The church had a beautiful baptismal pool that stretched all the way across the width of the church. Converts would walk from the sides slowly deeper, stepping down till they reached the center where it was deep enough for the immersion.
One Sunday, the pastor was still going strong when the children’s church let out early. Suddenly behind him everyone heard a splash and saw there were two boys doing freestyle across the pool. One of the deacons ran up to meet them as they got to the other side. “What are you kids doing!?” he said. They said, “It’s okay mister! We’re bus kids, so this is our pool too!”
I attended a couple Bering Sea baptisms when I was stationed in Alaska. We had an incredible Chapel program overseen by a true saint. Those who got baptized braved water in the 30-40 degree range as they ran out and got dunked.
I’ll never forget that chaplain— he was in that surf for probably 20 minutes. He was living proof of modern miracles—our briefings all gave a 15 minute limit before irreversible hypothermia.