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Trinity United Methodist Pastor Heads To Sebring

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The Tampa Tribune

Published: June 28, 2008

WESLEY CHAPEL - WESLEY CHAPEL - Members of Trinity United Methodist Church will say goodbye and good luck Sunday to their pastor of 15 years.

A farewell open house in Fellowship Hall will honor the Rev. A.C. Bryant and his wife, Kathy, who on Tuesday begin their new appointment at First United Methodist Church of Sebring.

The pastor is credited with helping to increase membership and creating the need to expand the church complex, which encompasses several buildings used for worship, education, administration and storage.

Founded in 1986, Trinity first met in the chapel at First United Methodist Church of Zephyrhills. Trinity's multipurpose building was finished in 1987 and now serves as Fellowship Hall. An education building went up in 1991 and, during Bryant's tenure, a new sanctuary was dedicated in October 1995.

The congregation numbered 200 when Bryant succeeded Judge Watson, who retired in June 1993. By 2006, attendance averaged 600 weekly during the winter.

In a message on the church's Web site, Bryant describes his congregation as warm, welcoming and dedicated to spiritual growth and Christian service.

"If you are planning on visiting us for the first time, we thank you, for you will be enriching our worship by your presence," he says on www.trinityumcwesleychapel .com. "If you are seeking a church home, please know that we warmly invite you here. Our doors are wide open to invite you, our minds are open to God's continuing revelations, and our hearts are open to new ways to love and serve. Worship with us, celebrate with us, grow with us, and serve with us."

Also on the Web site is a Bryant biography that includes these highlights:

•He always wanted to be a minister and began his career in 1987 while attending Atlanta's Emory University, from which he holds a master's degree.

"I was living in White Springs, FL and serving a two point charge in White Springs and Tustenugee. I would drive to Atlanta each Sunday afternoon after preaching, attend school and drive home on Friday or sometime Saturday afternoon to serve the two churches on Sunday morning."

He was ordained into the Methodist ministry as an elder in 1993.

•"I believe that the Bible is the living word of God and therefore have a very conservative theology. I am very evangelistic because I believe the mandate for the church is to win the lost. I also believe there is a heaven to gain and a hell to shun."

•As a member of the Zephyrhills/Wesley Chapel Ministerial Association, he participated in community worship on Good Friday, Easter and Thanksgiving, and also in an annual unity service.

•He was involved in Heart of Florida Walk to Emmaus, a spiritual renewal program intended to strengthen the local church through the development of Christian disciples and leaders, according to www.hof-emmaus.org. Based in Bartow, the Heart of Florida Emmaus Community covers Pasco, Polk, Highlands, Osceola, Hardee and Hillsborough counties.

• He has served as an "on call" chaplain at East Pasco Medical Center, worked with local hospice organizations and, through area funeral homes, comforted grieving families who didn't have their own minister.

•Born in Norfolk, Va., Bryant grew up in Virginia Beach; married Kathy in April 1998; has a blended family of six now-grown children (four boys and two girls) and more than a half-dozen grandchildren.
TRINITY UNITED METHODIST CHURCH
WHERE: 33425 State Road 54, Wesley Chapel
PHONE: (813) 788-2898

E-MAIL: info@trinityumc wesleychapel.com

WEB SITE: www.trinityumc wesleychapel.com

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