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VANESSA GARCIA RODRIGUEZ
Florida Baptist Convention
DELTONA (FBC)–Few people would look along the I-4 corridor of Central Florida to find an international mission field where people have never heard the name of Jesus Christ.
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But when God called Gene Gregory to start a new church in his hometown of Deltona—located between Orlando and Daytona Beach— an internationally-diverse population of unchurched individuals, unfamiliar with the Gospel, was exactly what he found.
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“People from all over the world are coming to Florida and specifically to Deltona, right now,” said Gregory, pastor of the River of Life Baptist Church. The congregation’s members represent countries including England, South Africa, Lebanon, Columbia and Puerto Rico.
The church was planted after the results of a church-need probe by the Seminole Baptist Association cited the need for 10 new churches in the region. Today the community continues to grow so fast there are not enough churches to keep up with the surge of people flocking to the area, Gregory said.
He noted that in Deltona where the population exceeds 80,000 there are only 75 ministries and churches combined. “If each of the 75 ministries had full services on Sundays there would still be 50,000 people in Deltona without a church home.”
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The challenge of the numbers motivates Gregory who deliberately seeks to attract the unlikely churchgoers. “Many of these people have no idea who Jesus Christ is or what Christianity is,” Gregory said.
As a result several members of the unique, multi-cultural congregation have no church background or had stopped attending church because of a negative experience.
“The Lord has chosen—through this ministry—to give us the opportunity to lead those people to the Lord and I don’t know that they would have ever been given that opportunity if this church had not been planted,” Gregory said.
One way the River of Life Church plans to further reach the unchurched in their community is through recreational ministries.
“What we had always looked for was a good-sized piece of land so we could have a large recreational ministry that would reach the 19,000 children between the ages 5-17 in the adjacent community,” Gregory said. “We are hoping to provide a place for them to go and interact with Christian folks.”
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| A member of River of Life Baptist Church in Deltona removes weeds near the lake behind the church’s 11-acre property. River of Life purchased the land with an interest-free loan underwritten by the Maguire State Mission Offering. FBC Photo by Ken Touchton |
With the help of a $75,000 interest-free loan from the Maguire State Mission Offering, the church was able to buy 11 acres of land with a house and barn on the premises.
A new church can qualify for assistance in the purchase price of a property site. The maximum interest-free loan amount of $75,000 can be repaid over ten years on a graduated payment schedule.
The lakeside property that River of Life purchased was once owned by Gregory’s parents. After his father was killed six years ago, upkeep became a burden for his mother. Her hopes to use the land for God’s work led her to offer the property to River of Life when she decided to sell.
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| Steve Jagoda (r) and Mark Lombardo (l), members of River of Life, apply siding to a house that serves as the church’s administrative building. The project was part of a clean-up day scheduled to help maintain the church’s new property. FBC Photo by Ken Touchton |
The church has already begun to transform the house into an administrative building and the barn into a pavilion for outdoor functions. Church leaders hope to begin working on their final site plan within the next eight months, pending permits and financing.
“We [w]ould not be able to do a lot of what we’ve done without funding from the State Mission Offering,” Gregory said. “It is only through the work of the Florida Baptists and their donations that this ministry continues.”
Presently, the 80-member congregation averages about 120 in attendance and uses the local elementary school for their Sunday service. They will continue to do so until they can afford modular buildings for their new property.
Gregory is anxious to have a place to carry out ministries to help the community. “We are hoping with this facility we’ll be able to provide a place where people can come and feel accepted.”