Faith Archive

The first time you meet Micah and Chelsea Gay, pastors of High Praise Church in Crestview, it feels like you’re relaxing with longtime friends. The young couple are authentic and welcoming as they talk about their love for the local church and reaching people for Jesus.

Laurel Hill — The congregation of one of Okaloosa County’s oldest churches invites its friends, neighbors and former members to celebrate its 125 years of ministry.

The Laurel Hill Presbyterian Church will welcome all to a special worship service scheduled for 11 a.m., Sunday, April 23.

Raymond Parent, pastor of Our Savior Lutheran Church, took a less traditional path to the ministry than many of his contemporaries. After graduating from high school in 1973, he joined the Air Force as an enlisted man and a few years later was given the opportunity to earn his commission as an officer through the Reserved Officer Training Program (ROTC).

For Christians around the world, Easter represents a time of renewal, and a time of remembrance of the death of Jesus and his resurrection. However you choose to celebrate Easter, whether it is in Church or in your backyard hunting for Easter eggs or both, we at Navarre Press wish you a day of renewal. Consider it perhaps a transfiguration of sorts; a shedding of whatever is old and stale and an embrace of new things, habits and ideas. We can all use that in our life, no matter your belief.

It was the worst news I could get as an atheist: my agnostic wife had decided to become a Christian. Two words shot through my mind. The first was an expletive; the second was “divorce.” I thought she was going to turn into a self-righteous holy roller. But over the following months, I was intrigued by the positive changes in her character and values.

In the face of widespread economic strain, national conflicts and social unrest, surveys indicate that confidence in the future is at an all-time low in many countries, including the United States. According to the 2023 Edelman Trust Barometer, 24 of the 28 countries surveyed are seeing “all-time lows in the number of people who think their families will be better off in five years.”

Tyler Eanes and Pilgrim Rest Baptist Church in Baker are on several missions. The mission most important to Eanes, the student pastor at the church, is to reach young people for Jesus and equip them as disciples for Christ. One of the ways the church does that is through an annual D Now weekend held at the church with outreach in the community.

On Sunday, April 9, clergy from Crestview and surrounding communities will offer an Easter sunrise service at 6:30 a.m. at the pavilion at Old Spanish Trail on Stillwell Boulevard. The service will begin with a call-to-worship song led by combined choirs from several area churches and led by Pastor Sherrell Compton from New Life International Worship Center. Crestview Mayor JB Whitten will then make welcoming remarks, followed by an opening prayer by U.S. Air Force Chaplain (Retired) Rob Suggs.

With an average attendance of 70-75 on Sunday morning, Campton Assembly of God is, as Pastor Ray Johnson put it, “Kind of like the old TV show, ‘Cheers,’ where everybody knows your name.” The church is located on Highway 85 N, six miles south of Laurel Hill and seven miles north of Crestview High School.

One of the first Bible stories many children learn is found in the book of Daniel when three Hebrews, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, are thrown into a fiery furnace for not bowing to a statue of King Nebuchadnezzar. Pastor Charles Smith and his congregation at First Baptist Church of Milligan have their own story of faith through the fire.