Easter Sunday draws crowds to Daytona Beach for church service, baptisms

DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. - Plenty of people spent the holiday weekend at the beach. Sunday morning, some of the biggest crowds in Volusia County were in Daytona Beach for a sunrise Easter service. 

"We are definitely a beach community, and we welcome all people from all walks of life to experience the love that we share," said Fr. Phil Egitto, pastor of Our Lady of Lourdes church.

Later on, they even performed baptisms in the waves. Those babies weren't the only ones taking in the sun. Beachgoers started showing up bright and early. "We came down to camp out, get everything set, stake out our spot," said Judith Demarco, visiting from Kentucky.

Officials warned of dangerous conditions in the water. The red flag has been flying at Volusia County beaches because of hazardous rip currents. 

On Saturday, a 20-year-old man from Brazil got caught in a rip current along with six others in New Smyrna Beach. A lifeguard rescued the man and was able to revive him.

Overall, beach patrol rescued 18 people from the water on Saturday and 144 for the month of March. Parents on Daytona Beach said they were keeping the kids close. "Our little ones won't be going out that far," Demarco said.

If you get caught in a rip current, these signs on all the lifeguard towers tell you what you should do. 

Don't try and swim against the current, you won't make it. Instead, escape by swimming out the sides or the back and around to make it safely back to shore. Remember, always swim in front of a staffed lifeguard tower to be safe.