Faith Archive

Jan. 1, 2026, was anything but fun for Monica McBrien, who works for Santa Rosa County Tourism Development Office. While many were ringing in the new year with fireworks, she suffered a seizure.

After coming to, she couldn’t recognize her family’s faces. She knew something was wrong. Shortly after, an MRI unveiled a diagnosis no one wants to hear: “you have brain cancer.”

Believers from at least four different Navarre congregations gathered at Navarre Park May 7 to lift their prayers to God in celebration of National Day of Prayer. The goal is not to only pray on this day, but to use this as a catalyst to encourage us to pray more for our community and our leaders, said Pastor Greg Love of First Baptist Church of Navarre who organized the event.

Northwest Florida, including Navarre, has a heavy military population, including about 34,000 military retirees, according to Santa Rosa County’s economic development office. Navarre also serves as a bedroom community for several surrounding installations, and many of its residents face unique challenges related to their service.

Trey Olman, who is training to be an assistant pastor at Calvary Chapel Navarre, said those challenges require a space where veterans can be vulnerable and feel supported by people who understand what they have gone through firsthand.

New Life Deliverance Temple Church in Navarre recently held its annual Marriage and Singles Conference from April 20 through 22. It was the 19th time the conference has been held by the church.

This year’s conference was held at the Margaritaville Resort in Gatlinburg, Tennessee, and the theme was ‘a love like this.’

Florida Baptists reported 33,123 baptisms in 2025, surpassing 33,000 for the first time since 2010, according to an article by Tanner Cade of the Florida Baptist Convention.

The smell of Thai food cooking. The sight of a martial arts demonstration. The sound of Thai music over a loudspeaker.

These are some of the experiences that greet visitors at Wat Florida Buddharam. On Sunday, April 12, the Buddhist temple hosted a celebration of Songkran, the Thai New Year.

Community Life Church will hold a special event for people living with disabilities in Northwest Florida.

On May 8, from 5:30 to 8 p.m., the church will host the “Chosen & Cherished Ball.”

Bright Bridge Ministries in Pensacola, which partners with churches in Santa Rosa County, recently celebrated the grand reopening of the south wing of the His Place complex.

Following the success of their Pensacola campus, Transformation Church is expanding their sphere of influence, creating a Gulf Breeze area campus.

Transformation Church’s new campus is located at the former home of Coast Community Church, which was absorbed into the church plant. The address is 3141 Gulf Breeze Parkway, just east of Oriole Beach Road.

First Baptist Church of Navarre spent part of last month focusing on reaching out to the community. Working alongside 30 members of the 2nd Baptist Church of Springfield, Missouri, FBCN conducted a three-day local missions initiative, called “Bless Navarre,” which featured church volunteers preparing 100 gift bags for teachers and staff at Holley-Navarre Middle School and painting the school’s multipurpose room.