{"id":49005,"date":"2024-12-17T08:00:31","date_gmt":"2024-12-17T13:00:31","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/flbaptist.org\/?p=49005"},"modified":"2025-11-04T16:23:40","modified_gmt":"2025-11-04T21:23:40","slug":"setbacks-become-opportunities-to-grow-and-see-god-move-for-southwest-florida-church","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/flbaptist.org\/setbacks-become-opportunities-to-grow-and-see-god-move-for-southwest-florida-church\/","title":{"rendered":"Setbacks become \u2018opportunities to grow and see God move\u2019 for southwest Florida church"},"content":{"rendered":"

ARCADIA\u2014In a town known for its hardworking agricultural community, rodeos, airboat rides and other adventures, a pastor in DeSoto County has become known as the \u201cdisaster pastor,\u201d with the innate ability to weather a storm and to walk right beside his church and community through it.<\/p>\n\"\"<\/a>\n

 <\/p>\n

A new church, a global pandemic, a Category 4 hurricane, the launch of a Christian school and a two-year building renovation\u2013all occurring simultaneously or consecutively\u2013it\u2019s safe to say that a lot has taken place in Sam Letson\u2019s first five years as pastor of First Baptist Church Arcadia<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Three months after Letson arrived at the church, the COVID pandemic happened, seeking to deafen all new momentum the new pastor and his wife, Lisa, were seeking to build within their first few months in Florida. After the church \u201cbounced back rather quickly\u201d from the pandemic and developed a desire to serve families in its community, the congregation opened a Christian school<\/a> in 2022.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>
Church renovations become the norm for First Baptist Church of Arcadia in the aftermath of Hurricane Ian\u2019s landfall in 2022. During renovations, the church and its school continued to grow.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

 <\/p>\n

The church hit a steady stride for just a couple of months. Then, Hurricane Ian made a devastating impact in the region in September 2022. With many in the community put in \u201clife and death\u201d situations and using the rural city\u2019s airboats as a means of assisting with recovery, Letson was thrust into the world of disaster relief and church renovations.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe have five buildings on our property, and all five took on damage and had to be repaired,\u201d said Letson. \u201cOur sanctuary building was uninhabitable for two years.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u2018Let\u2019s get it done\u2019 attitude<\/strong><\/p>\n

Without a traditional sanctuary while renovations occurred, the congregation rallied and gathered for weekly services in one half of the church gymnasium\u2014all while keeping the growing Christian school in operation and hosting various disaster relief teams.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe two years of worshiping in the gym went much better than any of us thought,\u201d he said. \u201cThe people were patient, sweet and loving. There was just a wonderful spirit in the room; it was fun and exciting.\u201d<\/p>\n

As Letson reflected on the two years of sharing a multipurpose space for various needs, the pastor shared how \u201cmiraculous\u201d it was that the congregation continued to grow and baptize new believers in a water trough and that the school doubled in size. Looking back, Letson credits the tireless work ethic of his people. Springing into action, the church created set-up and tear-down teams for Sunday worship as it pivoted to more of a \u201cchurch plant\u201d feel for two years.<\/p>\n

\u201cDuring this time, our people brought their hard work ethic into the church,\u201d said Letson. \u201cIt took quite a bit of acrobatics during this time. The people pulled it together with their, \u2018Let\u2019s get it done,\u2019 attitude.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u2018Set up to do something amazing\u2019<\/strong><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>
First Baptist Church of Arcadia Pastor Sam Letson and his wife, Lisa, affirm that God is sufficient even when challenges seem to be overwhelming. \u201cSetbacks,\u201d he said, \u201care really just opportunities to grow and see God move.\u201d<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Fast-forward, and now back in its newly renovated and up-to-date sanctuary, the church is turning its attention not to triage, but to ministry. The church is excited to build momentum again as it turns its complete attention to missions and outreach.<\/p>\n

\u201cNow that we\u2019re not thinking week-to-week, we\u2019re excited to begin impacting our community even more,\u201d he said. \u201cIf we can serve our community through the adversity we have faced, just imagine what we can do for the kingdom now that we have made it through. We have been set up to do something amazing. We just have to be obedient and faithful.\u201d<\/p>\n

With more than 350 people on its campus each week\u2014between its growing Christian school and preschool\u2014the church has a desire to open a special needs school in its community as well.<\/p>\n

After serving in ministry for almost 40 years, Letson says that things are not always what they seem. The pastor explained how what would seem like disaster after disaster actually was one of the \u201cbiggest blessings\u201d for the southwest<\/a> Florida Baptist<\/a> church.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe lesson here is that God is sufficient; you will get through it,\u201d said Letson. \u201cAnd you will be thriving and not just surviving. What appear to be setbacks are really just opportunities to grow and see God move.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cObviously God was at work, and the church went on,\u201d he said. \u201cPeople in our community and church pulled together. We just kept pressing on in faithfulness.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n
\n

“The lesson here is that God is sufficient; you will get through it. And you will be thriving and not just surviving. What appear to be setbacks are really just opportunities to grow and see God move.”<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

\n Sam Letson, pastor, First Baptist Church, Arcadia<\/strong>
\n pastor, First Baptist Church, Arcadia\n <\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n

 <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

In a town known for its hardworking agricultural community, rodeos, airboat rides and other adventures, a pastor in DeSoto County has become known as the \u201cdisaster pastor,\u201d with the innate ability to weather a storm and to walk right beside his church and community through it.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":96,"featured_media":49010,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"ep_exclude_from_search":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[11,19,23,50,25],"tags":[691,955,956,423],"class_list":["post-49005","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-expanding","category-news","category-sharing","category-region-southwest","category-stories","tag-baptisms","tag-fbc-arcadia","tag-renovations","tag-sam-letson"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/flbaptist.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/49005","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/flbaptist.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/flbaptist.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/flbaptist.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/96"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/flbaptist.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=49005"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/flbaptist.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/49005\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":67822,"href":"https:\/\/flbaptist.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/49005\/revisions\/67822"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/flbaptist.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/49010"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/flbaptist.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=49005"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/flbaptist.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=49005"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/flbaptist.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=49005"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}