PALATKA, Fla. — An estimated 2.9 million people are affected by disability, and 15% of the state’s children live with a disability. Yet only a small fraction are reached with the Gospel. 

“Only 5 to 10 percent of the world’s disabled are effectively reached with the gospel, making the disability community one of the largest unreached — some say under-reached — hidden people groups in the world,” said Joni Eareckson Tada, founder of Joni and Friends. 

At First Baptist Church of Palatka, Pastor Ron Smith and his wife, Christa, are working to change that. Their journey into disability ministry began with their son Ryan, who was born with CHARGE syndrome and is profoundly deaf. Christa learned American Sign Language to communicate with him, leading to a lifelong commitment to helping churches welcome and disciple families affected by disabilities. 

Over the years, she has launched after-school programs, served as an ASL interpreter at Lifeway Women’s events, managed disability initiatives with the Tim Tebow Foundation, and now serves Florida families through Joni and Friends. She combines personal experience with professional expertise to help churches develop meaningful inclusion strategies. Christa also serves on the Southern Baptist Disability Ministry Task Force, appointed by the Southern Baptist Convention’s Executive Committee. 

In 2023, First Baptist partnered with Calvary Missionary Baptist Church, a historically Black congregation, to participate in disability-inclusion training through Joni and Friends. The cross-cultural collaboration allowed the churches to serve what they describe as a “third culture” — the disability community — by bringing together two congregations with a shared mission. The training focused on practical tools, cultural awareness and creating a sustainable culture of welcome. 

The partnership helped launch Palatka’s first Night to Shine event in 2024, a Tim Tebow Foundation program that celebrates people with disabilities while also providing support for parents and caregivers. 

Over the past two years, First Baptist has expanded accessibility through ASL-interpreted services, adaptive facilities and intentional inclusion across children’s, youth and adult ministries. Young adults are fully integrated into the college ministry and church choir, reflecting the long-term impact of the effort. 

When asked what they would share with other Florida Baptist churches, the Smiths said families affected by disability “are profoundly used by God,” and that the role of the church is “to walk alongside them, disciple them and welcome them into fellowship.” 

“It’s worth the risk and investment, and God will bless churches that choose to prepare for and invite these families in,” they said. 

Through Joni and Friends training, Night to Shine and cross-cultural partnership, First Baptist Church of Palatka is demonstrating that disability ministry is both a mission field and a practical way to live out the Gospel while serving one of Florida’s most underserved communities. 

Editors Note: The stats in the opening sentence are based on the 2025 Able Trust Annual Survey and Florida Department of Education data.

GAINESVILLE–When college students arrive at Baptist Collegiate Ministries at University of Florida each year, they learn quickly about the opportunities for international mission trips.

It is actually a stated goal, said Eddie Gilley, who has been the BCM director there since 2002.

“We want every student to spend two weeks of their college career in a cross-cultural environment sharing Jesus,” he said. “We have a pretty robust plan for that.”

It’s their robust plan that has helped make them tops in the nation in sending short-term missionaries on international trips through the International Mission Board.

The UF BCM sends out 18 to 24 students each year on mission trips, the majority of those traveling in small groups for six-to-eight-week trips during the summer. For example, 18 of the students participated in the longer six-to-eight week trips this past school year, while six did a short-term trip.

“It’s usually somewhere in a difficult environment. We typically let other people go to the easy places,” Gilley said. “We challenge our students to go to places where evangelism might mean just moving boulders out of the way. You might not even get to plant a seed; you’re just moving rocks, moving barriers from people to even hear the gospel.”

The teams typically go to cities in Central Asia, Southeast Asia and Europe. In the past they’ve gone to China, Turkey, Japan, Africa and even Australia. “Other than Antarctica, we have sent a team to every continent,” Gilley said.

Planning, training and raising funds

John, who asked that his real name not be used, is a former UF BCM student who now coordinates all of their mission trips, which includes vision-tripping for future trips as well as communicating with current long-term missionaries around the world and

assessing their need for assistance from college students.

Working with the IMB, the organization sends students to assist current missionaries who are already working with college students in their countries. This makes it easy for BCM students to go on college campuses and use English as a platform, teaching English or offering conversational English opportunities to other students and forming friendships, which can lead to gospel conversations.

“This is a lot of entry-level evangelism and discipleship,” John said. “Everything is geared toward building relationships with lost people. Students can be a seed to those who are interested and leave those relationships with the long-term workers to follow up with.”

All students who sign up for the summer trips go through extensive training to prepare them for the mission field, including evangelism training, missions education and general church doctrine studies. They also learn about sharing across language and cultural barriers, contextualization issues, security issues and border patrol. The goal is to have them ready to work before they leave so no extra time is needed once they reach the mission field.

“By the time these students get to the field, they have already failed so many times that they’re really well-prepared,” John said. “They have failed in a safe constructive environment, and the hope would be that training is harder than the actual thing. We want them to seamlessly fit into the long-term strategy and be a blessing not a burden, and not a security risk.”

Several years ago the training helped a team that got stuck in the Singapore airport for five days when they were unable to get to their destination. “They had to find a hotel and try to work everything out, and they had to do it onsite,” Gilley said. “It’s like ‘Amazing Race’ for Jesus, you know. That’s kind of what they had to do to get there.”

In addition to the training, each team member sends out about 100 mission support letters to help raise funds for their trip. With a goal of about $4,500 per person, they are raising a total of about $100,000 each year. While some individuals may not make their goal, each team has always been successful.

The right time to go

Going on mission trips during your college years is the best time to go, Gilley said, as students are more independent from their parents, don’t have a career yet and have the freedom to travel.

“There is no other time in their lives when they are going to have the freedom to be able to go like they do in college. It’s the perfect time to utilize them, to encourage our mission force around the world and to change their perspective,” Gilley said.

And gaining a new perspective about mission work is huge as it impacts the way the students see missions for the rest of their lives, especially those who have experienced the longer trips.

“What we know is not every student who goes will go long term, but every student who goes will come back different. They will always know what it’s like whenever they hear Lottie Moon Christmas Offering for International Missions stories in their church. It means something else to them because they know someone who benefits from that on the field. They know what it’s like to be in a place where you toil for the gospel day in and day out and may not see anyone come to faith in years. But they are still faithfully there and faithfully serving.”

From a student perspective, John said the biggest obstacles that keep many from committing to these missions are their academic careers – as in time away from completing courses and internships – and their parents, especially Christian parents who either forbid their students to go or convince them into coming home for the summer and doing something safer, like working at camp.

“Parents are well meaning, but unfortunately they can often be obstacles to their students doing what God wants them to do,” he said. “Often the students are more motivated to go than their families are.”

‘Put your yes on the table’

Being named tops in sending students on mission is humbling, Gilley said, because there is so much more to be done around the globe. “We could send thousands, and it would still not be enough as the need is great all around the world.”

Gilley said BCM students are always challenged to say yes to serving God on mission, whether that means being part of one of their GO teams overseas, going on a short-term trip with their local church, staying in the U.S. and supporting others, or serving long term in another country.

“Put your yes on the table and let God say where, when and for how long,” he said. “If you’re willing to say yes, God will direct where you’re supposed to go.”

“Nobody gets too much encouragement, and we want planters to know they’re not alone in this.”

JACKSONVILLE–Nearly 200 Florida Baptist church planters and their spouses gathered Sept. 29-30 for a retreat focused on encouragement, equipping and relationship-building.

“Planting new churches is one of our mission imperatives as Florida Baptists,” said Stephen Rummage, executive director-treasurer of the Florida Baptist Convention. “Every new church creates a new opportunity for the gospel to reach people who need Jesus. That’s why gatherings like this one are so important — they remind us that we are stronger when we work together to start new congregations across our state and beyond.”

Although not the official theme, “stronger together” was evident throughout the retreat, beginning with an

energetic bilingual worship service led by two singers and a guitarist from a Iglesia Local in Jacksonville.

“Nobody gets too much encouragement, and we want planters to know they’re not alone in this,” said James Peoples, director of Send Network Florida. “Together, Send Network and Florida Baptists — it’s who we are.”

Peoples added, “We want to come right beside them in their planting. To have them and their wives spend time together, be loved, be encouraged, and also be encouraged by other planters — it’s just a special time. We want to do this periodically to encourage and bless them.”

The retreat began with a dinner and worship service followed by a sermon from Rummage, who preached from Isaiah 62:6-7.

“Don’t give up — God is working when you cannot see, and He can do more in an instant than we can do in a lifetime,” Rummage said. “You wait on Him when nothing seems to be happening. Then He will do more in a moment than you ever dreamed of.”

The following morning, spouses gathered for a brunch with encouragement-focused activities while planters attended multiple sessions led by Rummage on preaching.

“Dr. Rummage’s preaching workshop affirmed my conviction of the primacy of preaching as the best and highest thing I can do to serve my church plant. He said, ‘No matter the size of a church, the pulpit is the same.’ No matter what we may lack, the sermon can be well-crafted and delivered if the planter makes it a priority,” said Trent Griffith, pastor, New City Life Church, St. Johns.

Across the state, Florida Baptists are planting churches, and this event emphasized the love and family environment that backs each plant in every region.

“It’s always great to be in the same room with planters from across the state,” said Andrew Kappenman, co-lead pastor of 10:02 Church in Orlando. “We were encouraged and challenged to study and teach the Word, and we get to celebrate stories about how the Lord is working in our churches. It truly never gets old, and I am blessed to be a part.”

Throughout the retreat, leaders emphasized the cooperative spirit and shared ministry that fuel church planting across the state.

“There are a lot of things I could point to as highlights for the event. The time with Dr. Rummage was impactful and brought a ton of great points for how to effectively prepare a sermon. The time with other planters is always powerful as I get to connect with other men who are walking the same path and dealing with many of the highs and lows that I am. The time away from home with my bride is always a highlight! Spending time with her on the road and reconnecting over dinner and worship were fantastic,” said Bobby Brown, pastor of Remade Church in Port St. Lucie.

Pastor Vitaliy Morgun, from Ukrainian Baptist Church of Jacksonville, agreed, “It was a true blessing to gather in fellowship, receive encouragement and be renewed in God’s Word. The teaching, worship, and unity we experienced brought fresh vision and strength for the work of ministry.”

Rummage and Peoples also reminded attendees of the financial support that makes this possible.

“The Maguire State Mission Offering, which goes 100% to church planting, means every church in Florida has a direct hand in this vital work,” Rummage said. “Together, we’re multiplying churches so that more people will hear the gospel, trust Christ and be transformed by His grace.”

Now, one year removed from weathering three storm surges—Hurricane Idalia in August 2023, Hurricane Debby in August 2024, and Hurricane Helene in September 2024—the people at First Baptist Church in Horseshoe Beach have learned more about God’s presence and His goodness in the midst of storms.

“You find out that God never really abandons you,” said Jack Cook, longtime church member and chairman of deacons. “We have more than doubled in size, and we’re unified all while rebuilding … He is good.”

The heartbeat of the northwest congregation, the only church within a 20-mile radius, remains laser-focused on rebuilding their sanctuary, searching for a pastor, and continuing to be a lighthouse for the community.

After Hurricane Helene’s 140-mph winds and 20-foot storm surge devastated the region, the church renovated its fellowship hall and began holding worship services within three weeks. “We knew that gathering together and worshiping the Lord was important,” said Cook.

Though the fellowship hall and parsonage are complete, the church’s sanctuary sustained extensive damage to its structure, as reported by the Florida Baptist Convention. Church members are still attempting to obtain a federal grant that would allow them to complete renovation efforts to their beloved sanctuary space and also are continuing to meet with county officials as they seek to address the structural concerns and repairs.

Church member JD Nobles, a sitting town council member since 2021, said that meeting with Dixie County officials and repairing the sanctuary is their “key focus” as they continue to “move forward” and rebuild.

“We desire to be back in the sanctuary, and we’re trying to secure a federal grant that will help us do that,” said Nobles.

At the time, it was reported that the hurricane trifecta had wiped out nearly half of Horseshoe Beach’s homes. Brett Selph, a church member and longtime fishing guide in the community, claims that it is a miracle that there was no loss of life within the close-knit community.

“We’re grateful that we had no loss of life in our community,” said Selph. “Everything else we can build back.”

Though the rebuilding and countless repairs seem to be a lingering process and uphill battle, the sentiment of church members is excitement as they continue to celebrate new guests weekly­– resulting in doubling their attendance–the launch of a new men’s morning Bible study, and an overall revived interest in the neighborhood church.

“The destruction has brought people closer to the Lord,” said Cook. Selph echoed Cook’s sentiment by adding that “this is an exciting time” for the church.

Also highlighting the goodness and kindness of God is local church cooperation. The Florida Baptist church is grateful for City Church in Tallahassee partnering right beside them and providing an interim pastor as they continue in their pastoral search.

As church members reflect on God’s goodness, they also recognize the beauty of good old-fashioned Baptist cooperation and prayer. The local church is asking for Florida Baptists across the Sunshine State to pray that the Lord sends the congregation a doctrinally faithful man to be their next pastor and for continued resources to complete the rebuilding process they began almost one year ago.

For senior pastor inquiries, contact David Hoffman, the chairman of the pulpit committee, at rdhoff419@gmail.com.

“We’re outside with the sand gnats, but God has given us good weather and that’s amazing,” said Henry Cannington, associational missions strategist for Taylor Baptist Association who is serving as interim pastor. “It can be pretty hot this time of year, but we’ve had just the right wind, and God is blessing us.”

While holding services outdoors may not seem ideal – due to the heat and the bugs and all – Cannington said the “come as you are” atmosphere is very attractive to area residents in the Big Bend area of Florida, which include vacationers and those with second homes.

“Being under a pole barn in a new location is sort of exciting,” he said “People show up who normally don’t go to church. They see that we’re not a so-called ‘normal’ church – the old traditional kind – and they see us as being flexible. We are not confined by four walls. We don’t have any walls. We’ve got open air out here. We’re not worried about stained glass and stuff.”

And while this is in the Keaton Beach area, this is not the typical Florida beach that tourists think of, Cannington said, noting it’s not like the beaches at St. George Island or Panama City to the west. “Our beach is a different kind of beach. It’s not a wavey beach. We call it the flats because it’s not really deep. When you do baptisms at this beach, you got to make sure it’s high tide.”

When Hurricane Helene struck in September 2024, it was the third storm to hit the area over the course of 13 months and the most damaging, with an estimated 90% of homes in the area destroyed. The reported 10-12-foot storm surge brought in about eight feet of water, flooding the former church building up to the ceiling and destroying everything, including all of the church’s written history. In the days after, church members and volunteers came in to help with cleanup, pulling all the furniture, office equipment, supplies and more outside into large piles, resembling what you see at a landfill.

To rebuild or renovate that building was deemed too expensive because the property is in the flood zone and building codes require any new construction to be high off the ground.  The church began holding services beneath a pole barn on a church member’s property.

When people learned about the church’s misfortune due to social media and this story from the Florida Baptist Convention, volunteers came to assist with cleanup efforts and donations came pouring in from churches, Christian and charitable organizations, and individuals from throughout Florida and beyond. The church was able to use some of those funds to buy 14 acres of land located about six miles away that is not in the flood zone and does not have the same building height requirements as the original property. They built a new pole barn on the property and began holding services there in the spring.

Now the church’s building committee is pushing ahead with plans for the construction of a new building on the property. They are hoping to start construction next summer with a mix of professional and volunteer help from churches and Christian groups like Carpenters for Christ and Campers for Christ. The church has raised about $300,000 from internal and external contributions toward its goal of $500,000 for this project.

While church members are excited about the future, Cannington said change is not always easy.

“It’s almost like God speeded it up for us to see great things happen,” he said. “We would have been stuck there because you fall in love with your facilities and you wouldn’t want to move. But you’ve got to enlarge your space so you can reach people. That’s what God has done. He has opened the doors for us, and this will probably be the largest church in the area.”

The church is currently averaging about 70 in attendance, but often it’s more like 80 or 90. “We had over 100 on Labor Day weekend,” he said. “We have visitors coming every week, like first-time guests. Not every church can say that.”

The church has a trailer near the pole barn that is used for its young children. Half of the space is used for a nursery, and half is used for children under third grade. Meetings for small group Bible study are currently held in members’ homes, but soon they may begin meeting in the parsonage at their former location, which is high above the ground. Members are still discussing how they will use that facility or if they might sell the property. They have also started the process of searching for a new pastor.

Cannington said he has often used these verses from Ephesians 3:20-21 to encourage members:
“Now to Him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to His power that is at work within us, to Him be the glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations forever and ever.”

“The One who parted the Red Sea, who fed the Israelites in the wilderness, who rebuilt Jerusalem’s walls with Nehemiah, He’s the One who can rebuild the church right here,” he said.

“They have really latched on to our great God. He’s the One who is able to do it. He’s the One we’ve got to look to! So, there’s that spirit of expectation and it has unified them. They are excited and looking forward to reaching their community.”

JACKSONVILLE–When Pastor David Uribe planted the new church Iglesia Local in Jacksonville, he wanted to reach the Hispanic community with a bilingual ministry that would have both multigenerational and multicultural impact.

This bilingual approach of reaching speakers of Spanish and/or English with the gospel has enabled the church plant to grow from the 10 to 15 people who started meeting at a park in 2022 to the current 130 to 150 who now meet weekly in the church plant’s own building.

Each week, Uribe preaches in Spanish, and his wife, Estefania, translates in English. This process enables them to reach the multiple generations that comprise the church’s bilingual membership, especially the younger generation.

The reality for many Hispanic churches in America, he said, is that the younger generation – the future leaders of the church – are leaving because they no longer feel they belong.

“They can speak Spanish, but their heart language is English. They comprehend in English and relate better to English. But at church they never speak the language of their heart. They are Hispanic, and they feel Hispanic, and they want to be with Hispanic people. But if the Hispanic church does not build a culture to reach them, they will leave,” Uribe said.

For churches to grow, they need to have this multigenerational and multicultural approach, he believes.

“You want to build space for all of the immigrants coming to our country who have to be reached and build space for kids growing up in this country in Latino households. As a pastor, you want them to belong in your church because those are the future of your church,” the 27-year-old church planter said.

‘A burden for my community’

At the age of 17, Uribe came to America and began working in student ministry. While in college, Uribe worked as a youth pastor and began ministry for youth events for Hispanic churches. He organized larger youth events in Florida that pulled students from smaller Hispanic churches that enabled them to have community together.

Uribe came from a large church in Mexico that was “ambitious, relevant and influential” in the community, but he noticed those qualities lacking in America’s Hispanic churches.

“God put a burden on my heart for the Latino church and the next generation, a burden for my community,” he said. “I felt the Lord telling me to go and do something about it. I felt God was calling me to ministry.”

He first felt God’s call to plant a church after he got married and was attending the church his wife grew up in. That’s when many of her friends, who were young adults like the Uribes, told them they were leaving that church because they felt they no longer belonged there, that there was no place for them.

“We were hurt by that, and that sparked a burden in me and a need in our hearts. That’s when I felt like the Lord was telling us to plant a church.”

 With approval from their church and the North American Mission Board, they started a year of prelaunch in 2022 with a group of about 10 people meeting together in a park. Most of the group was the couple’s family. But soon the group grew to almost 40 people, just inviting people from their own networks.

“We were a legitimate church plant,” he said.

‘In agreement in asking God for a building’

The young church plant started renting an event space but soon outgrew the space as it began offering ministry to children. The church plant then began renting space from a local church and holding its worship service at 2 p.m. on Sundays with small groups meeting on other days at the church.  The church has baptized 35 people in the past three years and continues to grow.

In January of this year church leaders and members began praying for the church plant to have its own building. “If two or more come to agreement and we ask, He will provide,” Uribe said in quoting Matthew 18:20. “We should be in agreement in asking God for a building. We are growing. Our vision is to seek God’s kingdom first in our local community and to bring transformation and joy to our city.”

In March, they learned their prayers had been answered with the offer of a church building from First Coast Churches, the local Baptist association. Another local church was disbanding and offered its building and property back to the association, which then offered it to Iglesia Local.

Bob Bumgarner, lead missional strategist for First Coach Churches, said Uribe is a good leader and a hard worker. He has been impressed with how quickly the church has grown and how young it is.

“If a church grows, it’s God’s favor of course,” he said. “Humanly speaking, God has brought a young man with energy and a great network and an ability to connect God’s Word to shepherd a specific people group.”

Renovations on the church building began in the spring and continued all summer, thanks to support from Florida Baptists’ Maguire State Mission Offering, First Coast Churches, other local Baptist churches and local businesses.

The church held its first services in its new building on Sunday, Sept. 7, with 230 in attendance, and Uribe said, “God has blessed us in many ways! We are expecting a really exciting season in our church and we love it!” He added that Iglesia Local leaders are already planning and praying about adding a second service.

“We are trying to keep that spirit of expectation. We don’t want people to get comfortable. We pray that God will use and help us to do more.”

That’s what Pastor Emeritus Ed Johnson reminded members of First Baptist Church of Ocala during its recent two-day 175^th anniversary celebration.

“We’re celebrating 175 years of taillights of what God has done in the past,” Johnson said. “I want to tell you something. I believe with all my heart that the best days of First Baptist Church are in the headlights.”

First Baptist Church of Ocala was organized on July 3, 1850, with five charter members. It was one of only two church buildings in the city prior to the Civil War. The taillights of the past include significant obstacles such as membership dwindling down to 1 person in the 1860s and an arsonist fire that destroyed its building in 1991.

Overcoming those obstacles and others are great reminders of the goodness and faithfulness of God through the years, said Pastor Darren Gaddis, the church’s 39^th senior pastor. “We need to be reminded that every generation of a church has challenges. Sometimes we go through difficult times, and we feel this only happens to us, but it isn’t just us, and it’s not just this time.”

Fire ignites persevering faith

A fire set by an arsonist in 1991 destroyed the church building, which was built in 1927 on Southeast Third Street. Terry Williams, worship pastor at the time and now director of the Florida Worship Choir and Orchestra, recalled Johnson’s strong faith and leadership and his words of encouragement to members on the Sunday after the fire.

“He said ‘What the devil meant for evil, God meant for good.’ We adopted that as a church.  I watched the faith of God’s people as we went from place to place to place to worship, to do ministry, to do preparation, to do whatever it took. We had no place to go. We were like nomads, and we were all over the city trying to do First Baptist Church. The people of God at First Baptist Church showed their faith at a high level during a very difficult time. But what the enemy meant for evil, God meant for good, and some amazing things have occurred.”

Amazing indeed, when you consider the church experienced its most expansive growth after the fire when it relocated to its current location on Southeast Maricamp Road, the church’s fourth building. During that time, under Johnson’s pastorship, the church increased membership by 5,000 people, 2,500 by baptism.

“Without question I believe he will go down as the greatest pastor in the history of our church,” Gaddis said, noting Johnson is the longest tenured senior pastor with 23 years. “So much of our modern history and advancements have been tied to him.”

A church with one member

No history of the church could be discussed without mentioning Mrs. Frances Rosa Gary, known affectionately as Mrs. Fannie. Following the Civil War, the entire black membership of the church – about 90 people – withdrew to form Mount Moriah Baptist Church under the leadership of former slave turned pastor Samuel Small. Worship at First Baptist was suspended, and membership dwindled to just Mrs. Fannie in 1873.

“Whether the other members had moved away, joined other churches or died is unknown,” noted the church history pamphlet distributed during the celebration. “What is known is that Mrs. Fannie remained committed to her church during a difficult season and saw it return to growth.”

In doing research for church history, Gaddis said he had discovered and visited the grave of Mrs. Fannie and her husband S.M.G. Gary in an Ocala cemetery.

“She’s a little bit of a legend for us, almost a mythological figure for us now since we’ve told her story so much. It was nice to see that she was part of our community until she died. Both she and her husband were influential citizens in the early days of this city.”

Earl Stallings, who was a significant pastor at First Baptist Church of Ocala from 1951 to 1961, went on to gain national and worldwide historical recognition as pastor of First Baptist of Birmingham when he was the sole pastor mentioned in Martin Luther King Jr.’s famous “Letter from Birmingham Jail.” King commended him for allowing African-American worshipers to be seated at Easter services in 1963.

“Earl was the only one who was affirmed for having stuck his neck out to do that,” Gaddis said. “It was a hard journey for him. His church did not receive his overtures to the Civil Rights Movement very well. But he did it because he felt it was the right thing to do.”

Celebrating past/looking toward future

The church’s two-day celebration started with one of the largest dinner gatherings on a Saturday evening in the fellowship hall, the modern-day equivalent of the old-fashioned dinner on the grounds. The church provided the main course of barbecued meat and baked beans, and church members brought all the side dishes.

This dinner celebration included the singing of songs and featured speakers, including former pastors like Philip Hanes, Jerry Easley and Bryan Bair, and longtime members Vicki Prendergast, Vickie King and Barbara Floyd, who began attending the church as a high school student in 1953.

Gaddis, who has been pastor since 2010, said the church began talking about and planning the celebration two years ago.

“This is a really big deal and so we wanted to celebrate it in a way that is appropriate for this occasion,” he said. “What we settled on was telling our story to this generation of what First Baptist Church is all about and what it’s been through. More than anything else we just wanted to celebrate together and get people together. That’s what church is about anyway – it’s about people and relationships.”

On day two of the celebration, Gaddis and Johnson team-preached during the Sunday morning service. Preaching from Hebrews 11, Johnson celebrated accomplishments from the past, while Gaddis offered a challenge for the future.

“If the Lord tarries and we’re still here in 25 years, we’ll have a bicentennial celebration,” he said. “I want us to live faithful today knowing that they may write about this generation of our church. Will they describe us, 25 years from now, as being part of that great cloud of witnesses who were faithful?”

Now in its eighth year, First Baptist Church of Perry’s back-to-school bash has become its largest community outreach event, helping local families with much-needed school supplies while also providing an opportunity for the congregation to connect with local schools and the community.

With an inviting carnival-type atmosphere–complete with bounce houses, face painting, snow cones and cotton candy­–the event also includes representatives from all the local schools, law enforcement agencies and many other community organizations and partners that provide services to families.

“We want them to have fun and to understand and know that we want them to be connected to our church family,” said Pastor Steven Ruff. “We want them to know that we care for them and value them as families. This is our way of showing love to them.”

This year the church gave out 320 backpacks full of supplies to the 140 families that attended the recent event, and they served more than 600 hot dog meals.

Fundraising

The church starts in May raising funds to purchase all the school supplies that will be given away. Based on past experience, the church has determined that $20 can purchase a backpack and all the needed supplies. Rather than collect an assortment of various types of supplies, the church collects the funds and uses it to buy all the needed items in bulk. This year SEND Relief, the compassion ministry of the Southern Baptist Convention, provided 72 backpacks, with the local Walmart store also donating supplies. The church uses donations to buy the remainder.

Community partners

Ruff said all the local schools are invited to attend, as are local organizations like the Boys and Girls Clubs, the hospital, police and fire departments and the Florida Game and Fish Commission, among others. Everyone is invited to set up a table to display information for families. This year there were about 20 partners participating.

“I think it’s really great for kids to see the positive side of law enforcement and how it strengthens the community,” he said. “And the schools are here every year. These principals and administrators already know these kids, so this is another way for them to connect with these families. We partner with the schools in all sorts of ways.”

Volunteers

A big event like this requires a lot of volunteers, and church members answered the call, Ruff said, with approximately 75 participating. Members spent about three hours two days before the event packing all the appropriate supplies inside each backpack and organizing them by grade level. Then, the volunteers were there for the event itself, registering each student and family, serving the hot dog meals, the popcorn, snow cones and cotton candy, manning the bounce house, giving out the backpacks, and being available to pray with attendees if needed. The church always includes volunteers who are ready to pray with attendees and engage in gospel conversations.

Connecting with families

While each student received a backpack, parents received their own bag full of information about First Baptist Church of Perry, including upcoming family and children’s events, sports programs for youngsters, service times and more.  The church uses these parent bags to connect with each family.

Follow up

Approximately 50 of the 140 families who participated in the bash were not current members of a local church, based on information received during registration. Ruff said the church has enlisted its small-group ministry to reach out to these new families and to invite them personally to upcoming church events. Families inviting families makes for a great follow-up for this popular event.

Ruff said his favorite thing about this event is seeing all the church members come out to volunteer. “This year was our highest number of volunteers. Seeing that many volunteers of all ages – from teens to 80+ – come out and serve does my heart well! I loved seeing their excitement and their willingness to come out in 100-degree temperatures and serve our community in this way.”

The church has already established quite a reputation for helping the community in the past two years after the area was hit by Hurricane Idalia in 2023 and Hurricanes Debby and Helene in 2024. After each of these incidents, the church served its community and the surrounding areas as the base of operations for Florida Baptist Disaster Relief. The church also provides free after-school tutoring and partners with local schools throughout the year.

“Families remember us for helping them in very practical ways,” he said. “Hopefully we’re making a lasting impression in their minds, and they know we are here for them.”

If your church is considering hosting the Florida Baptist Convention’s Mobile Dental Unit as a mission outreach, Merrilee White says you should say yes to this opportunity.

This was the first year that First Baptist Church of Tallahassee hosted the clinic, and White said she and the other volunteers who helped coordinate the event are already looking forward to doing it again in 2026.

Approximately 150 appointments were filled, giving people much-needed dental care during the six-day event held in May. That was the largest number of people served at one of the clinics this year, and the largest since the pandemic. This included dental cleanings, fillings and tooth extractions. In addition to the two stations on the Mobile Dental Clinic, the church also set up a hygienist station inside the church to take care of just cleanings.

White said the event was a success in several ways.

“A lot of people got the care they so desperately needed,” she said. “And our church members had a new way to be the hands and feet of Jesus. Another benefit was the way our church members become better acquainted with one another as they volunteered together.”

As you consider hosting the clinic at your church, here’s a look at what is involved.

Recruiting dental professionals      

One of the most important parts of this mission was to recruit dentists, hygienists and dental assistants. White said they started doing the recruiting last fall.

“It was slow going at first,” she said. “There were other free dental care events that they were used to participating in. Many had not done a Baptist dental mission before. This was a new thing for our church and for these dentists.”

White and her team recruited 13 dentists and 13 hygienists from 11 different offices. The good news is the dental professionals enjoyed the work and asked to be notified of the next dental mission, she said. “I think recruiting will go easier next year.”

“They did an amazing job of recruiting that many dentists,” said Marc Johnston, who leads community ministries for the Florida Baptist Convention. “That’s just fantastic.”

They also had to recruit all of the church volunteers who worked the event.

“We also had well over 120 volunteers from our church who jumped on board and took on roles they felt marginally prepared for but were willing to step out in faith and give it a shot,” she said.

Getting the word out

In addition to publicizing the event across social media, the church also sent flyers to social service agencies and to local food pantries, which put the flyers inside the bags of food that people received.

“I think that was really one of the major sources of how people found out about what we were doing,” she said.

Screening attendees

Each person who received services at the dental clinic had to be screened to ensure they were eligible financially. Church volunteers took the training from the Florida Department of Health and screened each of the 125 people.

“We helped people answer the questions and made sure they were qualified,” she said. “Out of all the people we screened, we really only had one who was not eligible.”

Once people were screened, they were then given an appointment time. One week before the event, 75% of the appointment slots had been filled. The remainder for the week were filled the first day.

Long days

The schedule ran from 8 a.m. to 9 p.m. on three days, and 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. on the other days. On the long days the shifts would run from 8 a.m. to noon, then break for an hour. Then go from 1 to 5 p.m., break for an hour, and back from 6 to 9 p.m. White noted the night shifts filled up first because more dentists and hygienists could do those time slots.

Food crew                  

Church volunteers also served as the food crew, providing lunches, snacks and beverages each day and an additional dinner meal during the 12-hour shift days. “We had a wonderful food crew. She recruited different people for different meals and offered a mix of purchased food and prepared food.”

Prayer teams

One group of church volunteers served on the spiritual care team. Their role was to initiate conversations with those who were waiting for their appointments and ask if they could pray for them. This included praying for those who were in pain as they waited for their appointment time. These volunteers were also ready to share the gospel with everyone they spoke to.

Training        

If your church is interested in participating in this mission, the Florida Baptist Convention can provide the information and training you need. White and a few other church members attended a training event last spring that helped provide all that is required in hosting this event.

“That’s when I knew we have to try this,” White said. “We have done events in the past where we helped veterans, and there was always such gratitude because pain was being relieved for dental issues that people had for years. They were able to get care for free that they could not have afforded any other way.”

Johnston said dental clinics are a popular ministry, with 32 scheduled at Florida churches this year.  The majority are done as weeklong events, just like First Baptist Tallahassee did. While the 2026 schedule is almost complete, there are still some weeks available.

The compassion aspect of the ministry is what appeals to most churches, Johnston said, especially those who have done any previous compassion work.

“They see the need, and they want to meet it,” he said. “We do have some churches that have used the dental ministry as a springboard to engage their community. It really helps them get started.”

White raved about all the support and encouragement she received, not only from her fellow church volunteers, but from outside the church as well.

“We felt very loved and supported through the whole process,” she said. “The locals who had done this before were so helpful. And the trainers from the Florida Baptist Convention were awesome. They really do their best to prepare you for what we were going to experience.”

She encourages other churches to take advantage of this opportunity.

“This was a great experience for First Baptist Church of Tallahassee. We are just following in the footsteps of churches who have done this for years with huge success and have wonderful stories to tell about it.”

JACKSONVILLE–Pastor Alex Thorpe and his wife, Sonya, prayed for three years every Tuesday on their date nights in the parking lot of the former Cedar Hills Baptist Church in Jacksonville.

That was before Thorpe was even considered to serve as pastor at Hope Church at Cedar Hills, the recent replant church of Cedar Hills Baptist Church.

The Thorpes, who have been married 31 years, say they don’t do anything without praying first.

“Lord, if this is something You’re doing, we want to be involved with it,” Alex Thorpe prayed.

“We wanted to make sure we were in God’s perfect will; we wanted to be where He wanted us to be,” said Sonya Thorpe.

Today those prayers are being answered. Thorpe is serving as pastor of Hope Church at Cedar Hills. People are being reached with the gospel.

Sending people ‘where the gospel is calling’

The story for the Thorpes and their involvement in replanting Cedar Hills Baptist Church began in 2022 when they learned that the church was without a pastor. Thorpe was serving as missions leader and an elder at Refuge Church, about five miles away from Cedar Hills Baptist Church. In transition, Cedar Hills Baptist Church reached out for guidance from Refuge Church, which is part of the Send Network, the church planting arm of the North American Mission Board.

Already, Thorpe was familiar with the community because he worked as a barber for five years one mile away from Cedar Hills Baptist Church. While living on the westside of Jacksonville for 15 years, he had built relationships and developed a heart for the area.

“The Lord gave Alex a desire and helped him see the lostness (in the area) even before the Hope Church plant,” said Josh Glymph, pastor of Refuge Church.

As the vision for a church replant became to take shape, Refuge Church became the sending church of Hope Church at Cedar Hills.

“We send people where the gospel need is and where the gospel calling is, and we had that with Alex,” he added.

Preparing the church for transition

In June 2023, interim pastor Patrick Martin started serving for about two years at Cedar Hills Baptist Church. The church was in transition, and attendance and finances were low. Martin came to offer help and hope.

Since 1958, Cedar Hills Baptist Church had shared the gospel and served the community of about 6,500 people. In 1972, the church opened Cedar Hills Baptist Christian School on its campus. The school has more than 200 students.

“My goal was to go in and preach God’s Word and to help prepare the church emotionally for whatever God had planned,” Martin said.

The church started growing and gained momentum. People became excited to see new faces coming in, he said. Multiple professions of faith were made, resulting in 34 baptisms in one year. During that time, Martin had invited Thorpe as a guest preacher.

That one Sunday began to set the future for Hope Church of Cedar Hills.

On Feb. 9, 2025, Pastor Thorpe was unanimously affirmed by Cedar Hills Baptist Church to replant the church into Hope Church of Cedar Hills.

‘God’s hand is in it’

Longtime member Warren Pierson was on the pastor search committee, who unanimously voted to call Thorpe.

“The first time I heard (Thorpe) preach, I liked him because you could feel the passion that he has for the Word,” Pierson said.

Pierson, who serves as Sunday School director, is also chairman of the church’s weekday education committee which oversees the church’s school. He is looking forward to the coming school year. By then the school will have its new name of Hope School at Cedar Hills, he said.

Pierson is thankful that the church has managed the replant process so well.

“I know that God’s hand is in it because our doors are still open,” he said.

On Feb. 23, the church held a legacy service for Cedar Hills Baptist to honor the church’s 67 years of sharing the gospel in the community. The following Sunday on March 2, Thorpe preached his first sermon as pastor of Hope Church at Cedar Hills.

JimBo Stewart, associate director with the replant team at the North American Mission Board and also church strengthening champion at First Coast Churches Association, is pleased with how the church replant went.

“Cedar Hills Baptist did an excellent job of pursuing godly wisdom and sacrificially following Jesus and becoming a replant,” said Stewart.

“We need more stories like this because in Southern Baptist life, we see 900 to 1,000 or more churches close their doors every year, and that does not have to be the reality,” he added.

God is ‘building His church’

Being pastor for about three months, Thorpe is happy to see more and more people attending the church on a weekly basis. Attendance averages between 70 and 80 on Sundays and about 30 people attend Sunday School. He is excited about seeing God work in people’s lives.

“(God) is drawing people. He’s building His church right before my eyes,” he said.

Thorpe wants community residents to know they can come to the church for help with multiple needs they may have.

On Saturday, June 21, the church hosted an outreach event that offered resources from healthcare and various government agencies.

Member Chester Washington enjoys welcoming new people to the church. He has lived in the community for 40 years and has been a member of the church for 25 years. He hopes the church will continue “to shine and be a lighthouse.”

“The feeling that Hope Church (at Cedar Hills) wants to leave with people is that we care about everyone,” he said.

“I fell in love with the church because they made me feel at home, and I stuck through the changes over the years, and God has led me to stay here,” he added.

Jean Ann Taylor also likes to reach out to the community. Taylor, a 20-year member, works with the youth and has served 27 years as the librarian with the church’s school. Recently, she joined other members on a walk through the neighborhood with the Duval County Sheriff. Members met with residents and gave them invitations to the church’s Easter service. She has prayed for many years for all that is God is doing.

“We pray and we pray, and it’s like we’re standing under God’s waterfall,” she said.

On Easter Sunday, Thorpe preached on the official launch of Hope Church at Cedar Hills. The day was made even more special with the baptism of new member Liberty Shepard who lives near the church.

The 61-year-old says she is so thankful for the church and she considers them family.

“The people are so nice and seem like family. They are so adorable,” she said.

“I’m a different person. Jesus is in my heart.”

With all that has happened over the past three years, Thorpe and his wife are still praying, and he has asked the congregation to join him in praying to God to send saved people, lost people and Christian leaders to the church.

“I see people showing up, and I believe it’s because of our prayers,” said Thorpe.