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Small Candlewood Church Has Big Plans

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By DIANE LOEBEL, The Tampa Tribune

Published: September 8, 2007

LAND O' LAKES - Candlewood Community Church is starting small but has big plans.

A church plant of Oakwood Community Church in Tampa, the 50-member congregation held its first service March 4 and has been meeting at Pine View Middle School. It doesn't plan to stay small forever, as evidenced by the 2,000 mailers it recently sent to people in central Pasco County.

Church leaders hope to do more than bring in new members. 'We want to give hope to people and put an impact on the community,' said the Rev. Ron Day, the church's pastor.

Day, who was minister of congregational life at Oakwood, led a task force to launch the new church. Beginning in June 2006, the team put together policies, values, a ministerial philosophy, constitution and bylaws. About 30 people from Oakwood signed on to launch the church, affiliated with the Evangelical Free Church of America.

What distinguishes Candlewood from other churches is its emphasis on sparking individual spiritual change, Day said. Sunday services feature music and sermons that deal with a common theme and time for personal reflection and prayer, so people can explore what God is saying to them or how they are responding to the service.

The church's small groups connect members in intimate settings, where they can more fully explore the issues the services are intended to raise.

Members in one group talk about Sunday messages. A women's group hosts a book club; a less formal men's group meets for breakfast; a study group has been reading the Bible, one book at a time, in 12-week intervals.

'The worship service is the beginning step, and then it needs to be internalized and then it gets worked out in their lives,' Day said.

Next week, the church will host a conference to help people minister to others. Led by Dwight Robertson and Mark Vermillion of Kingdom Building Ministries, it will be Friday and Sept. 15 at Harvester United Methodist Church, 2432 Collier Parkway. Registration is at 6 p.m. Friday. The conference begins Saturday with a continental breakfast at 8 a.m. and continues until about 3 p.m. Cost is $25 per person, $40 per couple, and includes lunch.

The conference will tie in with coming sermons. Starting Sept. 16, all small groups will focus on sermons for six weeks. The church hopes to do that at least twice a year to give people a chance to reflect together and in a deeper way on particular topics, Day said.

This time, the intent is to get people talking about how they can make a difference in their own 'sphere of life,' he said.

'Each person is God's Plan A, and there is no Plan B. You don't have to be seminary-trained. Just do what God tells you to do, and do it well,' Day said.

Small groups build friendships. Core church members engage newcomers in conversation after services. In November, the congregation has been invited to an afternoon retreat after Sunday service.

Creating a sense of closeness can be tough in a big church, but Candlewood intends to keep the intimate feel of a small church, Day said.

That it will grow seems inevitable. Church leaders are negotiating a deal for a space in the Land O' Lakes area and hope to be an autonomous congregation by the end of the year. Within three to five years, Day hopes to spin off another church in the Tampa Bay area.

Meanwhile, the church is reaching out to the community. Members prayed for needs at Pine View Middle School on the National Day of Prayer and hope to help more at the school. Eventually, the church would like to help people with financial planning, deal with divorce, mentor young people or volunteer at the annual Flapjack Festival, Day said.

That desire to serve was strengthened by an article Day read recently, in which pastors were asked, 'Who would weep if your church closed its doors tomorrow?' Day resolved that the church would be of use to the community.

True Christians want to serve. They also want to connect with others in meaningful ways, Day said. 'People need people. We were designed to be in community with other people,' he said.

To suggest a Faith in Focus feature, call Diane Loebel, (727) 815-1081; write her at The Tampa Tribune, 6214 U.S. 19 New Port Richey FL 34652, or send e-mail to dloebel@tampatrib.com.

CANDLEWOOD COMMUNITY CHURCH
WHERE: Meets at Pine View Middle School, 5334 Parkway Blvd., Land O' Lakes

SERVICES: 10:30 a.m. Sunday

CALL: (813) 956-1541

ONLINE: candlewoodfl.org

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