Couple Reunited With God and Each Other

The warmth and acceptance of an Adventist church in Meridian, Idaho, has helped a divorced couple renew their commitment to each other through marriage and to God through baptism. The divorce in fall of 2006 left Heidi and Jeremy Summerlin feeling alone and broken. However, shortly after the divorce, Heidi received a flyer about a seminar at the Experience. Heidi attended the seminar, not realizing this decision would draw her closer to God and Jeremy.

After Heidi went to the seminar, she started attending the church with her children. Jeremy soon began coming too. They found they enjoyed the warm, family atmosphere where they felt accepted. Both Heidi and Jeremy had attended churches of various denominations in the past but were not baptized. Jeremy had been dedicated in an Adventist church but had grown away from God.

Over the next several months, the two become more involved in the church, with Heidi helping teach Sabbath School and volunteering as administrative assistant to Brian Yeager, pastor of The Experience Church. Jeremy helped with the praise team and maintained the church’s computer network. "Interacting with others at church is invigorating," say Heidi and Jeremy. "Church is not about us, but about what we can do for others." Heidi says, "The Experience Church is a good example of the power of God working in people’s lives. He gets the glory for the good things happening there."

As summer approached, Heidi and Pastor Yeager were planning her baptism. The pastor suggested—half jokingly—perhaps the day should really include two baptisms and a wedding. Jeremy had also been thinking of baptism, and the idea took hold. On Aug. 24, 2007, more than 30 people gathered at Eagle Island State Park to share in the joyful occasion which Jeremy calls their “wedtism.” Yeager baptized both of them in the lake, and immediately married them—dripping wet—in a gazebo, surrounded by family and friends.