the potential virality of the moment. Baptism isn’t a marketing stunt to draw attention to a church, but rather a personal decision to repent and place one's allegiance in Christ. It is a public profession of that faith. Again, it’s a visible sign of an invisible reality, showing that someone has already committed their life to Jesus.

Historically, evangelicals have safeguarded baptism as an ordinance or sacrament that is centered within the life of the local church. A believer declares his or her faith before the very community where that believer will continue to grow, serve and be discipled. When the people who witness the baptism are the same people who will walk with that new believer in the months and years ahead, it provides the natural context for discipleship, accountability and growth that the local church was designed to supply.

The local church remains the primary context for baptism. The overwhelming majority of baptisms still happen (and should happen) within local congregations. Even many large gatherings that capture the headlines are events hosted by individual churches. This should remind us that ordinary churches remain the quiet heartbeat of the Christian life.

At the same time, these larger moments do raise a broader question about whether we are witnessing a resurgence of Christianity.

Not Yet a Revival

Large baptisms lead to the question — is this a revival like the Jesus People Movement, considering that some of these baptisms are taking place in locations made famous by the Jesus People Movement, particularly Pirates Cove.

Yet, revival is too strong a word for our moment. The data (church attendance figures, membership rolls, conversion rates) doesn't yet show the kind of widespread, sustained increases that would signal genuine revival. Many churches continue to face challenges in participation and engagement.

There do seem to be, however, growing signs of curiosity about faith and religion, especially in spaces where religious interest had previously declined. Some cultural observers have described this moment as a "vibe shift.” That is, a sort of cultural atmosphere where spiritual questions are resurfacing in public conversation. That is a sociological observation, not a theological verdict.

Historically, renewed interest has sometimes preceded renewed practice. People begin asking questions again. They explore spiritual ideas. Eventually, some of that curiosity leads to deeper commitment and participation.

Right now, the evidence points more clearly to the curiosity stage. Several recent studies and polling efforts suggest increased openness to Christianity and religious identity among young men. That shift stands out because it runs counter to patterns we’ve seen over the past several decades, when women typically attended church at higher rates than men. (It is at the same time both noteworthy and concerning that we are also seeing an increased rate of disaffiliation among women.)

Likewise, Bible sales have risen in recent years. Podcasts, online discussions, and social media conversations about theology, faith and the Bible have grown significantly. While none of these trends automatically translate into church membership, they do suggest that spiritual questions are reentering the public square.

For Christians who long to see renewal, these developments are encouraging.

At the same time, these things should be approached with humility and patience. Throughout church history, believers have often hoped they were witnessing revival. And sometimes they were. But genuine revival is rarely subtle.

When revival truly comes, it is unmistakable. Lives are transformed at scale. Communities change. Churches overflow, not for events but for sustained discipleship, mission and fervent prayer. History's great revivals reshaped not only personal piety but also public life.

Mass baptisms — done right — can be encouraging, and we should celebrate what God is doing, even as we hold those celebrations with pastoral wisdom and discernment. Something is happening. Mass baptisms, rising interest in faith and renewed spiritual conversations are the early rumblings of something worth watching closely. And worth praying for fervently.

In any case, the church’s calling remains the same. Show and share the love of Jesus, create communities of discipleship and love, and baptize those who repent and believe, whether one at a time or ten thousand at once.