A Pathway Shaped Like a Heart
For half a century, Charity Chapel has gathered in the Bellview area of Pensacola as a multicultural family drawn to a four-part rhythm the church calls its pathway. The geometric logo at the center of the church's identity is an abstract heart whose bands expand outward, each pointing to one step in the calling: Belong, Become, Bridge, and Bless.
The Core, called Belong & Become, is the invitation into community and growth as a disciple of Jesus. The Middle, a check mark the church calls the Bridge, looks outward to the surrounding neighborhoods and seeks to connect local families to faith. The Outer Chevron, the largest band, represents Bless, the church's long-standing commitment to global missions. The mission statement gathers all four: to equip believers to reach the lost by belonging as family, becoming disciples, bridging neighbors to Jesus, and blessing the nations. The vision is a church where new life in Christ and mature disciples grow side by side, and the simple motto sums up the rhythm: Gathered to equip. Sent to Mission.
Sundays at Ten
The Sunday worship service begins at 10:00 a.m. and is the weekly gathering around which the rest of the church's life is organized. Lead Pastor Josh Britnell is the primary preacher, joined periodically by visiting missionaries and guest teachers. Past messages, along with full service recordings, are posted on the church's YouTube channel, and the Sunday service is livestreamed there as well for those who cannot attend in person.
Music, prayer, and teaching follow a contemporary worship style that mirrors the multicultural makeup of the congregation. Communion is observed as part of the gathered life, with crackers and juice shared in remembrance of Jesus' suffering and shed blood. Water baptism by full immersion is publicly celebrated as a believer's declaration of faith in Jesus' death, burial, and resurrection.
Children and Students
Charity Chapel invests heavily in two age-graded ministries, each with its own vision.
cKids welcomes children from birth through 6th grade each Sunday during the 10:00 a.m. service. The nursery, called Birth to 3, is set up for babies and toddlers in a nurturing environment. Pre-K classes are open to children who are potty trained and include singing, motions, a Bible lesson, a short video, and reinforcing activities. Elementary children from 1st through 6th grade gather in a room designed for them, with a time of worship, a deeper look at the day's Scripture passage, games, small-group discussion, and free time for relationship building. Families wishing to serve can plug into check-in, large-group leading, small-group leading, or general classroom help.
cYouth, the student ministry, gathers in two regular rhythms. On Sunday mornings, students join the main worship service at 10:00 a.m. Then on Wednesday nights from 6:00 to 8:00 p.m., the youth meet for a structured evening that includes fellowship, worship, teaching, group discussion, prayer, an activity, and a snack. The ministry's vision is to make disciples of Christ, in love, so that they may serve God in worship with their lives, and its mission is to give teens time to grow in love, faith, truth, and relationship with God. Throughout the year, cYouth adds summer activities, special events, a youth worship band, outreach days, and a short-term local mission trip.
The Midweek Calendar
Midweek is where Charity Chapel's small-group life takes shape, organized under what the church calls cGroups. Wednesday night at 6:30 p.m. is the anchor of the week, with three meetings running in parallel: Children's Ministry in the Children's Wing, the Youth Program in the Youth Wing, and a Spiritual Growth and Discipleship study in the Fellowship Hall. A separate home-based group, Applying the Scripture to Our Lives, meets at the same hour in the Bellview area, and a Wednesday-evening study called Go and Make Disciples gathers in the Fellowship Hall at 6:00 p.m.
Around that pivot, the church hosts a handful of other meetings. A men's group meets on Tuesdays at 6:00 p.m. in the Youth Room of the East Wing. Prayer happens at the church two ways, on Thursdays from 7:00 to 8:00 a.m. and Sundays at 8:00 a.m. Daystars, a senior-adult fellowship, meets on the first and third Thursdays at 11:00 a.m. in the Fellowship Hall. Ladies Let's Gather, a sewing, quilting, and fellowship group, gathers on the second and fourth Tuesdays at 9:30 a.m. in the Fellowship Hall. Refit, an exercise class, meets on Sunday evenings at 6:00 p.m. in the Fellowship Hall. A Spanish-language Bible study called Estudio Bíblico meets on Fridays at 7:00 p.m. in the Youth Wing.
Two additional studies round out the week. Why Trust the Bible meets on Mondays at 6:00 p.m. in the Olive area of Pensacola, and a 1 Corinthians Bible Study gathers in the church's youth room on Thursdays at 6:00 p.m. A Women's Lunch Bunch meets on the fourth Wednesday of each month at rotating restaurants, with a texting group coordinating the schedule.
What Charity Chapel Believes
The church's statement of faith traces a classic evangelical confession. The Bible is the story of God's interaction with humanity and a guide for life and belief. God is one, yet known in three persons: Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. All humanity is created in God's image and carries immense value. Sin has broken the relationship with God, but God became a man in Jesus Christ to repair it through his death. Every Christian receives the Holy Spirit at salvation and is encouraged to also be baptized in (or filled with) the Holy Spirit, an experience that may occur at salvation or afterward. The church teaches that believers should pursue both the fruit and the gifts of the Spirit, that baptism in water by full immersion publicly identifies a believer with Jesus in his death, burial, and resurrection, and that communion (celebrated with crackers and juice) remembers what Jesus did. The confession also names Jesus' real humanity and divinity, his return, the resurrection, and the church as core beliefs.
Three core values shape the church's daily life. Authenticity means living and leading with honesty, humility, and transparency. Invitation means actively welcoming people into genuine community with Jesus and one another. Stewardship means pursuing excellence while honoring healthy rhythms of work and rest, treating ministry as a marathon rather than a sprint.
To the Neighborhoods and the Nations
Missions sit at the center of Charity Chapel's identity. The missions ministry, called cMissions, has been a major supporter of world mission work for more than forty years, and the church frames the call in concentric circles: start in the neighborhood, cross the street to the city, then move around the world.
Locally, the church partners with ministries such as Loaves and Fishes and Waterfront Rescue Mission, and every fall it hosts a neighborhood event that invites families from surrounding streets in for fun, fellowship, and a chance to meet the people of the church outside the building. Each year the youth take a short-term local mission trip to serve and learn about sharing the gospel in their own city.
Globally, Charity Chapel sends teams abroad. Recent international trips have included a journey to Nicaragua and one to Guatemala. Missionaries supported by the church are highlighted during an annual Missions Sunday, a service dedicated to celebrating workers who have given up family, comfort, and stability to bring the love of Jesus to other nations, languages, tribes, and tongues. A dedicated mission-giving page on the church's giving platform lets members and friends contribute directly to those workers.
Pastoral Team and Staff
Charity Chapel's pastoral leadership is small and tightly knit. Josh Britnell serves as Lead Pastor and is the primary preacher on Sunday mornings. Wendy Chacon is Executive Pastor. Diana Britnell serves as Worship Pastor and also oversees the youth ministry. Jeralee Tims directs cKids from birth through 6th grade.
Becoming Part of Charity Chapel
The path from first-time visitor to engaged member is intentionally simple. Believer's baptisms are scheduled regularly, with a baptism class typically preceding the service. A new-member class is offered for those ready to formalize their connection. Volunteering is encouraged across a wide range of departments, including kids, youth, worship, hospitality, care, production, community groups, missions, administration, and maintenance, through a volunteer form on the church's Next Steps page. Giving is available by mail, in person, and online, with a separate mission-giving link for those who wish to support missionaries directly.
Charity Chapel meets at 5820 Montgomery Avenue in Pensacola. The phone number is (850) 944-5520. The Sunday service is livestreamed to the church's YouTube channel, and the church maintains a presence on Facebook (Charity Chapel Pensacola) and Instagram (@charitychapel_pensacola).