
Congregation doubles in size in last 18 months
By Penny Fletcher
The First Christian Church of
The congregation has doubled in size in the last 18 months and outgrown its host- the Sun City Center Funeral Home.
“We’ve been meeting there about 4 years,” said its pastor, Rev. David Campbell. They’ve been wonderful hosts but the time has come to have our own building.”
Groundbreaking for the new 4,500-square-foot building on the 5-acre property located on
It was exactly one year to the day after the dedication of the land had taken place there.

The ground was hard but the weather was good as Campbell introduced the Building Committee and others who had taken part in the work that has been done to date and those who will be in charge once the permitting phase is over, hopefully, he said, in about two more weeks.
The funeral home has allowed the members of the First Christian Church to meet in its chapel for several years since it outgrew the office space in the plaza on the corner of U.S. 301 and State Road 674 (behind Boggs Jewelry) in Wimauma where it had moved shortly after it was founded at Freedom Plaza in 1999.
It currently meets at
“We’re really looking forward to serving the greater community,”
This, he said, is one of the main reasons they chose to relocate in that particular rural section of Ruskin.
“Once we paid off the land, we started our building fund,” he added. “Our members have been very generous and have worked very hard.”
The total cost of the new building is approximately $539,000 and it will seat 154 people, he said.
Jim Allen of Spectrum Church Builders based in
“Remember, it’s not just a building,” Allen said when given a turn to speak at Sunday’s ceremony. “It’s a place being built to worship Jesus Christ.”
He and his wife Mitzi have been married 24 years and have six grown children, spread out in several states. They came to this area in June 2008 after he retired from a position as a hospital chaplain who served at the Mayo Clinic and many hospitals in various states. His last position as a hospital chaplain was in
Taking on the job of pastoring a church full time isn’t exactly what most people would call retirement, he said, but he enjoys the church and its people.
Meanwhile, Mitzi is a leader at the Grief Support Group that meets weekly at the
“No creed but Christ, and no book but The Bible,” is how
To find out more about the church, people may call (813) 938-4955.