Welcome
Our congregation of 1,550 members was founded in 1885 and is one of the original churches in Lakeland. We built the first church building in our community. Our congregation is rooted in history, but we are far from being old and tired. Our church is alive with fresh ideas, creative ministries and joy filled people. I invite you to not only visit us on line, but in person, if you are able. I hope you find FPC to be a welcoming place, where the love of Jesus Christ is lived out by people who know what it is to be redeemed by the grace of God in Christ.
PASTOR’S PAGE
I am in my thirteenth year as pastor of FPC and give thanks for what God is doing here. Central to all we do is worship. Our church offers three styles of worship on Sunday. We have an 8:15 AM Communion service featuring music by the Chapel Ensemble, Jubilation, or Lightshine. The service is held in the sanctuary during the school year and in the chapel during the summer. At 10:30 AM we offer two very different styles of worship, a 10:30 Classic or traditional service in the Sanctuary led by our forty voice Chancel Choir under the direction of Dr. Daniel Gordon and a modern worship service called “Vine”, which is held in our Fellowship Hall led by H.L. McConnell and our high powered praise band.
We have a strong Sunday School with classes for infants, toddlers, elementary school children, youth, and adults. We use the “rotation model” for our elementary children with classes using computers, art, video, and drama. We have eight classes for adults including some which are primarily lecture oriented and others which are discussion oriented. All of our Sunday School classes and Christian Education ministries study the Bible, the Word of God.
Our congregation has one of the premier youth ministries in the Lakeland area. Our Director of Student Life Ministries, Tim Timmes, is full time on our staff, and not only conducts excellent Wednesday evening and Sunday evening programs for teenagers, but also leads mission trips and summer camps. He visits with and counsels youth and their parents and is a fine mentor. Your teens will love FPC Ignite Youth Fellowship. It is fun, at times crazy, and definitely alive for Jesus.
FPC also is involved in a growing small group ministry under the leadership of Kenny Ellis. Kenny was a new church development pastor before joining our staff, and also oversees our new Men’s Ministry. Nancy Bertram coordinates our mission outreach. She spent many years in Kenya and Malawi and knows mission first hand. The Reverend Cecelia Moore is our Associate Pastor of Pastoral Care, and brings a caring heart to this important ministry. Celie was a respected judge on the Circuit Court in Florida. It’s not every church staff that boasts an in-house legal expert. We have a full time Ph.D. psychologist on staff, Dr. Paul Suich, who oversees our St. Andrew’s Ministry. If you are in need of spiritual and psychological counsel we offer an excellent person who possesses both Christian faith and counseling expertise. And I have not even mentioned the Wednesday Evening Institute, family dinners, Kid’s Klub, Scouting program, and Presbyterian Women.
We sponsor the Little Shepherd’s Pre-School, which has almost 200 students, and 25 teachers. It is one of the finest pre-school programs in Polk County, and includes chapel services teaching the love of Jesus Christ for God’s children.
All of this simply scratches the surface of FPC. I encourage you to visit us for Sunday worship, Sunday or Wednesday Christian Education classes, or share in our Fine Arts ministry of choirs, drama, and concerts. Stop by the office and say “hello” and someone will be glad to give you a tour of our extensive campus.
Blessings,
Dr. John B. “Mike” Loudon