News from the Executive Presbyter/Stated ClerkCentral Florida Presbytery has a long history with developing new congregations. The pace of that history has slowed in recent years. We have chartered two new congregations in the past four years, Hope Presbyterian Church at Lake Nona, and Harvest Presbyterian Church in Winter Garden. In addition, several new worshiping communities have been organized since that initiative began over ten years ago.
Presbytery has a New Church Development Committee, which is a subcommittee of the Church Development Committee. NCD has been looking into possibilities for one or more new congregation projects. In early 2020, the committee was looking into the feasibility of doing something in the Fenney area, along Florida’s Turnpike, in an area being developed by The Villages. The pandemic put that on hold. Now, the Committee has returned to this possibility, as well as consideration of southern Lake County south of Clermont, where presbytery already owns 4.7 acres along Route 27. The area from south of Clermont to the Four Corners, west of Disney World, has been growing rapidly, and will only increase when the planned connection between the New Independence Parkway area of Route 429 and Route 27, around Lake Louisa State Park, is built. Another area that has been mentioned is the Melbourne-Palm Bay area, west of Interstate 95. All of our congregations in Brevard and Indian River Counties are east of I-95. The NCD Committee wants to move from dreaming about possibilities to actively planning to start at least one new congregation. To do this, the committee needs interested people to step forward and be part of the oversight committee that will study the options and lay the groundwork for planting a new congregation. This is both exciting and rewarding work, but it is work, and we need committed people to help us accomplish it. If this is something that interests you, please contact Danny Demoraes, the chairperson of New Church Development. He will be happy to discuss this further with you, and let you know how you can help in continuing CFP’s tradition of developing new congregations. Dan Williams Executive Presbyter / Stated Clerk |
AUGUST 2023
Rev. Dr. Dan Williams
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