Cape Christian sits on Chiquita Boulevard South in Cape Coral, Florida, where the Worship Center is only part of the story. The campus wraps around Fellowship Park, a free public playground and splash pad, and opens onto Parkside Café, a coffee shop that pours lattes for neighbors who have no intention of going to church. That is why the church calls itself "the church with a park," and why visitors who have never attended a service sometimes know Cape Christian by its playground long before they know its name.
The church is non-denominational and Bible-based, with a simple goal stated on its own walls: Love God. Love People. What that looks like in practice is a casual, contemporary weekend service lasting about an hour, modern worship led by a volunteer team, and a Bible message aimed at people who might not know their way around church vocabulary. Services run six times a weekend between two campuses and three online services, and everything else - children's check-in, the café, the splash pad, the small groups that meet in homes across Southwest Florida - grows out of those gatherings.
Six Weekend Services, One Simple Message
At the Cape Coral campus, services fill Saturday afternoon and most of Sunday morning. Saturday services run at 4:00 PM and 5:30 PM. Sunday services run at 8:15 AM, 9:45 AM, 11:15 AM, and 12:45 PM. Spanish translation is available at every service, so families who prefer to worship in Spanish can sit in the same room and follow along. Each service lasts roughly an hour.
The format is consistent: contemporary music led by the Cape Christian Worship team, a Bible-based message that aims to be practical and easy to follow, and a relaxed atmosphere where people wear what is comfortable. Jeans, shorts, or your Sunday best - the dress code is whatever a guest wants to wear. Nobody gets singled out as a first-time visitor, and there is no altar call designed to embarrass anyone.
For those who would rather stay home, three services stream live on Sunday at 9:00 AM, 10:30 AM, and 12:00 PM through live.capechristian.com. The online experience is treated as a full campus in its own right, and giving, sermon archives, and digital connection cards are all built around it.
The VIP Experience for First-Time Guests
Anyone who wants a guided introduction can sign up for the free VIP Experience, offered by reservation on Sunday mornings at 9:30 AM and 11:00 AM. A volunteer team meets guests in the parking lot, hands over a parking pass, walks them through check-in for any kids, gives them a pre-ordered coffee from Parkside Café, and leads a quick tour of the campus. After the service, the VIP team sits down with guests to talk through next steps and hands over a small gift that might be a t-shirt, a pen, or a café gift card.
The goal of the VIP Experience is the same one the church repeats in its own words: to help a guest feel right at home. Parents can drop children off in age-appropriate rooms or keep them in the main service - either option works. The check-in system matches each child with the correct guardian at pick-up, and every children's volunteer is background-checked and trained.
Fellowship Park and the Splash Pad
Fellowship Park is the piece of Cape Christian that makes the church feel like a community center even on a Monday morning. The park is free and open to the public, with swings, slides, open green space, a basketball court, and a splash pad that runs from sunrise to 9:00 PM. Families from Cape Coral and beyond use it year-round, and the park has its own host team to keep things clean and safe.
Park rules are printed in English and Spanish and posted at the entrance. Children 12 and under use the playground equipment. Adult supervision is recommended. No dogs, skateboards, scooters, alcohol, smoking, glass containers, fires, grills, music, or sidewalk chalk. Splash pad rules require a pre-rinse shower, swim diapers for children who are not toilet trained, and prohibit food, drink, glass, and water balloons. The posted bathing load and the Florida Department of Health statutes are listed at the entrance for parents who want to check them.
Cabanas and pavilions can be reserved for birthdays, family reunions, and group events. Pavilions come with built-in TVs, and the cabana rental program is run through cape-christian-events.square.site. A $75 cleaning or damage fee applies when staff have to do extra work after an event.
Parkside Café, Open Most Days of the Week
Parkside Café sits inside the park and is the other piece of the "church with a park" identity. The menu runs from handcrafted espresso drinks to light breakfast, lunch, snacks, pastries, and grab-and-go items, with a separate food menu and a separate drink menu online. Mobile ordering is available through the café's own app so regulars can pick up without waiting in line.
Café hours are Tuesday and Wednesday from 9:30 AM to 6:00 PM, Thursday from 9:00 AM to 6:00 PM, Friday from 9:00 AM to 7:00 PM, Saturday from 10:00 AM to 5:30 PM, and Sunday from 8:00 AM to 2:30 PM. Mondays are closed. The café is staffed by its own team and has its own Facebook, Instagram, and TikTok presence at parksidecafe2110 and @parkside_cafe.
Cape Jr: From Babies to Pre-K
Cape Jr is the nursery and preschool wing, caring for children from three months old through five years during every weekend service. The classrooms are built for little ones - soothing worship music for the nursery, hands-on Bible storytelling and motion for preschoolers, and consistent routines led by background-checked volunteers.
Three foundational truths are taught at every age level: God made me. God loves me. Jesus wants to be my friend forever. First-time families fill out a short form at the Cape Jr Check-In area, receive matching parent and child name tags with a secure pick-up code, and are walked to the classroom. The check-in system sends a discreet text if a parent needs to be reached during the service.
Cape Kids: Kindergarten Through Fifth Grade
Cape Kids runs alongside every weekend service for children in kindergarten through fifth grade. The goal is for every child to leave knowing four simple things: Jesus wants a relationship with me, I can trust God no matter what, I can make wise choices, and I can treat others how I want to be treated.
A typical Cape Kids hour includes age-appropriate Bible lessons, energetic worship, creative activities, group discussions, and time with leaders and peers. Parents are equipped to keep the conversation going at home through weekly take-home guides, monthly memory verses, parent tip videos, and recommended apps and Bible resources designed for kids.
Children's Pastor Noah Ford oversees the team. The Cape Kids check-in uses the same secure matching system as Cape Jr, and all volunteers are background-checked, trained, and focused on creating a safe environment.
Haven: Middle School on Saturday and Sunday
Haven is the middle school ministry for students in sixth through eighth grade. The room is designed to be a safe place in the middle of the chaos of being 12 to 14 years old. Haven meets every Saturday at 4:00 PM and every Sunday at 9:45 AM, 11:15 AM, and 12:45 PM.
Each weekend, students experience dynamic worship, fun community, and teaching that speaks to what they are actually facing. The four ministry goals are to help students develop authentic faith, build strong boundaries in relationships, purity, media, and thought life, establish healthy community, and serve others with purpose. Middle School Pastor Reinaldo Zayaz leads the team.
MVMT: High School on Wednesday Nights
MVMT is the high school ministry for students in ninth through twelfth grade. It meets Wednesdays from 7:00 PM to 8:30 PM and is built around powerful worship, real conversations, and biblical teaching that challenges students to grow.
The ministry calls students higher in three directions: to live like Jesus through intentional spiritual disciplines, to serve others with humility and love, and to submit to the ultimate authority by living a life of full surrender to Christ. High School Pastor Chase Tucker leads the team.
Once a year, MVMT and Haven come together for Camp 239, a four-day summer camp at Camp Anderson Anchored in Old Town, Florida, the week of June 29 to July 3. Camp includes paintball, lake activities, worship and teaching around the campfire, and small-group time in cabins. The cost is $500 per student, and all students ride buses provided by Cape Christian. Chase Tucker and Reinaldo Zayas serve as camp staff alongside Marco Villalobos as assistant camp director.
Adults: Groups, Worship, Men, Women, and Business Leaders
Cape Christian organizes adult ministry around five streams: men's ministry, women's ministry, small groups, worship ministry, and a business leaders' lunch.
Groups are the backbone. The church runs them in three "semesters" a year. The Fall Semester runs late August through early December. The Spring Semester runs from January through late April or early May. The Summer Semester, called "Grill & Chill," runs June through August. Most groups meet in homes, with some meeting in coffee shops, restaurants, or on campus. The fall catalog includes everything from traditional Bible and book studies to recreational groups - bicycle, kayaking, motorcycle, crochet, pickleball - and specialty groups such as GriefShare, Financial Peace University, CapeVets, and DivorceCare. Groups Pastor Brian Demmel oversees the system, and the application to lead a group is open to anyone willing to serve.
CapeMen is the men's ministry, run in partnership with capemen.com. The Beloved Movement is the women's ministry, run in partnership with thebelovedmovement.com, and Cindy Grasso oversees it alongside Growth Track and serve teams. Worship Ministry recruits volunteer musicians, vocalists, and technicians through an audition process, with Worship Pastor Desi Renken and Experience Director Jennifer Jackson leading the team. Business Leaders is a monthly lunch for owners, executives, and professionals that meets by registration.
Care Ministries and Prayer
Care Ministries exists for the harder moments. Anyone in the church or the community can request care through an online form, and the team connects them with counseling, recovery groups, support through crisis, or just a listening ear. A prayer team prays before and after each service in the Prayer Room or Prayer Tent, and a weekly prayer list is emailed to anyone who signs up to receive it.
The Care team supports people through GriefShare, DivorceCare, and other specialty groups within the Groups system. Care Pastor Art VanZanten leads the ministry.
Missions, Helping Hands, and Disaster Response
Missions at Cape Christian is built around a simple three-word framework: Pray, Give, Go. Everyone can pray. Many can give. A few can go.
The Missions team supports missionaries, church planters, and ministry partners across the world. Trips run every year. Recent destinations have included Jonestown, Mississippi for a construction trip, the Dominican Republic for a medical missions trip, and Santa Cruz, Bolivia for a Haven of Hope trip. Mission applications and a list of upcoming trips are run through the Managed Missions platform.
Helping Hands is the local benevolence ministry. Through it, Cape Christian comes alongside families in the community facing crisis with food, rent support, and tangible care. Outreach Pastor Marco Villalobos oversees the work. Parkside Response Outreach (PRO), run in partnership with parksideresponseoutreach.org, is the disaster response arm - Cape Christian responds to hurricanes and other emergencies with supplies, volunteers, and cash grants to partner churches. Each December, Cape Christmas welcomes over 100,000 guests to the campus for a free, family-friendly event built around lights, treats, and the Christmas story.
Babcock Ranch Campus on Lake Timber Drive
Cape Christian's second campus meets at Lake Timber Lodge, 42147 Lake Timber Drive in Punta Gorda, inside the Babcock Ranch master-planned community. Campus Pastor Josh Bloyer leads the team. Sunday services are at 9:30 AM and 11:00 AM, with live worship and hosting on site and the message streamed live from the Cape Coral campus so every campus hears the same teaching each week.
The Babcock campus runs Cape Junior and Cape Kids during both Sunday services, with secure check-in, background-checked volunteers, and a screened-in outdoor lanai where kids gather. Families with babies and toddlers can use a quiet toy area at the back of the auditorium if they prefer to keep little ones with them. Haven and MVMT meet at different times during the week; the latest meeting times and locations are posted in the Cape Christian app under "This Week at Babcock."
Cape Christian Preschool
Cape Christian Preschool operates as its own school on the church campus, serving children from 18 months through 5 years old. The preschool has its own bright classrooms, hands-on activities, and caring teachers, and is licensed by the State of Florida. Hiring and careers are handled through capechristianpreschool.com, including full-time and substitute teacher positions.
What Cape Christian Believes
Cape Christian teaches a classic evangelical, non-denominational faith. God is the Creator and Ruler of the universe, eternally existing in three co-equal persons - Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. Jesus Christ is the Son of God, who lived a sinless life, died on the cross as the sacrifice for sin, rose again on the third day, ascended to heaven, and will return as King of Kings and Lord of Lords. The Holy Spirit lives in every Christian from salvation, gives spiritual gifts, and guides believers into truth.
The Bible is the Word of God, written by human authors under the supernatural guidance of the Holy Spirit, and is the supreme source of truth for Christian beliefs and living. People are made in the image of God but are marred by an attitude of disobedience called sin. Salvation is God's free gift, received by trusting in Jesus Christ rather than by self-improvement or good works, and eternal life begins the moment a person receives Christ by faith. Heaven and Hell are real places of eternal existence.
On baptism, Cape Christian practices believer's baptism by full immersion as a public declaration that a person is a follower of Jesus, has begun a changed life, and is part of a new family. Children seven and older who understand what baptism symbolizes are welcomed. Parents who want to dedicate an infant can schedule a Baby Dedication, which Cape Christian treats as separate from believer's baptism.
The Church Code
The Church Code is the set of eight values that shape the culture of Cape Christian:
- We are all about Jesus. Our personal relationship with Jesus is the most important thing.
- We are spiritual contributors, not spiritual consumers. The Church does not merely exist for us. We are the Church and we exist for the world.
- We will do anything short of sin to reach people who don't know Jesus. To reach people no one is reaching, we'll have to do things no one is doing.
- We have fun. We unapologetically have fun serving Jesus with people we love.
- We add value everywhere. Every interaction matters and we leave things better than we found them.
- We are for everyONE. We accept people where they are, how they are, and encourage them to grow into who God created them to be.
- We are all works in progress. We are committed to growing and believe that Jesus is never done with us.
- We lead with outrageous faith and generosity. We dream big, celebrate big, and give big because we serve a big God.
Founding in 1987 and the New Building Campaign
Cape Christian was started in 1987 by Founding Pastor Dennis Gingerich and his wife, Linda. They moved to Cape Coral in 1986 with a vision to build a contemporary, non-denominational church that would reach un-churched people. Through perseverance and faith, the church pieced together 48 individual lots that today make up the Cape Christian campus, then built the Worship Center, the Family Ministry Building, and Fellowship Park one step at a time. From the beginning, the focus has been on reaching people who don't know God personally and helping families thrive.
For four decades, Dennis Gingerich shaped a culture of generosity, innovation, and community impact. In 2026, leadership passed to Lead Pastor Kyle Jackson and his wife, Jennifer, who came to Cape Christian after serving as Campus Pastor of the Columbus, Georgia campus of Church of the Highlands. They have been married for 18 years and have two children, Kaylee and Cooper.
To make room for what God is doing, the church has launched the For everyONE building campaign, a project to expand the Worship Center, build dedicated spaces for the student ministries Haven and MVMT, add an upgraded studio for online services, and refresh Cape Kids and Cape Jr environments. The campaign is funded through pledges and recurring giving.
Next Steps: New Friends Dessert, Growth Track, RESET, and Baptism
Cape Christian lays out a clear path for anyone who wants to get more involved.
New Friends Dessert is a casual evening for people who have just started attending. Guests meet the pastors, hear the story and heart behind Cape Christian, enjoy dessert and coffee, and learn the simple next steps. Childcare is available at the Cape Coral campus; at the Babcock campus, children are welcome but childcare is not provided.
Growth Track is a four-step experience that walks a person from "connect to the church" through "discover your design," "live the Code," and "join the team." It can be started at any time, with options for the Cape Coral campus and the Babcock Ranch campus.
RESET is a class for new believers or anyone returning to faith. It covers how to read the Bible, why Jesus died, the new birth, how to pray, identity as a child of God, forgiveness, and who the Holy Spirit is. The setting is described as real, authentic, and non-religious - a safe place for all questions about God.
Baptism is offered for adults and for children age seven and older who can explain what baptism symbolizes. Parents who want to dedicate an infant can register for Baby Dedication through the church's events page.
Giving, the App, and Getting Connected
Cape Christian teaches tithing as a biblical principle - giving the first 10% of income back to God. As an encouragement to anyone who has never tithed, the church offers a 3-Month Tithe Challenge: tithe for three months, and if a giver does not see God's blessing in their life, the church will refund 100% of the tithe.
Giving is available online through the secure giving platform, on the Cape Christian app, and by stock, cryptocurrency, donor-advised funds, in-kind gifts, planned giving, and Canadian currency. Giving statements are accessed through the Church Center app by logging in with the email or phone number on file.
The Cape Christian app, available on iOS and Android, is the easiest way to give, watch sermons, register for events, join groups, and stay current with announcements. A prayer request, a care request, a worship audition, a group leader application, and a volunteer application are all linked from the app and from the church's main menu.
From the playground on a Tuesday morning to the Wednesday night MVMT worship set, from a small group meeting in a living room in Babcock Ranch to a live-streamed message watched in a living room somewhere else entirely, Cape Christian runs on the same conviction it has carried since 1987: that people who don't know Jesus should be able to walk onto the campus, find a place to belong, and meet God in a way that makes sense to them.