Man baptized at church he vandalized 6 months earlier
by Tobin Perry

Mike Lefler (left), associate pastor of ministries at Central Baptist Church in Conway, Ark., prepares to baptize Brenton Winn during a Wednesday night service in September. The baptism came six months after Winn did $100,000 in damage to the church during a burglary.

Feb. 28, 2019 was one of the worst days of 23-year-old Brenton Winn’s life. But it paved the way for one of the best.

Angry at God after he relapsed from an addiction to methamphetamines despite spending time at a faith-based recovery program, Winn knew nothing about Central Baptist Church of Conway, Ark., when he broke in that February evening.

High on drugs, Winn went on a rampage and destroyed $100,000 of church property, including laptops, cameras, and other electronics. He remembers little of that night, except that he felt desperate.

Six months later Winn stood in a baptismal pool at Central Baptist as Mike Lefler, the church’s associate pastor of ministries, celebrated the young man’s decision to follow Christ through baptism.