Man baptised in floodwater at roundabout in ceremony dubbed ‘meant to be’

Street preacher who baptised the man in the viral video insists “setting doesn’t matter”

A street preacher has been caught on camera carrying out an unconventional baptism on a flooded roundabout.

The now-viral clip shows a man being dipped into water at the junction, after it became submerged during heavy rain last week.

Street preacher BJ Walsh is then seen praying for the man as part of the ceremony.

Mr Walsh, fom Hartcliffe, Bristol, is well known for climbing on parked cars and postboxes to deliver sermons- and has even preached on top of a ladder in Morrisons.

Celebration following the baptism in a flooded underpass in Bristol (Barry Jon/ Facebook)

Speaking to Bristol Live about how the baptism came about, he said “it was meant to be” adding that God “put all the pieces in place”. The Hartcliffe street preacher explained that when he saw the water in the roundabout, he said “that would be a great place to baptise someone”.

After driving past the flooded roundabout, his friend saw the water and told Mr Walsh he wanted to be baptised there.

“It was freezing cold that water but, if the puddle is deep enough, you can be baptised anywhere,” Mr Walsh added. “The setting doesn’t matter.”

He added that the video has seen him receive messages from people all over the world who are encouraged by the outdoor baptism.

Though some have disapproved of the ceremony due to hygiene reasons, Mr Walsh retorted: “If we’d have gone swimming in the water there then people would have been laughing, but it was a serious thing, a baptism.”

The Hartcliffe street preacher in action in Bristol (Barry Jon/ Facebook)

The 40-year-old preacher began his own ministry in November last year called Set Free, after turning to religion six years ago following a life of drug addiction.

Mr Walsh began using cannabis and ecstasy when he was 11-years-old, and then moved on to cocaine when he was 16.

“A lot of my friends were smoking crack and heroin at a very young age”, he said. “I always said ‘I will never end up like them’ but my cocaine addiction got worse.”

He was open about d depressed and suicidal thoughts when he was addicted to drugs, saying he “lost the power of choice”.

Mr Walsh is known for his impassioned preaching methods (Barry Jon/ Facebook)

He eventually stopped using drugs when he was 34 and became a Christian, after a Facebook message from a friend arrived on the same day he nearly took his own life which Mr Walsh saw as a sign from God to follow His way.

The preacher then undertook a 12-step fellowship and was baptised after being clean from drugs for a year.