Lance Whorton, a licensed physical therapist with years of professional experience in the field, is the senior pastor of Encompass Church in Navarre. So, what would motivate a successful physical therapist to leave his career to start a church? If you answered “God, of course!” you would be correct.
Every newly-hired pastor knows that not everyone in the congregation will be pleased with him because everyone has their own opinion of what a pastor should be. Some will expect him to be a gifted preacher, others want a compassionate shepherd, and still others expect him to be a competent administrator or a visionary leader. No pastor is capable of being all of these. Live Oak Church has taken a different approach. The congregation is led by a team of five qualified leaders called elders, both vocational and non-vocational, each serving in their area of giftedness.
Home. The word evokes memories, good memories for some as the place where family gathered and shared life, where children were nurtured and grew, where the benchmarks of life were celebrated. For some, home evokes different memories, difficult memories of conflict and loss, the catalysts for leaving home. Even still, home is the place to which many return – eventually.
It’s 5 a.m. on a Sunday morning as, one-by-one, a team of people converges on Navarre High School to begin transforming the school’s auditorium into an inspiring, worship space for Momentum Church’s Navarre Campus. Campus Leader, Tyler McNeely, gathers the team members, reminds them of how important they are to the church’s ministry, they pray, and the work of transformation begins.
Dr. Jensen Petersen, senior pastor of First Baptist Church of Navarre, is the son of a Marine. His heart’s desire was to become a Marine like his father and even to become the first officer in the family leading men into battle. Raised by godly parents, Pastor Petersen describes his childhood in Missouri as a “Leave It to Beaver” upbringing. Following his conversion as a young boy (see the video at http://www.fbcnavarre.org/a-message-from-the-pastor.html), he experienced a sense of calling to ministry but was too young to recognize what it was. Apparently, his pastor recognized God’s hand on his life for when Jensen spoke with him about it at around age twelve, his pastor said, “I knew this day would come.”
As the broader church culture in America chases after the latest trends in a desperate bid to stay “relevant,” some church leaders have chosen instead to build on the firm foundation of the past; Rev. Craig T. Born, pastor of Risen Savior Lutheran Church (www.risensaviorchurch.org) is one of those leaders. Schooled as an architect, Pastor Born knows well the benefit of building on a good foundation. After one year working as an architect, he describes a worship service where he was moved by seeing that “light bulb moment” people have as their eyes are opened to the gospel and they put their trust in Jesus Christ. This was the impetus for him to act on a call to ministry he had sensed while growing up in a Lutheran church. He left his burgeoning career as an architect and launched into six years of theological training at a Lutheran college and seminary. Interestingly, his wife, Jennifer, is a local architect; she and Craig met while working at the same architectural firm in Milwaukee.
The sleek, stretch limousine glides silently out of the velvet night to a gentle stop and an elegantly dressed couple emerges to enthusiastic cheers breaking out from the eager crowd lining the long, red carpet. As the couple passed through the crowd in regal fashion the celebration swells to a roar bringing appreciative smiles to the couple’s face as the flashes of paparazzi cameras highlight their sequined and satin attire. Attentive doormen escort the pair past security and into a festive foyer alive with a hundred conversations.
I am ecstatic to report that my wife has finally joined me here in Navarre! It has been four months since I moved to Navarre by myself to begin working with a small group of very dedicated families in planting a new church – Compass Community Church. The other purpose for coming early was to find us a home to rent. Other husbands shudder when they learn that my wife agreed to move to Navarre having never even been here, and that she trusted the task of finding us a home to me. They say, “You’re either a brave or stupid man.” Thankfully, ours is not that kind of relationship; my wife is here, and she is thrilled with our new home. Now I get to watch with wonder as she discovers our new community.
Walking into the main entrance of Community Life Methodist Church in Gulf Breeze and seeing the large gymnasium with basketball courts right off the main foyer you might wonder, “Is this a community center?”
In the innocence of childhood, every boy’s dream is to follow in his father’s footsteps. Often when the boy matures into a man, his dreams change, and he takes a different path. AJ Rice is the son of pastor, who is himself the son of a pastor. Although first pursuing a degree in graphic design, AJ Rice admits that he always knew he was called to full-time ministry and God has been preparing him for what he was called to do since high school. In January of this year, he truly followed in his father’s footsteps succeeding his father, Pastor Ron Rice, as campus pastor of Liberty Church, Gulf Breeze.
