Founded in 1912, First United Methodist Church of Port St. Joe is a beautiful Jeffersonian style church nestled along the pristine St. Joseph Bay on Florida’s panhandle. For three years, Rev. Dr. Geoffrey Lentz has pastored this community and the church has doubled in attendance. Needing more space, Port St. Joe is breaking ground on a new “great hall” that will seat over 500 people.
The new facility will be primarily used for fellowship meals, event space, and worship. The front of the building will feature a rotunda, which is a circular porch that seats over three hundred for Port St. Joe’s outdoor worship service overlooking the water. Because of the size of this project, FUMC Port St. Joe is partnering with both the Alabama – West Florida United Methodist Foundation and the Florida United Methodist Foundation. Rev. Lentz says, “We feel like the Foundation understands our mission and is able to form a partnership with us for the sake of the gospel. The process of working with both foundations has worked very well for us and hopefully opens doors to other churches in our conference with similar needs. The two foundations provide very competitive interest rates and terms, but the greatest blessing is that they share our mission.”
This new space will be the premier gathering place for all of Port St. Joe and will foster ministry for generations to come.
If your church needs to purchase property, build, or renovate, consider a loan with the Development Fund. Loans are made up to $1 million dollars to churches and agencies in our conference for new church construction, purchasing property, and major renovation projects. The Development Fund has fueled the growth, expansion, and renovation needs of the AWF Conference for over 28 years, loaning more than $18 million to churches and agencies. Because of the generosity of other United Methodists who invest in our Development Fund, we can continue to grow and serve our communities.
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