By Pastor Steve Daigle
Our world is a busy place and there is always something trying to capture our attention. Many of us desire to make a change in the world, but with so many people and so many problems that seem hard to reach, one may ask the question, how can we change the world? The answer…..one person at a time.
My wife, our four children and I have lived in Parkland for the last eight years. Two years ago there was a great tragedy at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School. That tragedy really rocked our community and caused many people to feel less secure in their search for hope. That same year, I was planning to start a Bible Study to reach the people of Parkland. I knew that the hope that people needed could only come from Jesus Christ….so how do we bring that hope to our local community? We often say one of our goals is “Reaching our community, changing our world.”
Maybe a Bible study could help our community, which would bring us one step closer to changing our world. We were approved for a room to start a Bible study in our clubhouse and 2 days later, the tragedy at MSD High School took place. Some of our neighbors got together to pray for the families and our community and we let them know that we were starting a Bible study. The study grew and we eventually moved into a local coffee shop where more and more people wanted to be a part of what God was doing in Parkland. Our vision as a church was to find ways to double the number of disciples of Jesus Christ over a 5 year period and one way to do that is to plant more churches. After much prayer and a great conversation with our Lead Pastor, Doug Sauder, we announced that we would use what God was starting with our Bible Study in a coffee shop to start our newest campus, Calvary Chapel Parkland. For those who want to provide coffee during their meetings, they can try services like a commercial coffee machine lease.
April 14 will be one year that we opened the Campus. We have seen God move in so many ways including many people giving their life to Christ, a community of people growing stronger in their faith through community groups, and reaching students through First Priority Christian Clubs in Westglades Middle School and MSD High School. We are also reaching the elderly with a weekly church service at Aston Gardens, an increase in foster care support, and healthy women and men’s ministries.
We currently have our services on Sundays at 10am at Westglades Middle School, and it is amazing to see how we turn a school into a church every week. We are praying for what God has next for our church as we reach our community and change our world.
Now more than ever, people need hope and we truly believe that what was intended for evil through what happened at MSD High School and even what is happening with the coronavirus, God is going to use for good for the saving of many lives.
Genesis 50:20 – You intended to harm me, but God intended it for good to accomplish what is now being done, the saving of many lives.
We would love to have you join us for one of our services online at calvaryftl.org Wednesdays at 6:30pm, Saturdays at 6pm or Sundays at 9am, 11am or 1pm. Regular services are Sundays at 10am at Westglades Middle School 11000 Holmberg Rd. Parkland, 33076.
