Standing on South Atlantic Avenue one block south of the Minuteman Causeway, Cocoa Beach Community Church has anchored downtown Cocoa Beach since 1942. The congregation is known along the Space Coast as a certified Open and Affirming congregation of the United Church of Christ, declaring at the door of its sanctuary that it is "a safe place for all people to worship, regardless of race, creed, gender, cultural background or sexual orientation." Beyond its Sunday worship, CBCC is recognized for its long-running Thrift Shop, a fixture of community giving since 1965, and for the steady stream of mission work that flows through its food basket, its parking lot, and its sanctuary doors.
A 1942 Church Born from a Wartime Beach Community
On January 4, 1942, almost the entire town of Cocoa Beach gathered in a small wooden building on Orlando Avenue to form what became the community's first church. Thirty residents came together to organize an inter-denominational congregation. Worship was led by Dr. W.B. Millard of Merritt Island, accompanied by Mrs. H.C. Page at the organ. Mrs. B.B. Edwards directed the singing, and the Purcell Male Quartet traveled up from Orlando for the occasion. Paul Godke was elected chairman, with Clara M. Hall and Sam L. Knutsen serving as assistants. Folding chairs were borrowed from the town of Rockledge, an organ came from the Elks Club, and Mrs. Harry Cressen arranged a truck from J.W. Hooper Motor Company to haul everything in.
The first year of church life was modest: total income and total expenses came to $232.27, including Dr. Millard's weekly stipend for driving in from Merritt Island, mosquito spray for the building, and forty-five cents an hour for yard maintenance. By November 1944 the congregation had voted to purchase a $600 lot on the spot where the current church now stands, and the body was incorporated. In 1945 the building committee set a $15,000 fundraising goal for construction. The first community building went up in 1947, and the sanctuary was finished in time for a Christmas Day service in 1949.
The denominational family of the church has shifted over the decades. The early inter-denominational congregation aligned with the Congregational tradition, and in 1957 the Congregational-Christian Church and the Evangelical and Reformed Church merged to form the United Church of Christ. With that union, the church formally took its UCC identity, even as it kept its community-minded name and its downtown Cocoa Beach setting.
United Church of Christ and Open and Affirming
Cocoa Beach Community Church identifies with the United Church of Christ and embraces the denomination's longstanding motto: "Our faith is 2,000 years old. Our thinking is not." The congregation is a certified Open and Affirming church, designated #1585 by the UCC's Open and Affirming Coalition, and it has been active in advocating for full inclusion of LGBTQ people in the life of the church.
Three short lines capture the community's stance. "No matter who you are or where you are on life's journey, you are welcome here." "Never place a period where God has placed a comma." "Our faith is 2,000 years old. Our thinking is not." Each of those lines shapes how the church reads scripture, welcomes visitors, and engages the wider community.
What We Believe
The congregation states its beliefs plainly. Members of Cocoa Beach Community Church affirm belief in the triune God: Creator, the resurrected Christ as the sole Head of the church, and the Holy Spirit, who guides the creative and redemptive work of God in the world. They hold that each person is unique and valuable, that everyone belongs to a family of faith where they are valued and loved, and that each person is at a different stage of a lifelong spiritual journey. The persistent search for God, they teach, produces an authentic relationship with God that engenders love, strengthens faith, dissolves guilt, and gives life purpose.
Baptism is understood as a once-for-all act. All persons baptized - past, present and future - are connected to each other and to God through the sacrament of baptism, and the promise made at baptism is irrevocable. The community vows to support and care for the baptized no matter where their journey leads. Communion is open to all who wish to come to the table, and pre-packaged elements are provided for those who would like them.
The local congregation also embraces the wider UCC's understanding of itself as a "united and uniting church." The UCC's enduring mottos - "In essentials, unity; in nonessentials, diversity; in all things, charity" - reflect values held here. Members and clergy are called to servant leadership, care for the earth, peace and nonviolence, and prophetic witness to justice: speaking truth to power, liberating the oppressed, caring for the poor, and comforting the afflicted.
Sunday Worship at Ten O'Clock
Sunday morning worship at Cocoa Beach Community Church begins at 10:00 AM, with all ages gathering together in the sanctuary. There are no separate Children and Youth Programs, so families worship as one body. Holy Communion is celebrated on the first Sunday of each month, when the table is open to all who wish to come.
The service is led by Rev. Geoff Gross, the congregation's senior minister. Liturgical music is led by the church choir under the direction of Choir Director Janet Johns, with David Wrable at the organ and keyboards. After the service the entire congregation gathers for a fellowship hour with coffee and a snack. The first Sunday of each month from October through May is set aside for a potluck lunch, where extra dishes always seem to appear for those who arrived without one.
A Blended Musical Program
Music holds a central place in Cocoa Beach Community Church worship. The church choir rehearses on Wednesday evenings at 7:00 PM and Sunday mornings at 9:30 AM in Sponsler Hall and offers an anthem twice a month. On the other Sundays, the music comes from a rotation of soloists and ensembles who perform across a wide range of genres, from traditional church music to contemporary and popular styles, creating what the church calls a diverse musical experience.
The music ministry is supported by a roster of Sunday Servants who make worship run smoothly each week. Ushers greet at the door, help visitors find seats, light altar candles, collect the offering, and serve communion. Audio-visual volunteers run the soundboard, livestream the service, and click through PowerPoint slides of hymns, liturgy, and scripture. Fellowship Hosts set up coffee and snacks before and after the service.
Adult Bible Discussions on Tuesdays
Adult Bible Discussions meet on Tuesdays at 1:00 PM at the church, facilitated by Rev. Rick Oppelt. The gatherings are open to anyone in the congregation or community who wants to read and discuss scripture together. The group's work is part of the wider education ministry overseen by Coleman Todd, the Associate for Church Growth, Social Justice, and Education.
Center for Spiritual Enrichment
On Thursdays from 10:30 AM to 12:30 PM, Cocoa Beach Community Church hosts the Center for Spiritual Enrichment, an adult learning series that meets in Sponsler Hall with lunch served in between sessions. Most sessions are built around Great Courses video lectures followed by group discussion. Series over the years have explored the history of Christianity, world religions including Judaism and Islam, the New Testament, the Apocalypse, the parables of Jesus, the history of monotheism, and themes drawn from contemporary authors such as Diana Butler Bass and Parker Palmer.
Each Thursday includes two half-hour lectures and a midday meal followed by conversation. A Zoom option has long been available for participants who prefer to join from home, and the church office can add anyone interested to the weekly link list.
Spiritual Life Teams
The church supports the practice of Spiritual Life Teams, an approach developed by Dr. Bobbie McKay through the Spiritual Health Center. A Spiritual Life Team is a small group committed to sharing stories of God at work in everyday life. People often experience the presence or action of God in profound ways but hesitate to name those experiences for fear of seeming strange or overly religious. SLTs provide a regular, trusted setting for prayer, reflection, and the telling of those stories. The church lists Spiritual Life Teams among its ongoing ministries.
Keeping in Touch and Pastoral Care
Pastoral care at CBCC centers on a ministry called KIT - Keeping in Touch - in which caring members of the congregation make regular visits to friends of the church in their homes, in hospitals, and in nursing homes. Birthday cards, get-well wishes, and miss-you notes are sent on a regular schedule. To add a name to the birthday or anniversary list, anyone can be in touch with the church office.
The congregation also brings birthday celebrations with snacks, songs, and stories to residents of Courtenay Springs Assisted Living in Merritt Island on a regular basis, with volunteers welcome to join the visits through the church office.
The Thrift Shop on Atlantic Avenue
The Cocoa Beach Community Church Thrift Shop has been in continuous operation since 1965. It began when a couple of women set up a card table after worship to sell baby clothes. Today the shop fills five rooms with clothing, glassware, decorative items, linens, books, records, DVDs, collectibles, and holiday decorations, all priced to be affordable for the surrounding community.
The shop carries two purposes that the church outlines plainly: it offers reasonably priced household goods and clothing to neighbors, and it raises funds to support the congregation's outreach projects and ministries. The shop is open Mondays, Thursdays, and Fridays from 10:00 AM to 2:00 PM, and it is closed on Tuesdays, Wednesdays, Saturdays, and Sundays. Proceeds and donated goods are shared widely across Brevard County.
Comforters, blankets, and coats go to the Church of Our Saviour's Cold Night Ministry for the homeless. Blankets, sheets, pillows, and towels are donated to the local Humane Society. Eyeglasses go to the Lions Club, and cell phones go to the Veterans Center. School supplies go to the Brevard County Teachers Depot. Clothing that cannot be sold is given to American Veterans. Homeless neighbors are helped directly with clothing and toiletries. Books and Bibles are passed to the local Correction Center and to the Seafarer's Mission, children's books to Rolling Readers, and bicycles to a Lutheran Church bicycle ministry for children and the homeless. Costumes are shared with Surfside Players, calendars with nursing homes, flags with the Veterans Center, uniforms with Scouts, stuffed animals with the Seafarer's Mission, and gift certificates are available year-round to those in need.
Food, Donations, and Wider Mission
Each Sunday morning a food basket sits near the entrance of the sanctuary, and members and visitors are invited to bring single-serving items and other non-perishables. Single-serving items go into ready-to-eat lunch bags available at the Thrift Shop and the church office, while other foods are passed along to local food pantries across Cocoa Beach and the Space Coast.
The congregation supports the United Church of Christ's wider mission through four special offerings each year. The One Great Hour of Sharing, received on the fourth Sunday in Lent, funds development projects, famine relief, services for displaced people, and disaster response in more than seventy countries. Strengthen the Church, received on Pentecost Sunday, supports church growth and leadership development through the UCC's conferences and national offices. Neighbors in Need, received on World Communion Sunday in early October, supports ministries of justice and compassion in the United States and Puerto Rico, including the Council for American Indian Ministries. The Christmas Fund, received on the Sunday before Christmas, provides aid to retired and active ministers and their surviving spouses and children. Gifts can be placed in the offering plate, mailed to the church office, or given online through the UCC's giving channels, in addition to local pledges to CBCC.
The church also takes part in UCC Disaster Ministry Opportunities and advocates for justice and peace through the denomination's Wider Church Ministries, working with partners on disaster response around the world. Local contributions pass through Disaster Ministry's network as well, giving the church a chance to act when neighbors are in need.
Women's Fellowship
The Women's Fellowship gathers women who are members or friends of Cocoa Beach Community Church for monthly programs from September through May, usually meeting on the second Thursday of the month at 10:00 AM. Led by a president and guided by four pillars - fellowship, service and giving, fundraising, and education - the group hears from a wide range of local experts at each meeting, including representatives from local agencies, historians, artists, medical specialists, and law enforcement. A chaplain opens each gathering with an inspirational story, verse, or prayer.
The Thrift Shop is the largest single project of the Women's Fellowship, with proceeds and donations supporting the church's wider mission. The group also contributes to community organizations including Brevard Sharing Center, Crosswinds Youth Program, Salvation Army Abused Women Shelter, the Seafarers Ministry, and Brevard Rescue Mission for Women and Children, and funds improvements around the church campus itself.
Weddings, Sponsler Hall, the Columbarium, and Beach Parking
The sanctuary, Sponsler Hall, and the surrounding grounds are available for a range of gatherings. Couples are welcome to be married at the church, with flexibility for ceremonies of all sizes, including smaller, more intimate weddings and beach weddings. The full wedding package at CBCC includes a high-quality sound system, optional organist, PowerPoint and video projection, catering and reception options, on-site sound and projection technicians, and wedding consultations.
Sponsler Hall, on the church grounds with a well-equipped kitchen, serves as a banquet space for wedding receptions, bridal showers, rehearsal dinners, birthday parties, anniversary celebrations, and meetings. The sanctuary also hosts recitals and concerts.
A Memorial Garden and a columbarium, dedicated in 2019 and located on the southeast side of the campus, offer a permanent place of remembrance. Each niche in the columbarium can hold two urns, and the church office provides current pricing and contracts to inquiring families.
Cocoa Beach Community Church also rents out its lot for beach parking during the week. All-day parking is available from 11:00 AM, and the lot sits a half block from the nearest beach approach.
Planning a Visit to Cocoa Beach Community Church
The church sits at 126 South Atlantic Avenue, in the heart of downtown Cocoa Beach. Parking is available in the lot directly behind the church and in the lots to the north and south of the building along Atlantic Avenue. Worship begins at 10:00 AM on Sundays, with all ages gathering in the sanctuary together; Holy Communion is offered on the first Sunday of each month. The service is livestreamed on YouTube and on Facebook, and recordings are archived for later viewing.
A small Banned Book Library also calls the church home; the door is left open, and visitors sixteen and older are welcome to browse, sit and read, or check out a book on a simple sign-out sheet. Younger readers are invited to bring a parent or guardian.
The church office is open Tuesday, Thursday, and Friday from 9:00 AM to 2:00 PM and on Wednesdays by appointment, and it is closed on Mondays. Visitors and newcomers are warmly welcomed, and the front of the sanctuary invites each person in with the congregation's own words: "No matter who you are, or where you are, on life's journey, you are welcome here."
Church office: 321-783-3961 · cbccoffice@cbcc-ucc.org · 126 S. Atlantic Ave., Cocoa Beach, FL 32931 · Mailing: PO Box 320009, Cocoa Beach, FL 32932 · Give online · Livestream and sermon archive