Church Stories

FORT LAUDERDALE— “God is at work in South Florida,” said Al Fernandez, Southeast regional catalyst for the Florida Baptist Convention. “Church By the Glades and First…
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Pastor Herb Reavis and his son Josh have been working together for about 18 years at North Jacksonville Baptist Church, but now they are serving as co-pastors of the church.
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When atheist students are open to attending a Bible study on their college campus it becomes evident that young people are “hungry for something that is real and genuine.”
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For many churches, the annual Disciple Now weekend has become a much-anticipated retreat event for youth groups, filled with live worship music, guest speakers, games and service…
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MAARTEN—Fine white sand and turquoise waters sound like the perfect setting for rest and relaxation. But for one southwest Florida Baptist pastor, this setting was a perfect…
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Haitian Southern Baptist pastors are spearheading work to open a welcome center and two churches in Mexico to serve throngs of migrants who often risk their lives to get there.
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Liberty Southern Baptist Church has become a light and staple for the workers of Florida’s biggest event you’ve never heard of.
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Florida State University became the setting of revival and spiritual awakening following a recent evangelistic event known as Unite.
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As escalating gang violence and political instability threaten civil war in Haiti, Florida Baptist leaders are convinced that Christians there are being faithful and the gospel is…
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In May 1998 Lito and Lilybeth Lucas moved to Lakeland with the firm belief that they were following God’s direction to plant a church in Central Florida.
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In a culture that increasingly breeds impatience and self-centeredness and seeks to weaken the bond of families, Woodbine Baptist Church in Pace hopes to encourage parents and…
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Rafael Murillo wants to help pastors and churches in North Florida to be able to help and learn from one another as they seek to make a difference for Christ in their communities.
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For many churches, the annual Disciple Now weekend has become a much-anticipated retreat event for youth groups, filled with live worship music, guest speakers, games and service…
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In a culture that increasingly breeds impatience and self-centeredness and seeks to weaken the bond of families, Woodbine Baptist Church in Pace hopes to encourage parents and…
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Military servicemembers face the brokenness of the world in a way few others do, says Noah Clifton, who is planting Pillar Church of Crestview alongside Alex Chatman in Crestview,…
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Nearly 500 runners gathered in below-freezing temperatures to participate in Run for Life, an annual 5K run to support Safe Harbor Pregnancy Medical Center, which serves women…
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A small church in a rural community, Pilgrim Rest Baptist Church in Baker baptized 56 new believers in 2023. “Overall, I attribute this to prayer,” said Geoff Prows, pastor. “Our…
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As a winter storm wreaked havoc throughout the Florida Panhandle in the early morning hours of Jan. 9, families braced themselves when tornadoes blew through neighborhoods,…
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Half of the 40 churches in Santa Rosa Baptist Association are led by bi-vocational pastors, men who serve not only in a pastoral role but also work in a variety of other jobs or…
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Two states, roughly 800 miles apart, are joining forces to spread the gospel through beneficial relationships founded on prayer and commitment to mission work.
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Serving as Pilgrim Rest student pastor for six years, Justin Douglas and his wife Charla sensed a call to international missions. In 2019, with their church’s support, they founded…
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Olive has sent several mission teams to work in Costa Rica with One More Child, a Florida Baptist cooperating ministry that serves vulnerable children and struggling families, but…
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Pictured above: Dan Hall (front center), became quadriplegic after a pulmonary embolism caused him to fall into a wall, was the plenary speaker at Joni and Friends Conference on…
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Smiles, singing, crafts, praising Jesus and learning about His love and sacrifice fueled the summer for churches in Chipola Baptist Association.
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Florida State University became the setting of revival and spiritual awakening following a recent evangelistic event known as Unite.
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Rafael Murillo wants to help pastors and churches in North Florida to be able to help and learn from one another as they seek to make a difference for Christ in their communities.
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With its recent mission trip to Australia, Fruit Cove Baptist Church in North Florida has reached its goal of extending its missions footprint to all seven continents.
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When The Bridge hosted its opening celebration service in January, Pastor Charles Matlock was excited about the opportunities to reach the community with the gospel of Christ and…
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When members of Fellowship Baptist Church in Madison hold their Love Loud Sundays, that’s exactly what they try to do throughout the community.
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A man who came to Aspire Vietnamese Baptist Church’s first dental mission to see about a filling for his tooth was recently baptized at the church as a new believer in Christ.
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Prison ministry. Sports ministry. Developing national missionaries. The dreams discussed around the table were big. International Mission Board missionaries Matt and Gretchen Clay…
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For a church that has been without a full-time pastor for almost three years, the news from its pastoral search committee was like the icing on this cake of a celebration service.
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When the Women on Mission group from Parkview Baptist Church meets monthly, the focus is typically on a local group or charity organization that benefits people in Lake City or the…
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Church members gathered around Lloyd in prayer, and two men from the congregation helped him into a friend’s vehicle to be taken to the local emergency room. After many tests,…
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Like most of the surrounding area, First Baptist Church of Madison was without electricity last week due to Hurricane Idalia, but it didn’t stop its members from preparing and…
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Known as a laid-back, friendly fishing village, the quaint community of Horseshoe Beach found itself directly in the path of Hurricane Idalia’s 125 mph winds and 10-foot storm…
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Pastor Herb Reavis and his son Josh have been working together for about 18 years at North Jacksonville Baptist Church, but now they are serving as co-pastors of the church.
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Josh and Beth Glymph are different, but not in the way people might expect.
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Hispanic church leaders and their wives from Daytona, DeLand, Deltona, Oviedo and Sanford gathered Jan. 18-20 at Park Avenue Baptist Church in Titusville for the inaugural East…
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Líderes de iglesias hispanas y sus esposas de Daytona, DeLand, Deltona, Oviedo y Sanford se reunieron del 18 al 20 de enero en la Iglesia Bautista Park Avenue en Titusville para el…
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As Florida Baptists’ partnership with Ohio Baptists begins to take shape, leaders from both state conventions are realizing the opportunities for God to do “something bigger” in…
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According to prison chaplain Paul Davis, the concepts that led to more than 85 decisions to follow Christ are not overly complex.   Listen to people. Help them understand they…
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The seven-man mission team from Hillcrest Baptist Church faced some challenges in Quito, Ecuador.
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One lightning strike that claimed the life of a beloved teen girl has sparked a spiritual revival throughout an entire community in northeast Florida.
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To help penetrate the spiritual darkness and impact the Northeast with the gospel, Florida Baptist churches are partnering with the Baptist Convention of New England,  which serves…
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A volunteer fiesta created an opportunity for a youth group to get on the road, traveling almost two hours from their home church, to serve another church.
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A new children’s book telling the action-packed stories of first responders released on February 16. Written by Tommy Neiman, a longtime Florida Baptist, firefighter and…
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After serving the Florida Baptist Convention, where he has “invested his life in the church,” for 25 years, Craig Culbreth, is retiring March 31, 2023.
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Liberty Southern Baptist Church has become a light and staple for the workers of Florida’s biggest event you’ve never heard of.
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In May 1998 Lito and Lilybeth Lucas moved to Lakeland with the firm belief that they were following God’s direction to plant a church in Central Florida.
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As Florida Baptists’ partnership with Ohio Baptists begins to take shape, leaders from both state conventions are realizing the opportunities for God to do “something bigger” in…
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Home to mangroves, lush botanical gardens, and world-renowned golf clubs is the seventh-largest city in Florida—Port St. Lucie. Serving this growing, multigenerational community on…
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Thirteen women—from all corners of the Sunshine State—traveled from their Florida Baptist churches to the Canaveral Port Ministry Center in Port Canaveral for a four-day mission…
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Small Groups Reimagine, a shift from how we “do church” in post-pandemic church culture, was the focus of the September 2023 Sunday School Conference in Florida Baptists’ Central…
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Years ago, two Florida Baptist pastors became acquainted and began to cultivate a relationship. The two pastors serve churches 125 miles apart, but the miles between them have…
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Celebration focuses on the more than 1,500 baptized individuals­–representing dramatically diverse walks of life­–who have made professions of faith and been baptized over the past…
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Meeting needs with the power of the gospel is exactly what the church plant is doing in the heart of downtown Sanford.
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When community leaders speak, leaders at First Baptist Church of Kissimmee listen and take action.
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The city of Cedar Key is a quiet community nestled among many tiny keys on the Gulf Coast of Florida. Long admired for its natural beauty and protected sanctuaries, it is now a…
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Pastor Kidannie Laboy just launched a Spanish-speaking church plant in January in Spring Hill, and he already is making plans to launch a second church plant in the near future.
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Recognizing that the tide is shifting in Naples, with more and more Spanish-speaking families moving to Florida’s Southwest region, Herminio Pagan—better known as JR—and his wife,…
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Reconociendo que la marea está cambiando en Naples, con cada vez más familias de habla hispana mudándose a la región suroeste de Florida, Herminio Pagán—mejor conocido como JR—y su…
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After enduring 150-mph winds and dangerous flooding from two of the most intense hurricanes to ever make landfall in Florida, Calvary Baptist Church in Arcadia has maintained…
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LEHIGH ACRES—Whether it’s on the side of a mountain, in a remote village or in a neighborhood park, Misión Hispana is on a mission to share the gospel with every man, woman and…
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Pictured above: Bill coaching his 4-5 year old flag football team. IMMOKALEE— For 40 years, he has loved. He has served. He has taught. And, even when times were tough, he has…
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The long, scenic miles across Alligator Alley could not hinder southwest Florida Baptist pastors from coming “right beside” Larry Brister, a pastor serving in Ft. Lauderdale.
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April found herself searching for purpose and struggling to find direction. She had grown up attending church with her family, so she did an online search for Baptist churches near…
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Little girls around the world are smiling and experiencing God’s love through handmade dresses sewn by the volunteer women of Sew Culture ministry.
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Since Hurricane Ian crashed into Florida’s Gulf Coast on Sept. 28, bringing catastrophic winds, rain and an estimated 12-foot storm surge to cities in its direct path, southwest…
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It’s not just a nostalgic memory; it’s the future of missions for local churches, Irene Owens-Sharrett believes.
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Close to 1,000 Florida Baptists came together to celebrate victories and look to the future in reaching Florida’s 22 million residents with the gospel during the Challenge 2025…
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nspirational stories about the naming of a new president for The Baptist College of Florida, churches using creative strategies to reach their communities with the gospel, pastors…
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FORT LAUDERDALE— “God is at work in South Florida,” said Al Fernandez, Southeast regional catalyst for the Florida Baptist Convention. “Church By the Glades and First…
Read More...

Pastor Herb Reavis and his son Josh have been working together for about 18 years at North Jacksonville Baptist Church, but now they are serving as co-pastors of the church.
Read More...

Pastor AD Lenoir, senior pastor of Westview Baptist Church in Miami since 2009, was stabbed to death on the steps of his church building Saturday, April 6. Police have arrested…
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When atheist students are open to attending a Bible study on their college campus it becomes evident that young people are “hungry for something that is real and genuine.”
Read More...

For many churches, the annual Disciple Now weekend has become a much-anticipated retreat event for youth groups, filled with live worship music, guest speakers, games and service…
Read More...

MAARTEN—Fine white sand and turquoise waters sound like the perfect setting for rest and relaxation. But for one southwest Florida Baptist pastor, this setting was a perfect…
Read More...

Haitian Southern Baptist pastors are spearheading work to open a welcome center and two churches in Mexico to serve throngs of migrants who often risk their lives to get there.
Read More...

Liberty Southern Baptist Church has become a light and staple for the workers of Florida’s biggest event you’ve never heard of.
Read More...

Florida State University became the setting of revival and spiritual awakening following a recent evangelistic event known as Unite.
Read More...

As escalating gang violence and political instability threaten civil war in Haiti, Florida Baptist leaders are convinced that Christians there are being faithful and the gospel is…
Read More...

In May 1998 Lito and Lilybeth Lucas moved to Lakeland with the firm belief that they were following God’s direction to plant a church in Central Florida.
Read More...

In a culture that increasingly breeds impatience and self-centeredness and seeks to weaken the bond of families, Woodbine Baptist Church in Pace hopes to encourage parents and…
Read More...