A word from Dr. Green…
Thank you Florida Baptists for keeping the main thing the main thing! The faithfulness of Gospel preaching, teaching, witnessing, and ministering is clearly evident across our state. We celebrate together the blessings of God upon individual lives who trusted Christ as Savior and professed Him through Biblical baptism. We rejoice that Florida Baptist churches baptized 24,954 individuals this past church year. How exciting that weekly the baptismal waters in Florida Baptist churches are being stirred!
We joined together for our first state wide Acts 2:41 Beach Baptism emphasis this past year. The reports of the witness of Christ surrounding our state as churches gathered from coast to coast to baptize people was powerful. We celebrated together an estimated 1500 persons being baptized on this day! I encourage you to plan to join with other churches on May 6, 2018, for the next Acts 2:41 Beach Baptism. Churches went to beaches, rivers, ponds, swimming pools, fountains, and maybe even a large mud puddle this past year. I hope your church will participate in this great day in Christ.
The Regional Evangelism Conferences are in full swing. We have already met in the West Region at the Baptist College of Florida and Central Region at the Church at the Mall in Lakeland. You have more opportunities coming for the next four Evangelism Conferences. On April 16, the Southwest Region EC will be at Colonial Oaks Baptist Church in Sarasota. The North Region EC will be on April 30 at Westside Baptist Church in Gainesville. First Baptist Palm Coast will host the East Region EC on May 1. The Southeast Region EC will be held on October 27 at Estrella de Belen in Miami. The Evangelism Conferences provide information, instruction, and inspiration in evangelism. Plan to join others in these dynamic meetings!
We celebrate every salvation decision for Christ! The following list identifies the leading 100 churches in Florida in baptisms.
| Congregation | Total Baptisms |
Congregation | Total Baptisms |
| Orlando First | 1,313 | Calvary Lighthouse, Davie | 72 |
| Church by the Glades, Coral Springs | 1,230 | New Covenant, Orlando | 72 |
| Potential, Fort Lauderdale | 900 | CitiChurch, Miami | 72 |
| Bell Shoals, Brandon | 444 | Cornerstone, Inverness | 72 |
| Crossing, Tampa | 407 | Central, Sanford | 72 |
| Idlewild, Lutz | 374 | Westside, Jacksonville | 71 |
| Family Gardens, Jupiter | 362 | Island Chapel, Tierra Verde | 71 |
| Christ Fellowship, Palmetto Bay | 341 | Oasis, Pembroke Pines | 69 |
| Calvary, Clearwater | 305 | Fellowship, Miami | 68 |
| Mission City, Largo | 284 | Sarasota | 67 |
| Family Downtown, West Palm Beach | 270 | Leesburg First | 66 |
| Church at the Springs, Ocala | 248 | Relevant, Tampa | 65 |
| Indian Rocks First, Largo | 246 | West Pines, Pembroke Pines | 64 |
| LifePoint, Tampa | 222 | Crosswater, Ponte Vedra Beach | 64 |
| Panama City First | 216 | Philadelphia Haitian, Orlando | 63 |
| Calvary, Miramar | 173 | Windermere First | 61 |
| Jacksonville First | 170 | North Jacksonville | 61 |
| Gulf to Lake, Crystal River | 169 | Bay Life, Brandon | 61 |
| Olive, Pensacola | 167 | Crestview, Lakeland | 58 |
| Church at the Mall, Lakeland | 162 | Chipley First | 57 |
| Shiloh, Jacksonville | 159 | Brazilian First, Pompano Beach | 56 |
| The Journey, Orange City | 149 | Immanuel, Pace | 55 |
| Chets Creek, Jacksonville | 136 | Starke First | 52 |
| FishHawk Fellowship, Lithia | 134 | The Crossing, Fort Pierce | 52 |
| Naples First | 133 | Francis, Palatka | 51 |
| Grace Fellowship, West Palm Beach | 130 | Old Plank Road, Jacksonville | 50 |
| CrossLife, Oviedo | 126 | Freedom, Vero Beach | 49 |
| Hiland Park, Panama City | 122 | C3, Orlando | 48 |
| Hillcrest, Pensacola | 119 | Elevate, Miami Lakes | 48 |
| Church at Viera, Melbourne | 105 | New Life, Carol City | 48 |
| ReThink Life, Orlando | 103 | Emerald Coast, Lynn Haven | 48 |
| Treasure Coast Community, Jensen Bch | 99 | Parkview, Palm Coast | 48 |
| Plant City First | 99 | Bronson First | 47 |
| Westside, Gainesville | 94 | Fort Ogden First | 47 |
| Middleburg First | 92 | Woodland, Bradenton | 45 |
| Hibernia, Fleming Island | 90 | Trinity, Keystone Heights | 45 |
| Temple Terrace First | 88 | Immanuel, Tallahassee | 44 |
| Kingsley Lake, Starke | 86 | St. Andrew, Panama City | 44 |
| South Biscayne, North Port | 86 | Evangelique de Jean 3:16, Delray Bch | 44 |
| Anastasia, St. Augustine | 85 | LifePointe, Eustis | 42 |
| Christ Journey, Coral Gables | 83 | Shiloh, Orange Park | 41 |
| Adonai Haitian, Miami | 82 | West Bradenton | 41 |
| Highland View, Port St. Joe | 80 | Pine Grove, Trenton | 40 |
| Fort Lauderdale First | 78 | Brownville, Arcadia | 40 |
| Melbourne First | 77 | Navarre First | 40 |
| Pine Terrace, Milton | 77 | Cornerstone, St. Cloud | 39 |
| South Tampa, Tampa | 77 | Gainesville First | 39 |
| At the Cross, Orlando | 75 | Palm Coast First | 38 |
| Fruit Cove, Jacksonville | 75 | Fifth Avenue, St. Petersburg | 38 |
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Thank you Florida Baptists for your faithfulness in evangelism!
Tommy