Multiplication is in the DNA of Suntree Grace Church in Melbourne, Fla. While they might not have a step-by-step church planting model, they have consistently started or sustained churches in the East-Central region of Florida for nearly forty years.
Suntree itself began as an organic church plant. In the 1980s several people from Central Ohio wintered in Melbourne Beach. These snowbirds began witnessing to people they interacted with, and a small community of new believers began to meet. The snowbirds decided to stay in the area, and the group purchased land and held church services in a barn in the middle of a cow pasture. Eventually they were able to build a permanent home on that same land, and that is where the church still meets today.
“Is a church ever done with being planted?” Lead Pastor Jason Brown said. “We are a planted church that continues to plant ourselves in every area the Master continues to sow.”
Throughout their ministry, the church has remained committed to being debt free. They have partnered with Grace Financial for many years to save funds for an expansion, and even had construction plans drawn up few years ago, but due to increased costs of building those plans have not come to fruition.
Instead of adding on to their building, every time they outgrew their space they sent a group of people out. Sometimes it was to start a new church, and sometimes it was to join an existing congregation to help strengthen and revitalize the church.
For two years Suntree has had standing room only during their Sunday services, and thanks to the generosity of another local church, they are now able to begin moving forward with building expansion plans. Suntree has a good relationship with many of the area churches, and they often gather to pray together and encourage one another. Last year Jason met with a local church along with Seth Tweeddale, pastor at Grace Community Church in Ormond Beach. The church had been struggling relationally and their congregation had gone from 200 to 15. Shortly after that meeting, the church reached out to Jason offering to give Suntree their building. The church had decided to close, and they wanted to bless the Suntree congregation with their property. The church building was 25,000 square feet and sat on 11 acres of land in a beautiful setting.
Jason met with the elders at Suntree and prayed about the offer. Their congregation was currently around 200 people, and every person was actively involved in outreach, evangelism, and discipleship. Taking on a much larger property would require some of those efforts to go toward building upkeep. “A bigger building does not equate to a stronger body of believers,” Jason said. Suntree graciously turned down the offer, feeling called to remain where they were.
The church came back to them a second time with another offer. This time, they were simply offering a portion of the profit from selling their property. The church blessed Suntree as well as other local ministries, shelters, missionaries, and churches. With the donation received from the church, Suntree is able to expand their building with their original plans while remaining debt free. Jason said, “Our prayer is that even as our capacity to worship increases, we as a local Body of believers seeks to decrease, and that the display of His grace remains.”
While they are in the very early stages of this project, they are hopeful for how this expansion will equip them to continue to serve their community and carry out their mission of knowing God’s truth, growing in relationship with Him and other believers, and reaching the lost with His message of grace.
Jason said, “The greatest form of outreach, evangelism, and church growth strategy is sealed in the very words of Jesus in John 13:35, ‘This then is how they will know that you are My disciples, if you love one another.’”