Joy Stamey is an 86 year old member of the Liberty Live Church in Hampton, Virginia and a devout Christian. But despite being a Christian since she was young, she was never baptized due to her fear of water. Over the past months, however, she began to consider confronting her fears and getting baptized in order to obey Jesus Christ.
"All my life, I've been afraid to [get baptized], so I just put it off and said I'll do without it. But as I got older, I got to thinking about it, and I just decided to do it," Stamey explained, as reported by the Christian Headlines. "I thought my kids would be proud of me, and I knew I had to be baptized eventually, and I'm very happy about it now. I felt really good afterwards."
Following months of discussion with her family, the faithful octogenarian, who is now wheelchair-bound, was baptized at her church in late October. Fellow church members helped her by carrying her into the water. Stamey's daughter, Julia Dancy, shared that it was "awesome" and heartwarming to see the church community come together to support Stamey that way.
"It felt like it was home, just the way it should be. I felt an overwhelming sense of gratitude and love," Dancy remarked. Liberty Live pastor Zac Ethridge told Church Leaders that Stamey's act of obedience was inspiring to the church and himself to do whatever it takes to obey Jesus Christ, even overcoming one's fear.
In the summer of 2021, Ethridge began speaking to Stamey and her family about the possibility of getting the 86 year old baptized. While Stamey did express interest, her family raised concerns about the potential physical challenges due to her disability. That's when Stamey expressed her fear of water due to a previous bad experience. But Ethridge assured her that she would be safe and supported by the church.
Ethridge also spoke of the story of the men cutting a hole in the roof of a house to lower down a man to see Jesus because they could not access the door. The pastor said, "If we have to cut a hole in the roof, we're going to help anybody who wants to take a step towards obeying Christ. We're going to do whatever it takes."
Stamey described her baptism as "the best thing I have ever done," the Baptist Press reported. Her ceremony was documented and photos and videos of the sacramental event were shown during the following Sunday's service at all of Liberty Live's campuses. Stamey's story was so touching and inspiring that nine people from the different Liberty Live campuses came forward to inquire about being baptized themselves following the service.
"I would definitely encourage them to do it because it's something that they absolutely need," Stamey remarked. "I feel a lot better since I've been baptized."
