(RNS) — On the first Saturday in May, Pastor Mark Francey stood in the chilly waters of Pirate’s Cove, a beach off the coast of Southern California, and baptized dozens of people, one by one, over the course of an hour.
“I’m in there dunking people,” recalled Francey, the leader of a megachurch in Irvine, California. “I love it.”
Francey said more than 1,100 were baptized on May 2 at Pirate’s Cove, while thousands more spectators from many congregations stood on the surrounding rock formation to witness the baptisms and join in worship music. The famous spot, located in Corona del Mar, has been host to large water baptism ceremonies before.
The late Chuck Smith, founder of the Calvary Chapel movement, baptized hippies there in the 1970s during the Jesus Movement — later depicted in the “Jesus Revolution” movie — and Greg Laurie, Smith’s mentee and leader of Harvest Ministries, began mass baptisms at the same site in the 1990s.
Pirate’s Cove was one in a series of baptism events, sparked by what Francey considered a divinely inspired vision to follow the example of those California church leaders before him and conduct mass baptism events, not just in his state, but across the country and, this year, throughout the world.
Starting in 2023, according to his ministry’s website, more than 4,000 people were baptized in “Baptize SoCal,” when some 200 …