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Terminally Ill Patient Accepts Christ, Baptized in Hospital

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Saint Thomas River Park Hospital in McMinnville, Tennessee, recently granted the wish of an elderly patient who wanted to be baptized. 

The woman has terminal cancer and said she wanted to get baptized because she wanted to get her "heart right with God."

Hospital officials reached out to Pastor Jeffrey Kelsey of Campaign Church of God in Rock Island to perform the special baptism.

"Those are the kind of calls you want to  get," Pastor Kelsey said in an interview with CBN News.

A video of the baptism was posted on the church's Facebook page January 17, 2017.

"I was called on as Chaplain to River Park Hospital on behalf of a terminally ill cancer patient," the pastor says in the video.

He added, "I quoted and as I did, she joined in.  I read her and asked her if she believed. She said, 'yes.' I then proceeded to lead her in the sinner's prayer and she began to repeat the words, getting ahead of me, with tears streaming down her face." 

"She's coming to terms with the terminal part, of her not being here much longer," he told CBN News.

The woman then asked if she could be baptized and the hospital made it happen.

The woman got her wish and was baptized in a bathtub in a hospital room.  Afterwards a group of nurses surrounded the woman and prayed. 

"It was a therapy pool they use for therapy patients. They had some nice warm water in it," Kelsey said.

"What a wonderful experience it was, to be called on and then used of God to help lead someone to Jesus!" said Pastor Kelsey.

He hopes this experience gives hopes to others.

"It's never too late to get your heart right with God.  It doesn't matter how old you are or what you've done."
 

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About The Author

Charlene Aaron
Charlene
Aaron

Charlene Aaron serves as a general assignment reporter, news anchor, co-host of The 700 Club, co-host of 700 Club Interactive, and co-host of The Prayerlink on the CBN News Channel. She covers various social issues, such as abortion, gender identity, race relations, and more. Before joining CBN News in 2003, she was a personal letter writer for Dr. Pat Robertson. Charlene attended Old Dominion University and Elizabeth City State University. She is an ordained minister and pastor’s wife. She lives in Smithfield, VA, with her husband.