Florida Conference In Mission is a monthly video series about people reaching people.

This month’s video highlights Impact Community Mission Group’s unique approach to outreach in Key West where most people have a strongly negative view of religion.

Impact Community Mission Group in Key West, Fla., has a different way of looking at outreach. The church is located in an area where people have a negative view of religion and are not readily open to have the gospel seeds planted in their lives.

Impact Community calls its style of outreach, “plowing the ground,” because members are trying to break down the walls against religion by revealing God’s love to people in as many creative ways as possible. They do things like handing out free soda on street corners, giving free car washes without accepting donations, and walking the streets, offering to have prayer with people. They also connect with neighborhoods by hosting block parties. They take out a grill and serve free food to the whole neighborhood, play games with the kids, and try to create a fun atmosphere. Then, they follow up that party by returning the following week for games with the kids and holding an outdoor church.

However, the members don’t limit themselves to only a few types of events. The idea is to be creative about how they show love, and do it in ways that people wouldn’t expect. This helps disarm people and allow them to see through to the love that God has placed in each of their hearts.

Florida Conference In Mission is a monthly video series about people reaching people.

This month’s video highlights Lake Placid Church’s Better Living Community Center where they host seminars and other health-related activities to better their community.

North Lake Church in the northern region of Lake County, Florida, is home to WGTT 91.5 FM. (Photo: Chester Graham)

by Chet Jordan

An orchard of pecan trees stretched out before Raul Ortiz as he shook his head in disbelief. For years, he carried a burden in his heart for a full-power radio station to preach the gospel. Raul and a group of laymen obtained a license, received the call letters and frequency WGTT 91.5 FM, and were assigned a broadcast area. Next, they needed to find a location, central to the broadcast area, where they could establish their radio station. As Raul stood at the ideal location on Emeralda Island Road in Leesburg, Florida, his dream was fading fast as he viewed nothing but countryside and a pecan orchard. There was no building to rent and he had no money to build.

After some time elapsed, Raul revisited the area and was surprised to find a church built on the site of the pecan orchard. Amazingly, it was home to an Adventist congregation! He was elated and decided to present the possibility of a radio station to North Lake Church members.

Members expressed an interest, but they had no available money for the project and no experience operating a radio station or preparing programming. Shawn Lathrom, pastor at the time, then remembered someone he met years before. He contacted Linda De Romanett, owner of the Family First Radio Network in Keene, Texas. She was interested in purchasing the station if the church would provide a place for operation.

Sandra and David Yandoh (right) gave their hearts to the Lord through the ministry of Chaplain Faye Rose, (center) director of spiritual care at Florida Hospital Waterman, and listening to WGTT which led them to Bible studies with Coretta and Obed Graham (left). The Yandohs were baptized by Chaplain Rose at North Lake Church on December 15, 2012. (Photo: Aric Turlington)

Engineers determined that the new station could be permanently located at the church with a radiated power of l,600 watts. In the church attic, a room was constructed with adequate electricity and an air conditioner. The station began broadcasting in May 2011 with a 24/7 schedule covering a radius of 24 miles.

Family First Radio Network provides the programing and allows for locally produced programs and advertising. Speakers are largely well-known Adventist evangelists, while a number of time slots feature health presenters.

People are listening and are attending Adventist Churches in the area. Several listeners have been baptized, including Sandra and David Yandoh who joined North Lake Church in December 2012.

Beginning January 1, North Lake Church hired a Bible instructor to follow up with the growing number of interests and contacts generated through the radio station.

Bonus video: Sandra and David Yandoh share their testimony from listening to North Lake Church’s radio station.

Florida Conference In Mission is a monthly video series about people reaching people.

This month’s video highlights A Key Encounter, a tourist outreach ministry that uses video shows and animal interactions to teach people about the Creator.

Florida Conference In Mission is a monthly video series about people reaching people.

This month’s video highlights Okeechobee Church’s Prison Ministry which provides inmates with correspondence Bible studies, letters of encouragement, and monthly programs.

by Patty Crouch

Perry, Fla., Church members and their youth-focused U-turn Ministries have joined forces under the direction of Patty Crouch, Lay Pastor, to bridge the generation gap within their own walls before reaching out to others.

Young people lead praise music during the devotional segment that opens the Christ-centered Saturday Night Live activities at Perry Church. (Photo: Rainey Turlington)

“For effective evangelism to any community, the church family must first be completely in love with each other,” says Crouch. “You don’t just tolerate each other and your differences, you embrace them.” In order to accomplish this, she believes members must spend time together beyond a weekly one hour church service.

On Saturday evenings, the Perry Church family, along with young and old friends invited from the community, come together for a Christ-centered version of Saturday Night Live. The open mic program gives everyone an opportunity to sing, read poetry, perform skits, play an instrument, or present religious humor. Completing the evening are group activities, such as: Wii games, board games, ping pong, air hockey, pool, volleyball, hula hoop contests, and gatherings around a bonfire.

Patty Crouch, lay pastor, helps two young participants with their song, Jesus Loves Me, during the open mic portion of Saturday Night Live. (Photo: Rainey Turlington)

Half the fun comes in watching younger and older generations enjoying one another, laughing together, and learning from each other. “When we are no longer separated by the older and younger generation but are together as the Jesus Generation,” says Crouch, “then we will truly be effective in leading souls to the foot of the cross.”

Florida Conference In Mission is a monthly video series about people reaching people.

This month’s video highlights Spring Meadows Church’s ministry called Passion In Action which aims to help the community around them in a variety of ways.

Florida Conference In Mission is a monthly video series about people reaching people.

This month’s report highlights Service and Love Together (SALT), a Central Florida youth ministry with the goal of leading people into a personal relationship with Christ, nurturing them to Christian maturity, and equipping them for service.

Florida Conference In Mission is a monthly video series about people reaching people.

This month’s report highlights Florida Conference’s door-to-door MagaBook ministry.

Florida Conference MagaBook students contacted more than 300,000 people this summer in an effort to spread the Word of God. These student literature evangelists go to both homes and businesses to “promote health and better values in communities,” says Alfredo Acuña, MagaBook student. They offer everyone a variety of health books, children’s books, and devotional books in the form of magazines. They are printed in magazine form to be easier to read and a faster resource says Ruby Pimentel, associate publishing director.

In exchange for these books, people offer donations to the students which help them pay for school tuition. “A lot of these young people are putting themselves through school doing this,” said Les McCoy, associate publishing director. Students keep 70% of the money donated to apply directly towards their school bill. Many Adventist schools provide matching scholarships for this money as well.

In addition to the outreach, students also gain a deeper spiritual life as they are encouraged to pray often and have personal devotions. This spiritual connection helps them as they are talking to people. “Our main goal is just reflecting God to those people so that they can see a God-loving Christian person,” says Elvis Rodriguez, MagaBook student. They also take surveys to determine needs within that community and to offer people Bible studies. These surveys are then followed up by local churches.

Publishing Director Joe Holloway believes that students who want to grow spiritually and help further the gospel are the ones who join the MagaBook ministry.

Florida Conference In Mission is a monthly video series about people reaching people.

This month’s report highlights a successful food bank operated by Winter Park Spanish Church.