Orlando, Florida, is known for being a place where snowbirds flock in the winter. The city is also home to Faith Assembly, a church that Alex Santiago, who serves as reach local pastor, says is on a mission to bring practical and relevant ministry to the metro area.
“Orlando has grown exponentially ever since COVID-19, and a mass migration from other states to Florida has opened up the doors for more ministry and more outreaches,” he says.
Established in 1975, Faith Assembly began with just 95 people. Today, the church maintains four campuses, including two in Orlando, one in nearby Casselberry, and its newest one in Saint Cloud.
Santiago attributes Faith Assembly’s continued growth to several factors. “What has helped us grow is the intentionality of our church and our pastor’s vision for reaching the community. Both our previous pastor and our current pastor, Johnnie Wilson, have always had a heart for missions, both here within the United States and globally.
“We believe that whenever we leave our worship services, we enter the mission field,” he adds. “We want to be able to engage with our city, with the residents, with the people who visit here, and the people who live here.”
To reach these mission fields, Faith Assembly offers a range of ministries aimed at every age group and stage of life so people can encounter Jesus. The church encourages members to join a Connect group based on their interests, like sports or art, where they can form bonds and build community while growing in their faith.
In addition, Faith Assembly manages a team that visits patients in the hospital, shut-ins and those under hospice care or in rehab facilities.
“That has proven to be a great inroad with families and people, to be able to share and to show that there’s a church that loves them and cares for them and is invested in walking their journey at their current stage of life, whether it is through an illness or recovery,” Santiago explains.
Outside of the church, Faith Assembly’s Reach Local ministry teams up with various agencies and nonprofits in Orlando that help underserved communities in the area. One of those partnerships is with Second Harvest Food Bank where the church distributes food to people in need.
“We have a food pantry located in our church and mobile food distributions throughout the year,” says Santiago. “We’ve found that it has been a great relief to people in our community, and it also allows us to share God’s love with people as they visit.
“We’ve also partnered with other nonprofits and faith-based organizations that do a lot of the heavy lifting with the unsheltered or the marginalized, so we can supplement what they’re doing,” he continues.
One example is Faith Assembly’s ministry work in the Bithlo community, an economically depressed area of the city.
“We sit in the community center with the residents of that area and invite them over for a meal and games and conversation, and sharing and showing the love of Christ in practical and tangible ways,” Santiago observes.
The church also oversees a team that ministers to people experiencing grief or divorce, or recovering from trauma or substance abuse. Gerald Sharpe, who launched the God & the 12 Steps recovery ministry while attending another church in South Florida, visited Faith Assembly in 2013 with his wife, Candice.
“When I first went to Wednesday service, I saw the nice balance of God’s Word being preached, the worship ushering in the presence of God,” Sharpe says. “They asked if there were any first-timers, and when I raised my hand it was like all the people around me came up and just started welcoming me and thanking me for being there. It was amazing.”
After joining the church that year, Sharpe and his wife participated in a small group. Six months later the church allowed Sharpe to launch a God & the 12 Steps ministry at Faith Assembly.
Besides the recovery ministry, Sharpe says he and his wife also joined Faith Assembly’s altar team, which prays with people who approach the stage during services. In addition, Candice led a Bible study in the church.
Sharpe says he appreciates that the church is mission-minded. This past June, for example, he and his family traveled to Barcelona on a nine-day mission trip to help construct a new church and prepare for a children’s outreach event.
He credits Faith Assembly for embracing the notion of meeting people where they are and searching for new outreach opportunities.
Santiago agrees. “Ministry has to meet the needs of the people that we’re reaching. It has to be something that’s tangible, something that they can relate to, something where they can see the connection between themselves and their heavenly Father, because that’s the goal.”
FAITH ASSEMBLY OF GOD
Orlando, Florida
Pastor: Johnnie Wilson
Website: FaithAssembly.org
Denomination: Assemblies of God
Founded: 1975
Fastest-Growing: 71
