Actor Donnie Wahlberg and his wife, Jenny McCarthy, shared video of their baptism at a California church as Wahlberg described a deepening Christian faith and said that despite professional success and a loving family, he had previously felt “empty” without God.
By yourNEWS Media Newsroom
Actor Donnie Wahlberg and his wife, Jenny McCarthy, publicly celebrated a major moment in their Christian faith this week, sharing video of themselves being baptized at Shepherd Church in California.
The couple posted footage of the baptism Monday, according to the Christian Post, with Wahlberg accompanying the announcement with an extended reflection on the spiritual changes he said have taken place in his life over the past year.
“Looking back over the past year of my life, the Lord has been renewing my mind, rebuilding my spirit, rearranging my priorities, recentering my focus, recharging my energy, reshaping my heart, refining my faith, restoring my joy and redeeming my life!” Wahlberg wrote to his 2.3 million Instagram followers. “I don’t know where I would be without Jesus, but I know where I will be with Him! All the glory is His!”
Wahlberg shared video of the baptism on Instagram.
Pastor Dudley Rutherford baptized the couple at Shepherd Church, a nondenominational Christian congregation in Porter Ranch, California.
The moment was also shared on X.
Wahlberg and McCarthy additionally attended a concert by gospel singer CeCe Winans, with photos from the event circulating online.
The baptism follows months of increasingly public comments from Wahlberg about Christianity and what he described as a realization that professional success, family and material blessings had not provided the spiritual fulfillment he was seeking.
During an April appearance on The George Janko Show, Wahlberg spoke at length about reaching a point where he believed he could no longer navigate his life without God.
“It’s been so difficult in the last year to realize I don’t… I don’t have them all. I can try and I know God’s doing all the work, but I finally got to a point where I was like, I can’t do it anymore without Him. I’m missing something in my life,” Wahlberg said.
His testimony differed from conversion stories centered on losing wealth, overcoming addiction or rebuilding a life following a personal collapse.
Wahlberg said that from the outside, he appeared to have virtually everything a person could want.
“And I have a wonderful wife, wonderful kids. I have everything. So, as I am testifying right now, I don’t have a story of having everything and losing it. I don’t have a story of being a drug addict and recovery. God bless all those people who find their way,” he added. “Everything to the outside, to everyone, looks perfect and I was empty. I was empty without Him.”
Wahlberg’s comments described his embrace of Christianity not as a response to losing his career or family but as an answer to a sense of emptiness that remained despite those successes.
The actor and musician has maintained a lengthy entertainment career stretching from his years as a member of New Kids on the Block to television and film.
He currently stars in the CBS police drama Boston Blue, available through Paramount’s streaming service, where he reprises his role as Detective Danny Reagan.
Wahlberg previously portrayed Reagan throughout all 14 seasons of the CBS drama Blue Bloods.
Christian faith is also publicly prominent in the life of Wahlberg’s younger brother, actor Mark Wahlberg.
Mark Wahlberg has spoken publicly about his commitment to Christianity for years and has described his Catholic faith as “the anchor that supports everything I do in life.”
For Donnie Wahlberg, this week’s baptism marked a public declaration of a spiritual transformation he said had been unfolding throughout the previous year — one he described as renewing his mind, reshaping his priorities, restoring his joy and deepening his relationship with Jesus.
Original article
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