History in photos: The ‘fire-hose font’ that baptized thousands at once in Charlotte

On Sunday, Oct. 11, 1998, an estimated 3,000 people were baptized in a “parking lot-turned-church” on Freedom Drive.

The “fire-hose font” (as one article put it) was part of the 72nd annual convocation at the House of Prayer for All People. At the time, the church building on Beatties Ford Road was under renovations. It’s still there today.

Edith Carter, interviewed at the time, described the experience: “It’s like I’m in His presence, in the Jordan River, and my mind is not on the things of this world.” Water baptism serves for the redemption of sin, the House of Prayer’s creed described.

The story, told by Tim Funk of The Charlotte Observer, detailed the moment the fire hoses — gripped by church elders — let loose. Funk wrote that the church’s then-bishop prepared his flock for the holy waters saying “In the name of Jesus ... Let Jordan go!”

The photos, by the Observer’s Jeff Siner, captured what happened next.

By the way, I asked Siner the other day about his memories of this assignment. He rattled off all the key details in quick succession: the bishop known as “Sweet Daddy,” the all-white dress; the shouted prayer to “Let Jordan go!”

And this: It took a few days for his camera and equipment to dry out.

This story was originally published May 8, 2023 at 10:00 AM.

Anna Douglas

The Charlotte Observer

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Anna Douglas is The Charlotte Observer’s deputy managing editor and previously worked as an investigative reporter and news editor in the newsroom. Prior to joining the Observer, she worked as a local news reporter for The (Rock Hill) Herald and as a congressional correspondent in Washington, D.C., for McClatchy. Anna is a past recipient of the South Carolina Press Association’s Journalist of the Year award and the Charlotte Society of Professional Journalists’ Outstanding Journalism Award. She’s a South Carolina native, a graduate of Winthrop University, and a past fellow of the Dori Maynard Diversity Leadership Program, sponsored by the Society of Professional Journalists. Anna has lived in Charlotte since May 2017.