Thank you for taking the time to read these updates from our church planters. I hope you’ll be encouraged by their stories. As you read, I’d ask you to take a few moments to pray for their continued faithfulness and fruitfulness. The work is hard. Harder now than ever. Thank you for your continued support of the Florida Church Planting Network (FCPN).
I continue to be amazed at God‘s grace to us. This beautiful, sprawling work he has called us into is full of surprising joys unanticipated sorrows. We continue to feel the effects of the tumult of 2020-2022. At the same time, we have entered season of long-hoped-for expansion, as we are now actively working with both Gulfstream and South Florida presbyteries to assist current mission churches, and plant new churches in South Florida. This means that there is now a coordinated state-wide church planting effort among PCA presbyteries and churches, at a time where we are seeing explosive growth, well… everywhere. Along with other key ministry partners, we anticipate spearheading an $8M investment in church planting in Florida over the next ten years.
Mission to North America (MNA) has set a goal to see the PCA grow from 2000 churches to 3000 churches by 2034. in Florida, we are ready to do our part. We believe it is possible to go from three new churches each year, which has been our historic trend, to six new churches each year. This is our new goal.
Vital to this work is the vision and health of our presbyteries and churches. Please continue to pray for strong presbytery leadership. Pray for visionary leadership in local churches in all parts of the state. Pray for more churches, especially from the south Florida presbyteries, to officially join our network as member churches.
Gratefully,
Drew Bennett | Executive Director
1410 Dundee Road
Winter Haven, FL 33884
(863) 298-9849 - work
(863) 286-2310 - cell
drew@redeemerwinterhaven.org
SEVEN RIVERS THE VILLAGES
THE VILLAGES | Stephen Speaks
LAUNCHED: October 2021
EMAIL STEPHEN
We called an assistant planter at the beginning of 2024, Steven Brooks, to help serve alongside me, and he is doing a fantastic job. He brings gifts, experience, and sensibilities to our team that are enhancing our ministry and reach. We also are hiring, beginning September 1, a part-time administrative assistant to help with communication.
We have outgrown our facility and are looking for a new place to meet, even looking to buy property. Over the next month, we plan to assemble a team of people to explore our area to find the best building to refurbish or property on which to build.
The reach of our church is extending. We have 3 Women's Bible studies, 2 men's studies, 3-4 small groups, and 3 youth studies, meeting weekly. Please pray as we continue to add people to our community.
Please pray with us:
New Building in which to meet.
Outreach to young families and youth.
Both the Speaks and Brooks families have health concerns that weigh upon us, involving autoimmune issues.
KISSIMMEE FELLOWSHIP
KISSIMMEE | Heath Zuniga
LAUNCHED: Falll 2023
EMAIL HEATH
Our church has been working hard at evangelism this year and we’ve implemented rituals of prayer for the lost during service, evangelism training and then park evangelism. We’ve seen the Lord bring about 4 conversions this Spring/summer.
The elementary school we meet in continues to be a great location. On a few different occasions we’ve been able to provide snacks for 150 teachers/faculty. We donated 75 backpacks full of supplies and are handing out free coffee at adult ESL classes.
Pray with us:
More fruit in Evangelism for our church. Growth from conversion
I meet folks on a weekly basis, mostly immigrants but not always, who are looking for work. Pray that we could do a job fair at the school in October.
UNIVERSITY PRESBYTERIAN
TAMPA | WRIGHT BUSCHING
LAUNCHED: FALL 2023
EMAIL WRIGHT
Our summer was encouraging. We expected attendance would drop to 35-45 people per week once students left, but we still had over 60 most weeks and occasionally over 70. We continue to see visitors every week and most are coming back more than once.
I'm beginning officer training next week and hope that it will be a fruitful time. Our Men's and Women's Bible Studies continue to grow and have been a good place for people who are new to the Bible to plug in to learn more. We're excited for the fall and expect a significant number of USF students will attend worship regularly.
Pray with us:
That officer training would go well and the Lord would provide more men to faithfully serve as elders and deacons.
That students at USF would feel welcomed and see the value in being a member of a local church.
That several non-believers who have been regularly attending would come to faith.
OAK CITY CHURCH
BARTOW | BRIAN MACDONALD
LAUNCHED: FALL 2023
EMAIL BRIAN
I would sum up the first Oak City Church summer of morning worship in two words: "Growing Pains." Many of us experienced physical pains as a young person when our bodies were growing yet groaning. God has been growing OCC this summer in numbers! This was truly a surprise as we know the typical reality of smaller attendance in the summer. I [Brian] stood up during our announcements Memorial Day weekend to prepare our people of the probable decline in our numbers. I was so glad to be proven wrong with consistent weeks of above average attendance including new visitors every week! To God be the glory.
Yet, with growth comes groans. To mix metaphors, we have experienced a season of shepherding challenges that have been quite overwhelming. As we approach our one year anniversary, the honeymoon has long worn off and the reality of messy ministry is among us. Please pray for the endurance of our pastors, Brian and Taylor, and our pastoral resident, Christian as we seek to walk alongside the flock. "For we know that the whole creation has been groaning together in the pains of childbirth until now. And not only the creation, but we ourselves, who have the firstfruits of the Spirit, groan inwardly as we wait eagerly for adoption as sons, the redemption of our bodies" [Ro. 8:22-23].
Pray with us:
Grace, endurance, and wisdom for pastors/staff as they navigate challenging shepherding situations
Gospel conversions in several men, women, and children who are involved in our ministry
God's blessing upon our September Block Party in one of the fastest growing and larger neighborhoods in Bartow
Growth of internal tithes and offerings among the body
ANCHOR PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH
EAST COLLIER | GREG BLOSSER
NEW RIVER FELLOWSHIP
FT. LAUDERDALE | CHAN KILGORE
LAUNCHED: FALL 2023
We have seen 41 salvations since our launch last September. We have grown from 15 to more than 70 who regularly attend and call New River their church home. We have a lot of pastoral care issues that come up because of how sin has damaged so many of our peoples lives before coming to Christ. However, God is faithfully bring strong Christians who are coming to our church that have recently moved to our city.
Pray with us:
More leaders to help us disciple our people
That we can train up new believers to disciple our people.
That God would grow us in regards to internal giving.
Stacy and I would be able to wrap up renovations to our home.
LAKESIDE COVENANT
MT. DORA | MATT MATULIA
LAUNCHED: WINTER 2024
We launched public worship in February and had some pretty large attendance numbers the first few weeks (there was alot of "buz" in our area about the launch). Things have settled a bit since then, but we have been pretty regularly around 100 or so in attendance (attendance dipped in the Summer months). Over the years we have built many relationships in the area and we have seen some of these friends in attendance from time to time. Most of the people we are desiring to reach with the gospel have Christian backgrounds but they are very nominal at best. Since launching, we have developed a very solid "core" of weekly attenders besides our launch team. We have been blessed to receive about 4 families as new members which has included baptizing their children. I believe we have had 9 children baptisms since launching in February (2 infants, a few non-communing children, and the rest were baptised on profession of faith). Another encouragement that we have seen since launching is a number of families who have not been "in church" in years and who are now regular attenders. We are engaging in great gospel conversations through our home group gatherings and individual meetings. Lastly in terms of progress we are excited to be kicking off two home groups for the start of this school year and we will have 3 men's discipleship groups and two women's discipleship groups. We are using The Journey Life on Life Curriculum to disciple one another with the vision of multiplying these groups over the years.
I would also like to add that the Lord has blessed us with 4 men who are mature Christians and key leaders in our church plant. These men, along with myself, make up our leadership team and it is my goal for these men to one day be our first elders as we look toward particularization in the future.
Pray with us:
Please pray that the Lord would grow us specifically in the ministry of evangelism. Pray that the Lord would give us a zeal for Christ in such a way that all of our people would be longing to see others come to know him.
Pray also that the Lord would give us wisdom in how to engage with people in our community who are nominally associated with Christianity.
Please pray that we would be able to "assimilate" some of the visitors that we have seen. It is our desire to get them involved in a gospel community (home group) where they will be able to grow in their relationship with Christ. In addition, please pray that our two home groups would grow this year in such a way that we would have to split into a few more groups.
Please pray that the Lord would give us wisdom in how to best engage with a new growing community in North Apopka. There are a ton of new houses going in, and we would love to engage folks with the gospel.
Please pray for myself and our others leaders that we would grow in our intimacy and security in Christ and lead from that place of nearness. Pray also for my family as my wife has just begun teaching 2nd grade (at the school where we worship). She has not taught in about 12 years and this is a busy time for her and us.
CHRIST THE KING CHAPEL
DADE CITY | CHUCK WILLIAMS
Ministry Progress: We finished our expository sermon series in the Gospel of John on July 14 and have subsequently embarked on our new sermon series on the book of Genesis. We concluded our second Bible study series on the Book of James and will be initiating our third Bible study series on the book of Hebrews in early September. We successfully completed our first set of membership classes with three families and one single congregant. We already have three more families, and two single gentlemen signed up for our next membership classes to start in mid-September.
Outreach Endeavors: Celia and I have recently completed our monthly Steak Dinner outreach to our neighbors. We had 14 dinners, reaching out to 34 of 51 homes in our neighborhood. We recently launched our second mass mailing endeavor which corresponds to our Prayer outreach campaign. These mailing adverts were delivered to every home within a seven-mile radius (+38,000 homes). Since then our average attendance increased from 8-9 to 15-20. 3) We are also initiating a monthly men's breakfast outreach at a local establishment starting in early September.
Meeting Place: As of March 17, 2024 we were successful in acquiring an external meeting
place outside of our home. We are currently meeting in the cafeteria space of Cypress Creek Middle School in Wesley Chapel, FL. This school first opened in 2021. All AV equipment and accommodations are virtually brand new. Seating capacity in this space is over 500. The rental includes all the chairs we need, several tables, a lectern, dedicated climate-controlled storage room, kitchen, and one classroom. And all of this for less than $500 per week! In fact, the one main custodial guy who is there for us and who sets up most everything before we get there and has begun attending our services and has now decided to join the church.
Pray with us:
Fruitful outreach in our current and planned initiatives.
Health of several congregants
Increase in tithes and external funding
MERCY HILL CHURCH
TONY ELSWICK
The past few months have been dominated by looking for our Sunday morning space. There were a couple of places that I thought would work, but they all turned out to be a “no.” This has been fairly discouraging but as we have opened up our area there have been a couple of possibilities open up. I am working through the final steps of evaluation and hope to pull the trigger on a location in the next few weeks with the hope of moving into it sometime in October.
While the location has been discouraging for me, I have been encouraged by the way the Lord has moved in our church during the summer. One example is that a man in the church created a prayer card for his adult daughter. They were estranged and she was in a bad situation living with a manipulative older man. Out of the blue, she reached back out to the man and has moved back home. She has been attending each week, we bought her a Bible and we are excited about what God is going to continue to do in her life!
Overall, there has been good momentum. People have stayed involved during the summer. I’ve been able to hand off more and more responsibilities to lay leaders. We have had a steady stream of visitors and several who are committed to coming back. Our community groups kick off again in September.
Pray with us:
Please pray for our Sunday location, the fundraising efforts to raise additional funds for the move and the additional volunteer teams needed for that.
Several of our members are going through difficult times. We have several that are struggling to find a new job and another with significant health issues.
Pray for our community groups and the assimilation process for new people in the church.
I am super encouraged by our new worship leader and how that is going. However, one of our musicians recently moved out of state. Please pray for some additional musicians.
ANGEL ROMAN
LAKE NONA PRESBYTERIAN
JOSH GILMAN
GOOD SHEPHERD OCALA