History
A History of Canoe Creek Christian Church
The beginning of a church on Canoe Creek Road began in the minds of a few people many years ago, actually as early as the 1950s. Through the years there were casual conversations about the time when a church would be needed on the Canoe Creek Road corridor. Later in the 1980s, the Canoe Creek corridor was presented as a possible location for a new church. The population growth at the time, however, was focused in the Buena Ventura Area, so a church was established for the northeast segment of Osceola County. That church later moved to Partin Settlement Road, on the north side of Highway 192.
In the early 1990s a House Church was established at the home of Jimmy and Leslie Chapman as a part of the ministry of First Christian, Kissimmee. The response was overwhelming; a huge success to say the least. The discussion about starting a church on the Canoe Creek corridor once again became a popular topic. More people were moving in, but the time was still not right. The success of the house church sparked many discussions in the bleachers among the parents of young people playing sports. The folks called it "bleacher evangelism" because they used the opportunity to tell those around them about Christ. The discussion also included the need for a church in the area.
The Investigation of the Group
In August 2002, several families, gathered to discuss the possible need for a new church on Canoe Creek Rd. A list of questions was compiled for thinking through the challenge.
Then a list of interested persons from the Canoe Creek Road area were invited to a very preliminary discussion of a new church. These ten families met at the home of Jimmy and Leslie Chapman with the goal for the evening being to determine the answer to three questions:
1. Does Canoe Creek Road need a New Testament, non-denominational congregation?
2. Is the group interested in investigating the beginning of a congregation?
3. If it is determined that a congregation would be started, are the families present interested and willing to be involved in the new church plant?
The evening began with a devotion and a prayer time. Those present were very interested in direction from God's Word and from His Spirit regarding this potential work. Following prayer, the group was oriented to the purpose of the meeting and provided some information regarding how and why each person was invited to join the first meeting.
After much prayerful discussion, the individuals in attendance came together with a resounding yes? to each of the three questions. In faith they pledged to meet the challenge of a new church work. Immediately after the meeting, Jimmy, serving as our group representative, called the Chairman of the Elders at First Christian Church at Kissimmee to report on the group's decisions. The families present were all from the Kissimmee church and the group believed it appropriate to communicate with the church's leadership as soon as a decision was made.
It was decided that after the morning services the next Sunday the representatives of the new work would make a presentation to the elders of First Christian, Kissimmee. The presentation included the need and the response of the families to that need. This was the first in a series of information meetings that would be held with the elders of the different Christian churches in the area. The leadership at First Christian was not in the position to provide financial support at the time because of plans for a new work in the four-corners area. They further indicated that they felt unable to be the planting, "mother" church. The elders did commit to prayer for the new work and to be the receiving organization for funds donated until the Canoe Creek Church was incorporated. During this same time frame, members of the leaderships from FCC Kissimmee, FCC St. Cloud, Narcoosee, Northeast, Poinciana and Southside met at FCC Kissimmee to communicate with each other the plans of the churches in Osceola County. Representatives from the Canoe Creek church plant were there to communicate their plans. The goal was to ensure as much as possible that the plans of the various churches and the new church would not interfere with each other. No other church was looking to begin a church plant at that time, which further opened up that opportunity for those connected with the new Canoe Creek church plant.
The Decision to Move Forward
The nucleus then determined that the burden for the spiritual well-being of the many people who have moved to the area and will move to the area was too great; a church in the area must be started and the nucleus accepted the responsibility for funding the church plant.
The Year of Preparation
The following months were dedicated to communicating with the leaderships of the sister congregations in the area. Members of the planting nucleus presented the plans for the new congregation and provided opportunities for questions regarding the motivation for the new church plant. The nucleus was encouraged by the positive responses of the leaderships of the sister congregations. The second task was to begin developing the foundation of relationships among the planting nucleus. The group met each Sunday night at a home, the homes of Jimmy and Leslie Chapman, Dave and Jolene Williams, Curt and Mary Graulich, and Jim and Tricia Herman were used. The devotions were presented each week by various members, all focusing on the purpose of the church and the need to build strong "family? relationships within the planting nucleus. Each Sunday evening included eating, fellowship, Bible study, and prayer.
The Steering Committee
The nucleus established a steering committee consisting of seven persons to lead the ministry. Tony Buchanan served as the chair for the committee, with Jimmy Chapman serving as acting chair, when needed. The members were Craig and Eileen Adams, Tony Buchanan, Jimmy Chapman, Bill Coffman, Curt Graulich, and Jim Herman.
The nucleus desired the Steering Committee to be the guiding body during the first two years. However, an evaluation of this plan took place in September 2004 and it was determined to continue with the Steering Committee a little longer. The church transitioned from a Steering Committee to Elders in 2006. The first four elders were Tony Buchanan, Chris Baur, Jimmy Chapman, and Jim Robinson.
The Beginning Services
The evening services moved to the multi-purpose room of the Canoe Creek Charter School in July. The pulpit was brought out each Sunday evening and the tables were converted into benches. This was done for two reasons: to test equipment and to determine the comfort of the benches. The pulpit, with its own speaker system, worked well for the evening services. The leadership chose to order some supplemental chairs to be used by those who might be physically unable to sit on the benches.
Prayer time at the Sunday evening services focused on small prayer groups. The excitement swelled each Sunday evening at the sounds of the individuals praying for the ministry of CCCC as well as praying for the ministries of First Christian Church Kissimmee, First Christian Church St. Cloud (now Osceola Christian Church), Northeast Christian, and Narcoosee Christian.
The Charter Sundays
The first two Sundays (i.e., September 7 & 14) were designated as Charter Sundays. A commitment service was held at the end of each service for persons to become charter members of the newly formed congregation.
The Open Services Began
The third Sunday (September 21) and on were open to anyone who desired to come.
The Church Staff
Ross preached the first Sunday we met and was hired that evening to assist in the ministry of Canoe Creek where needed. Lyle Bundy of Florida Christian College preached the four Sundays that followed. After this time it was decided that Ross would focus his time on preacing and a youth minister would be hired.
Senior Minister, Ross Runnels 2003-.
Children's Minister, Karrie Haskett 2003-
Youth Ministers, Simon McDaniel, Rob Jankowski 2004-2005, Josiah Fuller 2007 Music, Amy Richards 2005, Ron Sieber 2008-
The Property and Building
Ten acres were purchased and were paid off in 2006. October of that same year, the church launched a Bond program that raised 1.3 million for the new building. The building program began a few months later but came to a halt because of the economic situation. About the time the new building was started, the church had an opprtunity to purchase the additional five acres adjacent to the ten acres. A generous donation was given at the same time and the circumstances of the gift and opportunity encouraged the leadership to see God's blessing and move forward. This five acres is currently the location of the church office and "The Shack?, a place of worship and teaching for the church youth and entire congergation. With God's blessing and guidenace Canoe Creek has grown from her inceptional attendacne of 113 people to a current attendance of over 300. We own 15 acres of beautiful land that is currently being used for God's glory. It is amazing what God has accomplished in us and through us in a very long and very short six years.
The beginning of a church on Canoe Creek Road began in the minds of a few people many years ago, actually as early as the 1950s. Through the years there were casual conversations about the time when a church would be needed on the Canoe Creek Road corridor. Later in the 1980s, the Canoe Creek corridor was presented as a possible location for a new church. The population growth at the time, however, was focused in the Buena Ventura Area, so a church was established for the northeast segment of Osceola County. That church later moved to Partin Settlement Road, on the north side of Highway 192.
In the early 1990s a House Church was established at the home of Jimmy and Leslie Chapman as a part of the ministry of First Christian, Kissimmee. The response was overwhelming; a huge success to say the least. The discussion about starting a church on the Canoe Creek corridor once again became a popular topic. More people were moving in, but the time was still not right. The success of the house church sparked many discussions in the bleachers among the parents of young people playing sports. The folks called it "bleacher evangelism" because they used the opportunity to tell those around them about Christ. The discussion also included the need for a church in the area.
The Investigation of the Group
In August 2002, several families, gathered to discuss the possible need for a new church on Canoe Creek Rd. A list of questions was compiled for thinking through the challenge.
Then a list of interested persons from the Canoe Creek Road area were invited to a very preliminary discussion of a new church. These ten families met at the home of Jimmy and Leslie Chapman with the goal for the evening being to determine the answer to three questions:
1. Does Canoe Creek Road need a New Testament, non-denominational congregation?
2. Is the group interested in investigating the beginning of a congregation?
3. If it is determined that a congregation would be started, are the families present interested and willing to be involved in the new church plant?
The evening began with a devotion and a prayer time. Those present were very interested in direction from God's Word and from His Spirit regarding this potential work. Following prayer, the group was oriented to the purpose of the meeting and provided some information regarding how and why each person was invited to join the first meeting.
After much prayerful discussion, the individuals in attendance came together with a resounding yes? to each of the three questions. In faith they pledged to meet the challenge of a new church work. Immediately after the meeting, Jimmy, serving as our group representative, called the Chairman of the Elders at First Christian Church at Kissimmee to report on the group's decisions. The families present were all from the Kissimmee church and the group believed it appropriate to communicate with the church's leadership as soon as a decision was made.
It was decided that after the morning services the next Sunday the representatives of the new work would make a presentation to the elders of First Christian, Kissimmee. The presentation included the need and the response of the families to that need. This was the first in a series of information meetings that would be held with the elders of the different Christian churches in the area. The leadership at First Christian was not in the position to provide financial support at the time because of plans for a new work in the four-corners area. They further indicated that they felt unable to be the planting, "mother" church. The elders did commit to prayer for the new work and to be the receiving organization for funds donated until the Canoe Creek Church was incorporated. During this same time frame, members of the leaderships from FCC Kissimmee, FCC St. Cloud, Narcoosee, Northeast, Poinciana and Southside met at FCC Kissimmee to communicate with each other the plans of the churches in Osceola County. Representatives from the Canoe Creek church plant were there to communicate their plans. The goal was to ensure as much as possible that the plans of the various churches and the new church would not interfere with each other. No other church was looking to begin a church plant at that time, which further opened up that opportunity for those connected with the new Canoe Creek church plant.
The Decision to Move Forward
The nucleus then determined that the burden for the spiritual well-being of the many people who have moved to the area and will move to the area was too great; a church in the area must be started and the nucleus accepted the responsibility for funding the church plant.
The Year of Preparation
The following months were dedicated to communicating with the leaderships of the sister congregations in the area. Members of the planting nucleus presented the plans for the new congregation and provided opportunities for questions regarding the motivation for the new church plant. The nucleus was encouraged by the positive responses of the leaderships of the sister congregations. The second task was to begin developing the foundation of relationships among the planting nucleus. The group met each Sunday night at a home, the homes of Jimmy and Leslie Chapman, Dave and Jolene Williams, Curt and Mary Graulich, and Jim and Tricia Herman were used. The devotions were presented each week by various members, all focusing on the purpose of the church and the need to build strong "family? relationships within the planting nucleus. Each Sunday evening included eating, fellowship, Bible study, and prayer.
The Steering Committee
The nucleus established a steering committee consisting of seven persons to lead the ministry. Tony Buchanan served as the chair for the committee, with Jimmy Chapman serving as acting chair, when needed. The members were Craig and Eileen Adams, Tony Buchanan, Jimmy Chapman, Bill Coffman, Curt Graulich, and Jim Herman.
The nucleus desired the Steering Committee to be the guiding body during the first two years. However, an evaluation of this plan took place in September 2004 and it was determined to continue with the Steering Committee a little longer. The church transitioned from a Steering Committee to Elders in 2006. The first four elders were Tony Buchanan, Chris Baur, Jimmy Chapman, and Jim Robinson.
The Beginning Services
The evening services moved to the multi-purpose room of the Canoe Creek Charter School in July. The pulpit was brought out each Sunday evening and the tables were converted into benches. This was done for two reasons: to test equipment and to determine the comfort of the benches. The pulpit, with its own speaker system, worked well for the evening services. The leadership chose to order some supplemental chairs to be used by those who might be physically unable to sit on the benches.
Prayer time at the Sunday evening services focused on small prayer groups. The excitement swelled each Sunday evening at the sounds of the individuals praying for the ministry of CCCC as well as praying for the ministries of First Christian Church Kissimmee, First Christian Church St. Cloud (now Osceola Christian Church), Northeast Christian, and Narcoosee Christian.
The Charter Sundays
The first two Sundays (i.e., September 7 & 14) were designated as Charter Sundays. A commitment service was held at the end of each service for persons to become charter members of the newly formed congregation.
The Open Services Began
The third Sunday (September 21) and on were open to anyone who desired to come.
The Church Staff
Ross preached the first Sunday we met and was hired that evening to assist in the ministry of Canoe Creek where needed. Lyle Bundy of Florida Christian College preached the four Sundays that followed. After this time it was decided that Ross would focus his time on preacing and a youth minister would be hired.
Senior Minister, Ross Runnels 2003-.
Children's Minister, Karrie Haskett 2003-
Youth Ministers, Simon McDaniel, Rob Jankowski 2004-2005, Josiah Fuller 2007 Music, Amy Richards 2005, Ron Sieber 2008-
The Property and Building
Ten acres were purchased and were paid off in 2006. October of that same year, the church launched a Bond program that raised 1.3 million for the new building. The building program began a few months later but came to a halt because of the economic situation. About the time the new building was started, the church had an opprtunity to purchase the additional five acres adjacent to the ten acres. A generous donation was given at the same time and the circumstances of the gift and opportunity encouraged the leadership to see God's blessing and move forward. This five acres is currently the location of the church office and "The Shack?, a place of worship and teaching for the church youth and entire congergation. With God's blessing and guidenace Canoe Creek has grown from her inceptional attendacne of 113 people to a current attendance of over 300. We own 15 acres of beautiful land that is currently being used for God's glory. It is amazing what God has accomplished in us and through us in a very long and very short six years.