In April of this year, Governor DeSantis imposed restrictions on public gatherings in response to the burgeoning COVID-19 pandemic. While the governor deemed worship an essential service, many churches nonetheless exercised an abundance of caution and closed their facilities to the public opting instead to conduct their services online only. No one knew how long […]
“I have been waiting to be able to write this for quite a while now,” April Fisher wrote in the Grace’s Place September newsletter, “and finally I can joyfully say, WE HAVE A HOUSE!” Fisher’s excitement in finding a home for this self-described ministry to “broken chicks,” is fueled by her deep gratitude to God […]
Three, sharp rifle reports broke the morning calm causing a solitary hawk to take wing over Santa Rosa Sound then loop back to a copse of trees as the melancholy notes of “Taps” rose from a lone bugler. A small group watched from a distance, some with hands over their hearts. A curious neighbor watching the proceedings from over the fence raised his arm into a salute. Family and friends had gathered at the Beach House at Holley […]
Momentum Church is a community of Jesus followers meeting on multiple campuses. Two of those campuses have been local schools, the Gulf Breeze campus at Gulf Breeze Middle School and the Navarre campus at Navarre High School. With the current pandemic, Momentum was faced with a challenge: the Santa Rosa School Board has decided to […]
On Sunday, Aug. 23, Community Life Church (CLC) held its annual Blessing of the Backpacks, but this year’s event was markedly different. “In the past, Blessing of the Backpacks took place in church on Sundays,” said Kristen McGrew, CLC’s Director of Children’s Ministry. “The children would be given a special backpack tag, and would, as […]
These days, a trip to the grocery store is enough to remind anyone that we are still dealing with the COVID-19 virus. Masks are now required to enter and who hasn’t started down a grocery aisle only to realize you are not abiding by the “one direction only” requirement? A trip to your local church […]
“The heart of man plans his ways,” says Proverbs 16:9, “but the LORD establishes his steps.” With submissive hearts, through much prayer and godly counsel, pastors and their family’s probe what might be the next step in their ministry future. Then, sensing what they believe to be God’s leading, they step out in faith; the […]
Vacation Bible School, or VBS as it is more commonly known, has been a staple of church ministry for decades. Held during the summer when school children are enjoying a few months of vacation, VBS is a week of fun and Christian education made possible by a team of dedicated volunteers. Read the full article […]
The cartoon pictures a bleary-eyed woman in a well-worn housecoat, tangled hair, feet shod with fuzzy bunny slippers, a cup of coffee gripped tightly in her fist, groggily plodding up a church aisle. The other worshipers, all appropriately coiffed, look on in bemused astonishment. Its caption reads, “Mrs. Jones got a little too used to watching online worship from home.” Even though Gov. Ron DeSantis deemed […]
Have you purchased a book lately, a real, hold-it-in your hands, page-turning paper book? They’re expensive. So, imagine visiting the website of a book purveyor and under every book by your favorite author you see the price of $0.00. Is it a loss leader? A misprint? A website under construction? Visit the website of FirstLove […]
In what is widely regarded as his high priestly prayer, Jesus expresses to his Father his vision for his followers saying, “that they may all be one, just as you, Father, are in me and I in you that they also may be in us, so that the world may believe that you sent me.” […]
Charles Dickens famously wrote, “It was the best of times, it was the worst of times, it was the age of wisdom, it was the age of foolishness, it was the epoch of belief, it was the epoch of incredulity, it was the season of light, it was the season of darkness, it was the […]
When the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention issued its first set of COVID-19 guidelines for Florida early in March recommending the canceling of public gatherings of 50 or more for two weeks, the eyes of church leaders were on April. Holy Week, the most important season in the Christian calendar, would begin the first […]
The historical backdrop against which the New Testament of the Bible was written is painted in dark, menacing shades. The weighty and wide oppression of the Roman occupiers was shaping the lives of the unfortunate occupied. Life was cheap, slavery was an accepted cultural norm. Nature was no ally to the suffering as a succession […]
With Holy Week three weeks away, local church leaderships were faced with an unexpected and difficult decision. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) issued recommendations last week for the State of Florida designed to mitigate the spread of the COVID-19 virus in the state. One recommendation is that faith-based communities in Florida “cancel […]
On Sunday, Feb. 16, Coastline Calvary Chapel Navarre officially opened the doors on their new “KIDS” ministry building. “We had planned for the kids ministry building to be ready to be in use by January,” said Jamie Adams, the director of Coastline Navarre’s KIDS/AWANA ministry, “but as Proverbs 16:9 says, ‘We can make our plans, but the Lord […]
Had you inadvertently wandered into the convention center at the Days Inn in Navarre the evening of Saturday, Feb. 29, you might have thought you had stumbled into some international forum. Further inquiry would have revealed that it was Navarre First Assembly of God’s annual Missions Fundraising Banquet. Read the full article in the Mar. […]
On the Pacific coast of Central America, cupped beneath Guatemala and Honduras, sits the tiny country of El Salvador. Home to nearly 6.5 million people, El Salvador is the smallest country in Central America. On Feb. 25, ER Abroad in collaboration with First Baptist Church of Navarre, sent a team to El Salvador for a nine-day […]
Jeremy Glekler had been waiting all year for this night, so when his ride arrived at his home in Gulf Breeze to take him to the evening’s event, he was ready. His hair was neatly coiffed. His tuxedo fit like a glove. The shine on his patent leather shoes was almost as bright as the […]
“Then I proclaimed a fast there, at the river Ahava, that we might humble ourselves before our God, to seek from him a safe journey for ourselves, our children and all our goods,” (Ezra 8:21, ESV). Jewish exiles in a foreign land, Ezra and his traveling companions were granted leave by their captor, King Cyrus […]
Having a big heart and the best intentions are essentials to be of help to someone in need, but there are some situations where even these are not enough. A case in point, can a person know how to help our military men and women if they themselves have never served, have never experienced deployment […]
Encompass Church in Navarre officially changed its denominational affiliation Oct. 11, 2019, from the United Methodist Church (UMC) to the Free Methodist Church (FMC). The UMC is the second largest protestant denomination in the U.S. The change comes at a time when ongoing debate within the UMC over the roles and rights of practicing LGBTQ […]
“We’d like to come and sing Christmas hymns with the residents, if that would be OK,” I asked the activities director of Navarre Gardens, Emily Edwards. I serve as the pastor of Compass Community Church, a new church start up in Navarre (compassefca.org). “That would be great!” Edwards replied. “The residents will love that.” Read […]
Editor’s note: In a slight deviation from our usual way of covering the news, this week’s Faith page features a firsthand account from our contributor pastor Michael Bannon, describing a special moment of love and kindness in our community. It began with a simple idea springing from a heart sensitive to the needs of others […]
We’ve all heard the metaphor of the shoemaker’s children having no shoes or perhaps one of the many contemporary versions, like the plumber’s neglected plumbing or the TV repairman’s broken TV. But have you ever heard of a church raising money for another church to build a building when they themselves have no building? That is exactly what Momentum Church has done. Momentum Church […]
“Wow, what a year it was spreading a little Christmas joy to our community,” exclaimed AJ Rice, pastor of Liberty Church in Gulf Breeze. This past weekend, Liberty held its fourth annual “Breakfast with Santa” community event. “Our ‘Breakfast with Santa’ began in 2016 with a vision of community and bringing people together to celebrate […]
The Gospel of Luke records a tense encounter: a self-righteous Pharisee invited Jesus to dinner as a ruse to gather evidence against him. While they ate, a woman with a sinful reputation entered the room and began washing Jesus’ feet with her tears. The Pharisee criticized Jesus for letting this sinner touch him. Jesus said […]
Late October, the north African rainy season nearing its end, an airliner carrying pastor Austin Huggins of Christ Evangel Christian Fellowship in Milton crossed the vast Sahara Desert and touched down in Abuja, Nigeria. Huggins and a colleague, pastor Tom Smith, were in Nigeria to speak at a series of theological conferences sponsored by FirstLove Missions (missionsfirstlove.org). Abuja is a planned city strategically located in the middle of Nigeria in a bid to end a long […]
On Aug. 4, Rev. Bo Senterfitt and his wife, Angela, began their ministry at Holley Assembly of God (AOG) in Navarre. The Senterfitts had become acquainted with the Navarre congregation back in 2012 when the reverend had applied for the position of senior pastor. The church was under the leadership of an interim pastor at […]
On the evening of Nov. 2, a crowd of just over 100 people gathered in the fellowship hall at St. Sylvester Roman Catholic Church in Navarre for the Pregnancy Resource Center of Navarre’s (PRC) fourth annual benefit dinner. The event began with a wine and hors d’oeuvres reception followed by a catered meal. Read the full article in […]