FBC Witness | Stories & News

  • Publishing Florida Baptist stories since 1884
  • Once a paid subscription, we now publish Church Stories and FBC News as we’re aware of them.
    No subscription necessary! Totally FREE.
  • We are governed by the FBSC Board of Directors

Want to submit a story? We may publish it. Have a question/suggestion?

Choose a Category

Stories

All

Annual Meeting [FBSC]

Carlos Lollett hace un llamado a la consagración

Keila Diaz 0
Carlos Lollett, pastor of Reality Church Miami, addressed the 2024 annual gathering of Florida Baptists, calling on…
Disaster Relief

Next generation students provide help/encouragement after the storm

Brooke Mannion 0
PUNTA GORDA–Like many churches in the path of Hurricane Milton, Tri-City Baptist Church in Punta Gorda was hit…
Annual Meeting [FBSC]

Florida Baptists honor Tommy and Karen Green for faithful leadership

Margaret Colson 0
Hundreds of Florida Baptists at the 2024 Florida Baptist State Convention annual meeting honored Tommy Green and…
Annual Meeting [FBSC]

Carlos Lollett calls for consecration

Keila Diaz 0
Carlos Lollett, pastor of Reality Church Miami, addressed the 2024 annual gathering of Florida Baptists, calling on…
Annual Meeting [FBSC]

Willy Rice urges faithfulness in a shifting culture

Keila Diaz 0
Willy Rice, pastor of Calvary Church in Clearwater, delivered the closing message at the 2024 Florida Baptist State…
Annual Meeting [FBSC]

Florida Baptist pastors’ wives honor Karen Green, focus on holiness

Jessica Pigg 0
Hundreds of Florida Baptist ministers’ wives gathered Tuesday, Nov. 12, for their annual luncheon during the 2024 …

Statewide

Annual Meeting [FBSC]

Carlos Lollett hace un llamado a la consagración

Keila Diaz 0
Carlos Lollett, pastor of Reality Church Miami, addressed the 2024 annual gathering of Florida Baptists, calling on…
Disaster Relief

Next generation students provide help/encouragement after the storm

Brooke Mannion 0
PUNTA GORDA–Like many churches in the path of Hurricane Milton, Tri-City Baptist Church in Punta Gorda was hit…
Annual Meeting [FBSC]

Florida Baptists honor Tommy and Karen Green for faithful leadership

Margaret Colson 0
Hundreds of Florida Baptists at the 2024 Florida Baptist State Convention annual meeting honored Tommy Green and…
Annual Meeting [FBSC]

Carlos Lollett calls for consecration

Keila Diaz 0
Carlos Lollett, pastor of Reality Church Miami, addressed the 2024 annual gathering of Florida Baptists, calling on…
Annual Meeting [FBSC]

Willy Rice urges faithfulness in a shifting culture

Keila Diaz 0
Willy Rice, pastor of Calvary Church in Clearwater, delivered the closing message at the 2024 Florida Baptist State…
Annual Meeting [FBSC]

Florida Baptist pastors’ wives honor Karen Green, focus on holiness

Jessica Pigg 0
Hundreds of Florida Baptist ministers’ wives gathered Tuesday, Nov. 12, for their annual luncheon during the 2024 …

West

Disaster Relief

Next generation students provide help/encouragement after the storm

Brooke Mannion 0
PUNTA GORDA–Like many churches in the path of Hurricane Milton, Tri-City Baptist Church in Punta Gorda was hit…
Annual Meeting [FBSC]

Brian Nall to serve as West region catalyst for Florida Baptists

Margaret Colson 0
Longtime Florida Baptist Brian Nall has been tapped to serve as newly elected West region catalyst for the Florida…
Developing

Relationships, encouragement and stewardship mark the ministry of Lewis Miller,…

Brooke Mannion 0
Building relationships with pastors and the churches they serve has been one of the greatest blessings for Lewis…
Developing

Tutoring Children and Youth: More than Just Reading, Writing and Arithmetic

Brooke Mannion 0
In every county, some students struggle in some way with schoolwork, leading not only to low test scores, but also…
Stories

Youth event at Florida church thrives with focus on discipleship

Florida Baptist 0
By Tim Ellsworth CRAWFORDVILLE, Fla. (BP) – An annual youth evangelism event at First Baptist Church had been…
West

Hope after the storm: Worship center opens after six-year rebuild

Brooke Mannion 0
Editor’s Note: As many churches throughout Florida are dealing with damage and even destruction to their facilities…

North

Disaster Relief

Hudson First Baptist Church: ‘Bleeding … but still going to serve Him’

Keila Diaz 1
Like many congregations in Florida, First Baptist Church of Hudson is no stranger to the aftermath of natural…
Disaster Relief

Partnership fuels rapid response in hurricane relief

Jessica Pigg 0
Although Lake City, located about 60 miles west of Jacksonville, may have been spared the brunt of Hurricane…
Stories

The Bridge Church: ‘Making a Way for Hope’ After Hurricane Helene

Keila Diaz 0
In the wake of Hurricane Helene, the Madison community in north Florida has found itself in yet another season of…
Stories

Answering the call to serve others

David Moore 0
Category 4 Hurricane Helene lashed out with high winds and storm surge in Otter Creek, a small community located…
Florida Baptist Children's Homes

Pregnancy center at First Baptist of Dunnellon shares ‘the truth of the value of…

David Moore 0
Some of the women seeking help at the Family Hope Resource and Pregnancy Center in Dunnellon may come expecting…
Missions

Perry church ‘praising Lord in good times and bad times’

Margaret Colson 0
Florida Baptist Disaster Relief launched its mass feeding operations at First Baptist Church in Perry on Saturday,…

East

News

Better Together: How one Florida association is partnering together for Gospel…

Baptist Press 0
Southern Baptists are better together. That’s not just a slogan for the churches in the St. John’s River Baptist…
Sharing

St. Johns River Baptist Association offers gift of gospel at Putnam County Fair

Teodosia Rivera 0
It’s not rare for people to come home from the fair with all sorts of prizes and gifts—stuffed animals, handmade…
Stories

Father/son share co-pastor role: ‘Ready for the future’

David Moore 0
Pastor Herb Reavis and his son Josh have been working together for about 18 years at North Jacksonville Baptist…
Expanding

Extended Family and a Church Called Refuge

Florida Baptist 0
Josh and Beth Glymph are different, but not in the way people might expect.
Stories

East Central Baptist Network celebrates first Hispanic pastors/wives retreat

Teodosia Rivera 0
Hispanic church leaders and their wives from Daytona, DeLand, Deltona, Oviedo and Sanford gathered Jan. 18-20 at…
Stories

Red Bautista del Este Central celebra el primer retiro de pastores y esposas…

Teodosia Rivera 0
Líderes de iglesias hispanas y sus esposas de Daytona, DeLand, Deltona, Oviedo y Sanford se reunieron del 18 al 20…

Central

Stories

Bell Shoals Church expands one of its ‘best and most impactful ministries’

Jessica Pigg 0
In mid-September, members from across all five locations of Bell Shoals Church gathered in a combined campus…
Stories

Children learn to serve church through Kids Worship Camp

Jessica Pigg 0
More than 80 volunteers and 200 children converged on the campus of Bell Shoals Church in Brandon for the sixth…
Providing

Servicio de oración masiva en First Baptist Orlando en torno a las elecciones…

Keila Diaz 0
Más de 3.000 hombres, mujeres y niños asistieron a un servicio de oración especial el sábado 27 de julio en First…
Providing

Mass prayer service at First Baptist Orlando surrounding Venezuelan election

Keila Diaz 0
More than 3,000 men, women and children attended a special prayer service on Saturday, July 27, at First Orlando.…
Developing

Church and Christian academy partner to ‘pray and obey, love Christ well, share…

Jessica Pigg 0
WINTER GARDEN—What is the secret to a spiritual awakening taking place among students in central Florida? It’s…
Expanding

NAMB training helps churches develop evangelistic culture

Baptist Press 0
When Pastor Chris Butler took the helm at North Naples Baptist Church in 2016, he inherited a congregation on the…

Southwest

Disaster Relief

La Iglesia Bautista Bethel devastada por las aguas de la inundación: “Soy tan…

Margaret Colson 2
“Everything utterly destroyed–furniture, seats, resources.” That’s how Pastor Rafael Sanchez described the newly…
Disaster Relief

Iglesia Bautista Bethel devastated by flood waters: ‘So blessed I want to cry’

Margaret Colson 0
“Everything utterly destroyed–furniture, seats, resources.” That’s how Pastor Rafael Sanchez described the newly…
Disaster Relief

Disaster relief chaplain discovers ‘pure joy’ in pointing others to Christ

David Moore 0
Diane Traynor is not really a fan of hurricanes, but after their arrival she springs into action­–ready to offer…
State Mission Offering

Church plant reaches growing Hispanic population in southwest Florida

Jessica Pigg 1
Deemed as one of the “10 Best Places to Retire” in the United States by U.S. News & World Report, Port…
Expanding

‘Friendly neighborhood church’ seeks to ‘trust God with the results and simply…

Jessica Pigg 0
The night Frank Brand and his wife, Jennifer, were to fly to southwest Florida in view of a call, Brand received a…
Providing

Fort Myers church committed to spend ‘less on ourselves,’ give ‘more to missions’

Jessica Pigg 1
When it comes to fulfilling the Great Commission, Crossroads Baptist Church in Fort Myers has discovered that less…

SouthEast

Disaster Relief

Despite Hurricane Milton damage, Haitian church in Tampa ‘praising the Lord’

David Moore 0
Hurricane Milton may have blown half the shingles off the roof causing leaks, cut off electricity to the building,…
Disaster Relief

Sarasota’s Colonial Oaks Baptist Church: ‘Here to serve the Lord and our…

Jessica Pigg 0
Less than two weeks after Hurricane Helene struck Florida’s Big Bend, Category 3 Hurricane Milton made landfall…
State Mission Offering

New Hope Brazilian Baptist Church: God is “doing great things”

Marisol Tarango 0
Editor’s Note: Emanuel Carvalho is one of the featured church planters for the 2024 Maguire State Mission Offering.…
Developing

Radiant City Church reaches college students, Boca Raton community

Keila Diaz 0
At just over three years old, Radiant City Church in Boca Raton has become a “beacon of hope” in its local…
Providing

Comunidad de Iglesias Bautistas Hispanas de Florida Celebran y Renuevan su…

Keila Diaz 0
HIALEAH— Los bautistas hispanos de Florida viajaron desde todo el Estado del Sol y se reunieron en la Iglesia…
Expanding

Fellowship of Hispanic Baptist Churches of Florida Celebrate and Recommit to…

Keila Diaz 0
Florida Hispanic Baptists traveled from all over the Sunshine State and met at Iglesia Bautista Northside in…

News

Annual Meeting [FBSC]

Carlos Lollett hace un llamado a la consagración

Keila Diaz 0
Carlos Lollett, pastor of Reality Church Miami, addressed the 2024 annual gathering of Florida Baptists, calling on…
Annual Meeting [FBSC]

Florida Baptists honor Tommy and Karen Green for faithful leadership

Margaret Colson 0
Hundreds of Florida Baptists at the 2024 Florida Baptist State Convention annual meeting honored Tommy Green and…
Annual Meeting [FBSC]

Carlos Lollett calls for consecration

Keila Diaz 0
Carlos Lollett, pastor of Reality Church Miami, addressed the 2024 annual gathering of Florida Baptists, calling on…
Annual Meeting [FBSC]

Willy Rice urges faithfulness in a shifting culture

Keila Diaz 0
Willy Rice, pastor of Calvary Church in Clearwater, delivered the closing message at the 2024 Florida Baptist State…
Annual Meeting [FBSC]

Florida Baptists gather to welcome new leader, conduct business, celebrate God’s…

Margaret Colson 0
With the theme, A Holy People: Shining His Light in a World of Darkness, Florida Baptists gathered for the 162nd…
Annual Meeting [FBSC]

Ted Traylor encourages Florida Baptists to remember who God Is

Brooke Mannion 0
“Holy, holy, holy, Lord God Almighty,” sang Ted Traylor, as he shared a message from Isaiah 41:14-20 at the Florida…