Mosaic Mennonites

Missional - Intercultural - Formational

Congregational Profiles

Congregational Profile: North Tampa Christian Fellowship

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The history of North Tampa Christian Fellowship goes back almost 100 years. In 1927,  Lancaster Conference missionaries started Tampa Mennonite Mission. Three distinct congregations emerged as a result of this missionary effort. The three congregations met and ministered in the neighborhoods of Tampa, FL.  

In the mid 1960s, two of those groups, the Ybor City Mennonite Mission and the Ida Street Mission, merged to become one multicultural congregation. The emphasis of this merged congregation’s outreach was to connect with second and third generation Hispanics living in Florida.  In 1972, the congregation moved to a new location and adopted a new name: North Tampa Christian Fellowship. 

By 2009, North Tampa Christian Fellowship was in need of a “reboot.” With support and oversight by Southeast Mennonite Conference leadership, College Hill (Tampa, FL) Mennonite Church offered support and assistance in re-starting North Tampa.   

North Tampa continued as an English-speaking, multicultural body of believers ministering across diverse racial, cultural, and economic groups. As a church they are committed to Mennonite/Anabaptist principles of missional church outreach, peace and justice, anti-racism, simple living, community, mutual aid, spiritual formation, and worship.

With ongoing oversight from the College Hill congregation and under the leadership of Pastor Carl Walcott, North Tampa Christian Fellowship continues to stand as a city on a hill, signaling to society God’s love, grace, and forgiveness. As a congregation, they invite and call all people to live together as children of God’s family.

Congregational Profile: College Hill Mennonite Church

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Photo provided by Roy Williams

In 1927, Charles and Anna Byer, missionaries sent by Lancaster Mennonite Conference, arrived in Florida and opened the Tampa Mennonite Mission.  Originally known as the Ida Street Mennonite Church, services were held under the trees or in a tent until they were eventually able to rent a facility.  Over the next 25 years, the mission put down roots in the community, purchased property, and three distinct congregations were formed.  One of those three — College Hill Mennonite Church — held its first service in the building at 3506 Machado Street, Tampa,  on December 7,  1956.

For much of its history, College Hill was primarily an outreach to the children of the community, holding children’s church services, VBS, clubs, and social activities.  When Pastor Jon Moore arrived in the early 80’s, he undertook the work of transitioning College Hill into a fully-functioning “adult church”.  This transition was continued — and completed — when current pastor, Roy Williams, began in 1985.  At the time, College Hill was made up of about 12 people, operating on a shoestring budget, who simply went out into the community, visited people and invited them to church!

Community Food Pantry on Tuesdays. Photo provided by Roy Williams

Over the past three decades, College Hill has continued its emphasis on community outreach and programming, with their efforts and funding far outreaching what might be expected of a congregation of under 50 people!  Their food pantry serves 300 to 500 families per week, not only with food but also with information and services, as local organizations are invited to set up tables and talk to the guests about insurance, voter registration and other similar topics.  In the past College Hill has collaborated with Hillsborough Community College and the University of South Florida to facilitate adult education classes.  Scholarships are offered to College Hill children and youth through their “LTC: Let’s Talk College” program.  They’ve also taken their program, “Reality, Recycling & Religion” into the public schools, which subtly introduced Christian principles; this curriculum has now impacted over 10,000 children and adults in their neighborhood. 

(L to R) Pastor Roy Williams, Bryant Townsly & Janee Prince. Photo provided by Roy Williams

When he began at College Hill, Pastor Roy Williams brought a background in banking and commercial real estate lending, and continued the principles he had been practicing by investing in people and the community. The church continues to work at jobs creation and nurtures small businesses by offering grants for people to start a new business of their own. These grants come with just one condition: that the recipient would pass it forward at some point in their life, when they are able to help somebody else.

With a mission statement of “Perfecting Saints for Ministry”, College Hill Mennonite Church continues to invest in their people through mentorship and leadership training, preparing people for ministry – be it at College Hill or elsewhere. As he approaches the twilight of his ministry years, Pastor Roy anticipates the priorities and passions of College Hill Mennonite Church continuing, no matter what his role may be.

Prayer requests:

*  pray for them as they transition into Mosaic Mennonite Conference
*  pray for their future, and whatever it may hold for them

Congregational Profile: Iglesia Menonita Luz y Verdad

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The Miraculous Church Building

Editor’s Note: Mosaic Mennonite Conference anticipates welcoming eight Florida congregations (that were formerly part of Southeast Mennonite Conference) at this fall’s conference assembly.  Iglesia Menonite Luz y Verdad is one of the eight congregations. 

Iglesia Menonita Luz y Verdad (Light and Truth Mennonite Church) is located in Lakeland, Florida. The church began as a result of a joint effort between the Mennonite Church of College Hill in Tampa, FL and Southeast Mennonite Conference. 

(L to R) Left to Right: Juan De Jesus, Pastor Lydia De Jesus, Mariano Ponce de Leon, Hilda Ponce de Leon, María Lebron (photo credit: Judy Gonzalez)

Lydia de Jesus is the second pastor in the history of the church. Pastor Lydia and her husband were founding members and very active in the programs and life of the church. When the founding pastor concluded his responsibilities with the congregation, Pastor Lydia was called as the leader and later as the pastor. With the help of the conference and other church leaders, she was trained in pastoral ministry. 

As pastor, Pastor Lydia’s primary ministry is serving this community with the ministry of evangelization, Bible study, and visitation in homes and hospitals. She is currently the only female pastor in Florida with ministerial credentials in Mosaic Conference. 

In the beginning, the church moved locations regularly, as it did not have its own building to call home. “The Luz y Verdad Hispanic Mennonite Church building is a miracle from God,” said Pastor Lydia De Jesus. In March 2014, the church was a small congregation of about 30 people. The congregation purchased an abandoned warehouse for $95,000.

In order to pay for the building and the renovations needed, the congregation collected a down payment of $9,500 from its members and had a special fundraiser, selling Puerto Rican food. They also raised another $40,000 for remodeling and construction, including an AC unit. Labor, valued at $30,000, was donated by church members. The church also received a grant in the amount of $17,425 from JoinHands, a resource sharing ministry of Mennonite Men.  

Through hard work, generosity, and prayer, the abandoned warehouse was transformed into a wonderful worship place. The image of the neighborhood became more positive after the presence of the new church. Today, other church groups rent the building for their worship services and other activities. For the members of Luz y Verdad, the church building is indeed a miracle. 

The vision and mission of the church are to reach out with the Gospel of Christ to people who do not know him as their personal savior, baptizing them, and making them disciples of the Lord. Another mission is to use the church building for the worship of God and offer community services. Finally, the church desires to be a beacon of light with the message of Jesus for all people in need of salvation, economic needs, health, and substance addiction.

The community where the church is located is low-income with many basic needs. The Hispanic population is very diverse, with the majority from Puerto Rico and the Dominican Republic. These demographics are also similarly represented in the church

Congregational Profile: Luz y Vida Iglesia Menonita

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Moises Ramirez, Ana Paula Ungaro, Brenda Colón, Ariel Ramirez, Miguel Sanchez, and Elimel Piña on a Sunday Worship Service. Photo provided by Luz Y Vida

Luz y Vida (Light and Life) Mennonite Church was started as a church plant in 2009 in the College Hill neighborhood of Tampa, FL. The new church was a project started by Pastor Tomas Ramírez and his family, funded by the Southeast Mennonite Conference and the College Hill Mennonite Church. The College Hill congregation offered the use of their church building and support by providing health insurance. 

The congregation flourished and after a year moved to the Orlando area. Currently the congregation is renting space with another congregation, but they hope to have their own building in the future. 

Mother’s Day luncheon. Photo provided by Luz Y Vida.

The church has a multicultural Hispanic ministry including many Brazilians.  A strength of ​​the church ministry is combining the message of the Good News with involvement in the social needs of the community.  The congregation offers many social services to the community, notably in the areas of food, mental health, optometry, and eyewear.

The church program, “See Better to Learn Better,” has the goal of providing 100 eyeglasses to 100 low-income young students. Many students are taking classes online and rely on their computers and tablets to study and need proper eyewear. Pastor Tomas is an optician. The church has professional equipment to make formulated eyeglasses. The entire pastor’s family is active in the church programs.

Pastor Tomas Ramirez, Tania Chica and Wellington de Jesús. Photo provided by Luz y Vida.

There are many more ministries and programs within the church. The congregation has a large emphasis on youth ministry.  The youth are organized and have an annual retreat at a camp and invite participants from other churches in the area. The church also has a men’s program called “Men of Courage.” Its mission is to offer help to the church community as handymen. 

The Luz y Vida congregation has a leadership training program, which trains persons to be sent to different parts of the city to start new Mennonite communities.

Congregational Profile: Iglesia Menonita Encuentro de Renovación

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by Javier Márquez

Editor’s Note: Mosaic Mennonite Conference anticipates welcoming eight Florida congregations (that were formerly part of Southeast Mennonite Conference) at this fall’s conference assembly.  This is a profile of one of these congregations.

What is the call that God has placed on Iglesia Menonita Encuentro de Renovación (Encounter for Renewal Mennonite Church) in Miami, Florida?

For Pastor José Andrés Mendoza, this question has three clear answers: 

  1. Taking care of the faith community
  2. Helping immigrants
  3. Providing hope and trust in God. 
Congregational Christmas dinner
 (Photo from official church facebook page)

The church community began in 1998 in Miami, Florida by Brother Gamaliel Fallas. Brother Marco Güete, now a Leadership Minister in Mosaic Conference, contributed to the formation of the church by sharing his inspiration of having a Mennonite community in Miami. 

Iglesia Menonita Encuentro de Renovación is an intercultural Hispanic community, with members coming from many different countries, such as Colombia, Honduras, Argentina, Nicaragua, Guatemala, and the US.  

The church is deeply and intensely committed to the social reality that surrounds them, expressing to others the love of God and their evangelical call to serve others.  Members regularly visit prisons and hospitals to visit those imprisoned and sick. While there, they pray and share food and company with families, patients, and inmates. 

A time of intercessory prayer in the midst of worship. (Photo by Javier Márquez)

The church, which meets every Sunday morning for worship, extends its service and contacts throughout the community directly by providing lodging and counseling to immigrants. The church has been organized in such a way that they can provide newly arrived immigrants with food and lodging for a period of two months. 

The church also supplies food, school supplies, and grooming tools for immigrant children who are part of a support group called Casa Hogar. Providing hope in this context for immigrants who arrive, leaving behind their families and belongings for the promise of a better future, is an important task of the church. 

Congregants during worship at Iglesia Menonita Encuentro de Reconciliación.
(Photo by Javier Márquez)

In addition to the constant help and closeness between the brothers and sisters of the church, they also care for the broader community of faith. Bible studies in members’ homes or community lunches, where the cost of lunch is often assumed by one or two church members, demonstrates an expression of love towards each other and the church.  

The modest church building could give the mistaken impression of being a community with limited reach. The truth is that this body of believers has a passion and dedication for the call of the Lord Jesus Christ which leads them to continually carry out activities of service, love, and peace throughout the city of Miami. 

Congregational Profile: Iglesia Seguidores de Cristo (Followers of Christ Church)

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by Javier Márquez

Editor’s Note: Mosaic Mennonite Conference anticipates welcoming eight Florida congregations (that were formerly part of Southeast Mennonite Conference) at this fall’s conference assembly.  This is the third of eight congregational profiles we will be sharing in preparation for the assembly on Nov. 7-8.

The church building of Iglesia Seguidores de Cristo in Sarasota, FL. Photo by Javier Marquez

At 4:00 am a light comes on in the building of the Seguidores de Cristo church in Sarasota, Florida.  Every morning, leaders and other members of the congregation gather to pray. Their faith and passion to reach others motivates them to do this every morning, and is helped by the good weather in Florida. 

Since the 1990s, Seguidores de Cristo (Followers of Christ) Mennonite Church has been an active group of Latin American immigrants from different countries, such as Colombia, Honduras, Mexico, and Costa Rica. Each Sunday, congregants arrive for worship at this church with colonial architecture. They also participate in Bible studies regularly throughout the week. The church has now expanded its outreach and has opened new locations in Tampa, Bradenton, Gaimamy, and Sarasota.

The  congregation prays together for a member in need. Photo by Javier Marquez

The church is a community made up mostly of  immigrant families who come to Sarasota, FL, devoid of a host community. The brothers and sisters of the church are deeply committed to the discipleship and gospel of Jesus Christ.  On any weekend, the church will meet to pray at dawn, perform youth services, fast, worship, go on evangelistic journeys, and accompany immigrant families when receiving bad news from their countries of birth.

On a recent day, the regular congregational schedule was halted. The community came together to accompany some Mexican brothers and sisters who had received very sad news from Mexico. Their sister died due to advanced cancer and was unable to be with her family in Florida because of immigration restrictions. Immediately, church members arrived at the church to gather with this family as they grieved this difficult news. 

Sunday mornings, the congregation gathers for Bible Study, worship, preaching, Sunday School, and a final farewell. The Seguidores de Cristo Church is a strongly united congregation, with a marked vision of evangelism and discipleship.  Together, they desire to accompany and welcome their neighbors, in the Spirit of Jesus Christ.

Congregational Profile: Shalom Evangelical Mennonite Church

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by Javier Márquez

Editor’s Note: Mosaic Mennonite Conference anticipates welcoming eight Florida congregations (that were formerly part of Southeast Mennonite Conference) at this fall’s conference assembly.  For the next several weeks, we will be sharing the profiles of each of these congregations.

Members of Shalom Evangelical Mennonite Congregation pray together. Photo credit: Javier Márquez

Iglesia Evangélica Menonita Shalom (Shalom Evangelical Mennonite Church) began in 2019 and continues to grow and strengthen through prayer, evangelism, and service to others. Currently 20-25 adults and children gather regularly in the church building on Machado Street in Tampa, Florida. 

The congregation began as a church plant on May 26, 2019. Pastor Secundino Casas and his wife, Jesenia Casas, were leaders of this “cell” in the house of a member of the congregation. 

Now the congregation meets in the same building as College Hill Mennonite Church. The College Hill congregation has opened their doors so that this community of Spanish-speaking believers can carry out their faith activities. The two congregations share service opportunities, like a community food, clothes, and toy distribution every Wednesday, for those in need in Tampa.

Pastor Secundino Casas preaches on a Sunday morning. Photo credit: Javier Márquez

Pastors Secundino and Jesenia Casas, a married couple from Mexico, promote the church’s mission, “Share Jesus’ love for others, serve, and evangelize.” This vision is clearly reflected in the different actions they perform as a community of faith.

Church members actively work at discipleship and evangelization through community Bible studies and outreach. One day in the midst of an outreach campaign, a man, who did not speak Spanish, asked the members to pray for his life because he “could feel the presence of God in them and in what they are doing.”

Pastor Secundino (on truck) delivers food to the community. Photo credit: Javier Márquez

Despite having little time to attend church activities, many single working mothers living in Tampa have found a place of welcome at Shalom Evangelical Mennonite Church. This reality has motivated church leaders to organize help for these families, offering childcare at the church  for women who work.

Shalom Evangelical Mennonite Church is a community committed to building peace.  On their church sign, along with service times, is the verse, “Blessed are the peacemakers because they will be called children of God” (Matthew 5:9).

Congregational Profile: Homestead Mennonite Church

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Editor’s Note: Mosaic Mennonite Conference anticipates welcoming eight Florida congregations (that were formerly part of Southeast Mennonite Conference) at this fall’s conference assembly.  For the next several weeks, we will be sharing the profiles of each of these congregations.

by Rick Lee, Pastor

Homestead (FL) Mennonite Church began in the 1950s by Mennonite Volunteer Service (MVS) workers who were in Homestead, FL working at Redlands Migrant Workers’ Camp. The church has expanded and contracted over the years. The building itself has been built and expanded three times during the life of the congregation. In 2000, the church burned down, by an unknown arsonist, but was rebuilt and expanded. 

Presently, there are few ethnic Mennonites in the congregation.  The majority of the congregation is senior citizens and young adults.  There are a few teens and a few middle-aged families. The group is diverse ethnically, culturally, and economically. Our church worship is in English. 

One goal of our church is to continue to grow and mature in our faith, in order to become more faithful followers of Jesus Christ. Most of the outreach is done through individual efforts and relationships. Members reach out to people in prison, single moms, undocumented immigrants, alcoholics, the poor, senior citizens, and children through tutoring and after school programs.  

Over the years, the church has been connected and helped with many community events.  In 1992, Hurricane Andrew devastated most of the entire city of Homestead, FL. However, the Homestead Mennonite Church building was fortunate to survive this disaster. Many citizens gathered at the church for help and consolation for many months following the hurricane. 

More recently immigrants gather to hear from government officials, officers, and social workers about their rights as immigrants. The congregation values the opportunity to work with the community and its officials in an effort to help promote and keep peace with all people. 

The church building is also offered to others for ministry use, including helping new congregations establish themselves, home schooling groups, senior citizens, mothers of preschoolers, and weight management groups.  Seasonally a local community choir uses the church building to perform their holiday concerts. There have also been times that free health clinics were performed in the church building. 

In the past decade, four or five churches have used our facility to try to start new churches. One Mennonite church has succeeded thus far. One of another denomination has folded. Two other congregations are still trying to establish themselves or save up money for their own building. Therefore, currently three congregations, including our own, share our facility.

Although there are many activities in the church building, the congregation is still working on finding ways to reach out to their neighborhood. Presently we try to connect through Facebook and also by encouraging our church members to love our neighbors as a source of witness. 

Over the past several years, we offered Vacation Bible School. Some years we designed our own curriculum and other years we partnered with other churches of various denominations to provide a witness and activities for children during their summer break.  

During a recent Advent season, an adult member of the congregation wrote reflective public readings on the themes of Advent.  A youth of the congregation used pastel chalk to illustrate the theme on sidewalks and parking lots, while a reader’s group from the church presented the readings in public. Younger children also learned an increasingly complex choreography to the Advent hymn, “O Come Emmanuel,” each week.