Share your story
Modern Era Testimony

He put a baptism invite online. 170 people came from across the UK

God did the rest

🇬🇧Bigbury-on-Sea, Devon, England, United Kingdom

Merlin Kraft posted a baptism invitation online. 170 people travelled from across the UK to a Devon beach to be baptised. All the glory to Jesus.

Doxa is where Christians record what God has said and done, and return to remember it.

Source:Premier Christianity
“Can I be baptised like this?”
A crowd gathers on a Devon beach for an open-air baptism, illustrating 170 people baptised across the UK.

Merlin Kraft did not set out to start a movement. He runs a social media channel called BibleLadUK, and he began posting videos of baptisms. People kept asking him the same question. "Can I be baptised like this?"

One Invitation, No Tickets

So he organised one. In June 2026, 28 people were baptised on a beach in Plymouth. He posted the footage, then put out a simple invitation online for another gathering at Bigbury-on-Sea in Devon. No tickets. No charge. No booking. Just come.

They Came 300 Miles

On the day, 170 people were baptised. They did not come from down the road. A young couple travelled by bus all the way from Leeds. Another person came alone from Ireland. Others journeyed close to 300 miles.

Something Is Happening in Britain

Kraft has stopped trying to explain it in ordinary terms. "I don't pretend to know exactly what is happening in Britain," he said, "but something definitely is." He describes a groundswell, a hunger for Jesus that he did not manufacture and cannot take credit for.

That is the part he keeps coming back to. He did not run a clever campaign or build a following for himself. "I put the invitation online," he said. "God did the rest. And all the glory belongs to Jesus."

One at a time, in the cold water off a Devon beach, 170 people went under and came up again. Not because of a marketing plan, but because Jesus is drawing people to himself, and across Britain more of them are saying yes.

Facing something similar?

You don't have to carry it alone. Leave your email and we'll send you real stories of God's faithfulness, encouragement for whatever you're walking through.

Keep your own record of what God has done.

“I shall remember the deeds of the Lord; surely I will remember Your wonders of old.”
Psalm 77:11

About This Testimony

What did God do?
Found Faith, Breakthrough
Where in life?
Online, Church
How did it happen?
Through Community

Source & Attribution

Originally published by Premier Christianity (reported by Merlin Kraft). Read the original article at premierchristianity.com.

Sources

Verified
📄
I used social media to invite people to be baptised. 170 people turned up from across the UK
Merlin Kraft
https://www.premierchristianity.com/real-life/i-used-social-media-to-invite-people-to-be-baptised-170-people-turned-up-from-across-the-uk/22168.article ↗

We work hard to provide accurate attribution for all testimonies. If you notice any errors, broken links, or have better source information, please let us know.

Report attribution issue

Has God done something in your life?

Add your story to The Grace Record, so it can encourage the next person walking through the same thing.

Share your God story

The practice behind the Record

Every testimony here began with someone choosing to remember what God had said and done. These guides show you how to do the same.

Leading a church?

A testimony like this one starts with someone choosing to record what God said. Doxa gives churches a shared place to record prophetic encouragements, weigh them together, and hold them over the years. Free to start.

More Testimonies About Found Faith

Iranian Christians praying in a modern home, symbolizing Iran church 2026 and the underground movement's growth.

2026: The Year Iran's Underground Church Became Impossible to Ignore

By 2026, Iran's underground church reached an estimated 1.5-3 million believers — up from fewer than 500 Muslim-background Christians in 1979. Digital house church networks, intensified persecution, and global attention make this the year the movement became impossible to ignore.

Found FaithThrough Community
Iranian believers in prayer, modern Tehran setting. Underground church growth in Iran witnesses record baptisms 2026 amid spiritual awakening.

Secret Baptisms in Tehran: Iranian House Churches Report Record Numbers Coming to Faith in 2025 and 2026

Iranian house churches report record baptism numbers through 2025-2026, with new believer enquiries exceeding anything in the underground church's history. Economic crisis, post-protest spiritual hunger, and mature digital infrastructure have converged to accelerate growth beyond what available leaders can disciple.

Found FaithThrough Community
Iranian believers in prayer, modern house church leader training in Iran. Rapid discipleship fuels faith in 2026. Pars Theological Centre support.

From New Believer to House Church Leader in Six Months: How Iran's Church Is Training at the Speed of Revival

Iran's underground church is training new believers to lead house churches in as little as six months, combining digital theological education with person-to-person mentorship. The rapid-deployment model is a direct response to growth that outpaces available leadership.

Found FaithThrough Community
Afghan refugees in Iran listening intently during a Christian gathering. Modern clothing reflects their Iranian setting as they find Jesus.

Afghan Refugees in Iran Are Meeting Jesus Through the Underground Church They Were Never Supposed to Find

Afghan refugees in Iran — numbering 3-4 million — are encountering the Iranian underground church and coming to faith in growing numbers through 2025-2026, carrying the gospel back toward one of the least reached nations on earth.

Found FaithThrough Community
The Grace Record grows one story at a time

What has God done in your life?

Stories of God's work like this one only exist because someone chose to record them. Your story belongs here in the Record, not just in your memory.

Record your story

Stories go through the same careful process as every entry in The Grace Record.

Doxa

The Grace Record - Testimonies of God's faithfulness

God's encouragement is not only for the moment you first receive it. It's for the whole journey.

© 2026 The Doxa Way Ltd

Doxa