Discovery Church is a Word and Spirit church that gathers at three campuses across the greater Orlando area: Sand Lake on Sand Lake Road, Alafaya on South Alafaya Trail, and Winter Garden on Winter Garden Vineland Road. With three identical Sunday services at each location and a deep bench of ministries for every stage of life, Discovery has become known in central Florida for its blend of biblical teaching, vibrant worship, and hands-on care for families, students, and people walking through difficult seasons.
Three Campuses, One Mission
Each Discovery campus runs the same Sunday schedule: 8:30 a.m., 10 a.m., and 11:45 a.m. Live Spanish translation is offered during the 11:45 a.m. service at both Sand Lake and Winter Garden. The Alafaya campus is currently in a season of change; while its permanent building undergoes renovation and expansion, the congregation meets on Sundays at the Sand Lake Event Center and in Community Gatherings around the Alafaya area. These temporary locations include gatherings at the Sand Lake Auditorium (8:30 and 11:45 a.m., hosted by Sand Lake staff) and at the Sand Lake Event Center at 829 Sand Lake Road (10 a.m., hosted by Alafaya staff with livestreamed teaching and a middle school service). A third Sunday option, hosted by Alafaya staff at Timber Creek High School in east Orlando, offers livestreamed teaching and worship in the school's media center.
Word and Spirit at the Center
Discovery describes itself as a Word and Spirit Church, framing its life around the conviction that Scripture and the work of the Holy Spirit belong together. The church teaches that the Old and New Testaments are the complete, divinely inspired, inerrant Word of God and the supreme authority for faith and life. It also teaches that the Holy Spirit indwells every believer from the moment of salvation, empowers believers to live in holiness, gives spiritual gifts for the building up of the church, and brings spiritual, emotional, and physical healing today. The vision is to be a reflection of the Acts 2 church, devoted to the apostles' teaching, fellowship, the breaking of bread, and prayer.
Beliefs are summarized in a statement of faith covering God the Father, the Lord Jesus Christ, and the Holy Spirit; the nature and inspiration of the Bible; the nature of humanity and the fall; salvation by grace through faith; communion as a remembrance of Christ's death; baptism as a public affirmation of faith; eternal life, heaven, and hell; and the church as God's instrument on earth. Communion is observed as an ordinance for believers. Baptism is celebrated by full immersion and conducted by Discovery pastors; a 101 Baptism Class is offered the Sunday before baptism, and a Morphed class is required for children ages 8 to 11.
What Sundays Look Like
Each weekend service includes sung worship, biblical teaching that lasts about 45 minutes, and a time of prayer at the front of the auditorium. At the end of the service, team members are ready to pray with anyone who comes forward. Visitors will find first-time guest parking, accessible parking, and a ride-share and ADA drop-off area at the Sand Lake entrance. The Winter Garden lot is shared with other businesses, so the church recommends arriving about 15 minutes early; parking attendants direct traffic on busy weekends. All three campuses offer coffee, tea, and snacks for purchase and have an info desk staffed by volunteers; first-time guests can pick up a complimentary gift there.
Parents with infants through fifth graders check into DC Kids at the KidCare desk. Early arrival helps make the process smooth. Private nursing rooms are available at every campus, and a family room is open at Sand Lake for parents who want a flexible space to worship with young children. Middle school students are welcomed into the main auditorium for the start of service and then released to the student center. All Sand Lake services are livestreamed, and the church notes that baptisms at Sand Lake are also broadcast live.
DC Kids and Family Life
DC Kids exists with the conviction that there is no junior Holy Spirit: kids can experience everything any Christ-follower can. The ministry partners with parents to teach the Bible to children from birth through fifth grade, blending prayer, worship, Scripture, and friendship. In addition to Sunday programming, DC Kids runs small groups for grades 1 through 5 during the school year, with hands-on learning, Bible skills, and verse memorization. A Kids Camp each summer welcomes children who have completed kindergarten through fifth grade. A baptism track for elementary kids ages 8 to 11 and a parent-child dedication for infants through first graders round out the family offerings.
Family Life Ministry supports parents through Parent Huddles, parenting small groups and classes, and a substantial resources library. The Family Life team curates books on child development, adoption and foster care, and parenting in a tech-saturated culture. Parents can also borrow from recommended book lists for disciplining children about sexuality, grouped by age from 3 to 17, and find guides to monitoring tools, parental control apps, and family devotionals.
Students and Young Adults
The Student Ministry walks alongside sixth through twelfth graders with the motto to be known, to know Jesus, and to make Jesus known. On Sundays, students in grades 6 to 8 can join a middle-school-focused message at 10 a.m. at Sand Lake and Alafaya and at 11:45 a.m. at Winter Garden. Midweek services run Wednesdays from 6:30 to 8:30 p.m. at all campuses, blending worship, games, a message, and gender- and grade-specific small groups led by adult leaders. Summer Student Camp is offered as an overnight retreat with team activities, worship, and teaching. Volunteer opportunities let students serve in worship, tech, café, greeting, and Kids ministry.
Young Adults ministry serves ages 18 to 29 with monthly Campus Nights on the Sand Lake campus (at a venue called The Black Barn) and at the Winter Garden campus on select Tuesdays at 6:30 p.m., with dinner, worship, and a message. Weekly small groups and serve opportunities keep young adults connected between gatherings. No childcare is available at these nights.
Men's Ministry and the Weekly Breakfast
The Men's Ministry centers on the conviction that when men lead their families to church, the wife and kids follow 90 percent of the time. Each week, more than 400 men gather for a Men's Breakfast on Tuesdays, Wednesdays, and Thursdays across all three campuses. From the breakfast, men sign up for weekly small groups and a one-on-one mentoring program in which a mentor and protégé meet twice a month for a year, working through ten topics that range from spiritual growth and career calling to marriage, parenting, money, emotions, and sharing faith. The ministry also runs Boot Camp, a challenging disciple-making experience, and Advanced Boot Camp for returning participants.
Women's Ministry
The Women's Ministry inspires women in every season to embrace authentic connection with God and others. Women can join a wide mix of groups: small groups, large groups, Summer Sisters groups running June through August, a Fall Study from September through November, Mom2Mom, and a group for single moms. The ministry hosts global gatherings for women across the church and provides opportunities to lead and disciple others. Three women's pastors shepherd the ministry.
Marriage and Family
The Marriage Ministry walks with couples from the earliest stages through decades of marriage. Engaged couples can take Preparing for Marriage classes with mentoring. Two eight-week sessions of marriage classes run during Spring and Fall Connection Weekends on topics for every season. The Marriage Workshop is a one-day deep dive that prepares couples for the Marriage Encounter, which in turn equips strong marriages to become Marriage Mentor Couples. Marriage Mentoring pairs an experienced couple with another couple for several weeks of guided growth.
Worship Arts
Worship Arts extends beyond music into a transformative ministry with the goal of leading others into a deeper relationship with God. The team develops servant leaders, disciples unified teams, and encourages God-centered creativity across singing, instrumental music, visual arts, and technical production. Volunteers serve in weekend services, Young Adults, and Student Ministry at every campus. The team includes a Global Worship Pastor, a Worship Production Pastor, an Executive Producer, a Next Gen Worship Pastor, and additional worship pastors, along with student worship leaders who help lead students at Midweek and camps.
The Discovery Ministry School
The Discovery Ministry School (DMS) is a 12-month, Orlando-based, multi-site ministry residency that forms the next generation of Word and Spirit church leaders. Residents are placed in paid roles across ministry tracks including Lead Pastor, Teaching Pastor, Discipleship, Worship Arts, Young Adults, Students, and Kids. Each resident receives theological reading and cohort learning, spiritual formation with sustainable rhythms and coaching, leadership development that emphasizes building systems and apprenticing others, weekly one-on-one coaching through an Individual Development Plan, and hands-on ministry skills. The residency launches in August each year, with part-time and full-time options. Host homes are available for those moving to Orlando. The school's Executive Director, Marcus Bieschke, holds a Master of Theology from Dallas Theological Seminary and a Doctor of Strategic Leadership from Regent University and is a graduate of Harvard Business School.
Renewal and Pastoral Care
The Renewal Ministry is Discovery's pastoral care arm, surrounding people with support during hard seasons. Stephen Ministry pairs trained lay people with individuals for weekly, confidential, one-on-one meetings that bring listening, prayer, and steady companionship through illness, grief, transitions, or struggles of faith. Stephen Ministers complete 50 hours of training and commit to weekly meetings plus monthly supervision.
Divorce Care is a 13-week program offered Mondays at Sand Lake and Thursdays at Winter Garden, with a $20 participant workbook. GriefShare is a 13-week program for those grieving the loss of a loved one, meeting Sundays at Sand Lake, Tuesdays at Alafaya, and Mondays at Winter Garden. FAM Care (Family Advocacy Ministry) supports families who have grown through adoption, foster care, kinship care, or guardianship by building a Care Community around each family; the ministry notes that with such support, the foster care dropout rate drops from 50 percent to under 5 percent. Hope for Hurting Parents walks with parents whose adult or older children have made painful choices, meeting in person and virtually at Alafaya on alternating Mondays.
Two confidential L.I.F.E. Groups (Living in Freedom Everyday) provide ongoing support for men and women struggling with sexual integrity. The men's group meets Thursdays at Sand Lake and Alafaya and Tuesdays at Winter Garden; the women's group meets Sundays at Alafaya. Soul Care offers both a class held two to three times a year at each campus and prayer-based Soul Care Sessions, in which a team of two ministers meets with an individual over two to four sessions to pray into past wounds and hurts. Military Care connects veterans with one another.
Missions and the Community Resource Center
DC On Mission helps members find daily opportunities to live on mission. Local serving focuses on formerly incarcerated individuals, human-trafficking victims, under-resourced communities, and vulnerable children. Discovery Initiatives are staff-supported ministries that include Car Care, the Community Resource Center (CRC), Family Advocacy Ministry, the Latino Community, Micro Church, the Recovery Group, and the Sports Ministry. Globally, Discovery partners in Honduras, the Dominican Republic, and El Salvador, sends short-term teams, gives to gospel-centered relief in crisis zones, and prays for the persecuted church.
The Community Resource Center, located at 811 Sand Lake Road at the corner of Voltaire Drive, serves as a frontline outreach hub. It is open Mondays, Thursdays, and Saturdays from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. Free shower facilities are available on Saturdays from 9 a.m. to 2:45 p.m., and walk-ins are welcome.
Discovery Sports
Discovery Sports uses gospel-centered sports to impact Orlando. Youth leagues include soccer with MLS Go and flag football with NFL FLAG, with practices midweek and games on weekends, plus scholarships for families who need them. Adult offerings rotate by season and include coed and men's softball at Lake Fairview Park, adult pickleball, women's fitness classes, adult men's flag football leagues and pick-up games, kickball, men's basketball, monthly running meet-ups at Track Shack races, and coed running. Sports interest groups at each campus keep members informed about new offerings.
Classes, Groups, and Serving
Beyond Sunday services, Discovery offers a clear pathway of next steps. The This Is Discovery class introduces the church's history, vision, and mission. The 201 Hearing God class helps members grow in Spirit-directed living, prayer, and hearing God's voice through Scripture. The 301 Spiritual Gifts class walks members through discovering their gifts, personal style, and ministry passion. Small groups meet in homes and on campuses, with group leader training available for those who want to facilitate. A Church Center app lets members give, register for events, sign up for groups, and check their family into KidCare. Discovery also partners with Ramsey+ to provide financial tools and offers RightNow Media access for members.
LET'S GO: A Two-Year Faith Initiative
Discovery is in the middle of LET'S GO, a two-year journey of faith-filled obedience responding to what the church describes as God's call for increase. The current facilities at Alafaya and Winter Garden have reached capacity, and the church is building new space at Winter Garden, renovating and expanding the Alafaya property, and exploring adding a rear balcony to the Sand Lake auditorium to seat hundreds more. During this period, all contributions to Discovery flow into a One Fund covering both operating needs and facility development. Members are invited to make a two-year commitment of faithful generosity; a digital commitment card is available along with tutorials for those giving through stocks, property, or other assets. The church has highlighted stories of members stepping out in faith with extraordinary returns.
The initiative's name reflects the church's heartbeat: faith honors God and God honors faith. As Senior Lead Pastor Don Cousins often says, God will build His Church as we build His Church. The vision is that as Discovery grows in number, it will also grow in the depth of its disciple-making across central Florida and to the ends of the earth.