Congregants of a church in the US state of Florida are rejoicing after their baptism event saw 1,614 people make the decision to publicly state their decision to follow Christ.

The event, which took place at the Church of Eleven22 in Jacksonville, not only surpassed the previous year's baptism count by nearly 500 but also became one of the largest beach baptisms recorded in the United States.

Participants from various regions, particularly from northeast Florida and southeast Georgia, gathered for the occasion.

Pastor Joby Martin, the founder and lead pastor of The Church of Eleven22, shared his thoughts on the day's significance.

In a statement, he said: "We are a movement for all people to discover and deepen a relationship with Jesus Christ. Today, we celebrated over 1,600 people proclaiming Jesus Christ as their Lord and Saviour. It doesn't get much better than that. The church is alive and well, the Spirit of God is on the move, and the gospel of Jesus Christ is still changing lives as it has for thousands of years."

Pastor Joby explained how the church remains committed to its mission of glorifying God "by surrendering to Jesus" and "making disciples and transforming communities".

For him, the baptism event serves as "a powerful reminder of the joy that comes from a community unified by a shared faith and joy that can only come from God."