Faith Archive

The Catholic Church is a worldwide church. With congregants of various backgrounds and cultures, there is plenty to celebrate. St. Sylvester Catholic Church in Navarre is no exception.

With tax season in full swing, local churches are facing financial hardship they have never faced before. One local church was charged $16,000 for their non-ad valorem assessment that funds fire districts.

On Sunset Drive in Navarre, there is a small church with a big impact.

Living Word Evangelistic Association, an independent Christian fundamentalist church, has been in Navarre since 1986 and is currently led by pastor Stan Price, an East Milton resident.

Trying to start a new venture in life can be difficult. That’s why it helps to have a few friends.

Russell and Rachel Siemer are looking to plant an Assemblies of God church somewhere in the Fort Walton Beach area within the next year. The couple, who have been involved in ministry for 10 of the 12 years they’ve been married, recently moved from Tallahassee and wanted to get to know the Emerald Coast a bit better by serving at a local church.

Soup kitchens are nothing new in the Christian church. Every day you can find churchgoers preparing and serving meals for the needy.

While the soup kitchen is a well-known fixture of ministry work, St. Paul United Methodist Church is using theirs to serve more than just sustenance.

Five decades ago, Steve Janke was in a warzone. He had been sent to Vietnam and served during the middle portion of the war, from 1970 to 1971, at Cam Ranh Air Base.

Despite the fact Janke hasn’t been in a war in over 50 years, he is still does battle with the enemy. Only this time, its for his congregants’ souls. Janke serves as lead pastor of Open Door Baptist Church, an Independent Baptist congregation which meets at Hampton Inn & Suites Navarre each Sunday.

Liberty Church of Gulf Breeze, as with other Liberty Churches in the area, has close to a dozen small groups available to its congregation. These small groups include everything from Bible study groups for women and men to event and hobby groups like game night.

Church leadership often takes a top-down form. Whether it’s a pastor or deacon at a small church or the Pope in the Vatican, churches are generally led by a centralized figure or group.

While Community Life Church in Tiger Point follows a similar pattern, having a lead pastor and ministry leaders, the church is taking the opportunity to get some advice from the people its tasked with leading to Christ.

With a new year comes a renewed focus on what is important in person’s life. The same goes for churches. Navarre Press asked faith leaders from churches across the Navarre area to share their messages for the community coming into 2025.

A church in Navarre has found their new home. Founded in 2017 as a plant of the Evangelical Free Church of America (EFCA), COMPASS Community Church has met for services at several locations over the years. First in the homes of its congregants, then at the Holley by the Sea recreation center’s Beach House, and finally, at the old Pet Stylers building in Soundview Plaza (8540 Navarre Parkway). On Jan. 5, 2025, the church will hold its first Sunday service at Gulf Pointe Latin School, a Christian school located at 7624 East Bay Blvd. in Navarre. According to Michael Bannon, the church’s pastor since its inception, the move was expected.