A Pentecostal church family on South Ridgewood Avenue
Family Worship Center sits on South Ridgewood Avenue in Port Orange, Florida, a corridor of shops, restaurants, and neighborhoods that runs south toward the coast of Volusia County. The church has called this stretch of Ridgewood home for decades and has grown from a small home Bible study in 1984 into a multi-generational congregation that gathers every Sunday morning at ten o'clock for energetic worship and Bible teaching.
Family Worship Center, known locally as FWC, carries a Pentecostal identity shaped by the RHEMA Bible Training Center in Tulsa, Oklahoma, where several of its pastors received their theological education. The church teaches that the Bible is the inspired and inerrant Word of God, that salvation comes by grace through faith in Jesus Christ, and that the baptism in the Holy Spirit with the accompanying gift of speaking in tongues is available to every believer, along with the broader range of spiritual gifts described in the New Testament. Worship is contemporary and expressive, the teaching is verse by verse and conversational, and visitors are welcomed with a come-as-you-are culture that emphasizes belonging before belief.
From a living room in 1984 to a Ridgewood Avenue church
Family Worship Center was founded in 1984 by Tom and Patty Dubois, who began holding services in their home alongside two other couples, Tom's son Ray Dubois and his wife, and Sam and Nancy Spears. The Duboises and the Spearses had all graduated from RHEMA Bible College, and they set out to plant a church in the Daytona Beach area that would carry the same faith and Spirit-centered focus they had received there. Tom and Patty were married for more than sixty years and raised seven adult children, close to twenty grandchildren, and great-grandchildren. Tom pastored the church until his retirement in 2009, when Ray Dubois stepped into the role of Lead Pastor.
John and Cathy Mazza also had deep roots at Family Worship Center. John had served the church for thirty years in youth and music ministry, and Cathy had worked alongside him in youth ministry, preschool, toddler, infant, and women's ministry, with extensive experience in Camp Decision both stateside and abroad. The Mazzas are RHEMA graduates and stepped into the role of Lead Pastors on May 20, 2017. In February 2020, Tom Dubois went home to be with the Lord, leaving a legacy of faith that continues to shape the church. Patty Dubois remains a member of Family Worship Center and serves on the council that advises the Lead Pastors.
John, who was born in Manhattan and raised in Queens before his family moved to Florida when he was ten, is known for his energy and humor. He was a youth worker for eleven years before becoming youth pastor, a position he held for nineteen years, and he also led music for more than twenty years. Cathy, a native Floridian, has been involved in youth ministry for thirty years. Together they have built a pastoral team whose members are committed to helping people know God, find freedom, discover their purpose, and make a difference, the four-part focus of the church.
What FWC believes
Family Worship Center teaches a comprehensive statement of faith rooted in classical Pentecostal theology. The church affirms that the Bible, in its original manuscripts, is the inspired, infallible, and inerrant Word of God and is the final authority on all doctrinal truth. It confesses one God eternally existent in three co-equal persons, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, and teaches that Jesus Christ is fully God and fully man, conceived by the Holy Spirit, born of the Virgin Mary, who lived a sinless life, performed miracles, died on the cross for the sins of mankind, rose again on the third day, ascended to the right hand of the Father, and will return again in power and glory.
The church holds to salvation by grace through faith, regeneration by the Holy Spirit, repentance, sanctification by the work of the Spirit and the Word, the all-sufficiency of the blood of Christ to cleanse from sin, the indwelling of Christ in every believer by the Holy Spirit, and the resurrection of both the saved and the lost, the saved to eternal life and the lost to eternal separation from God. The baptism in the Holy Spirit is taught as the promise of the Father given at Pentecost and available to all believers, with the initial physical evidence of speaking in a heavenly prayer language. The gifts of the Spirit are taught as ongoing and available to the church today, always exercised in harmony with Scripture.
Two ordinances are observed: water baptism by immersion for believers who have trusted Christ, and the Lord's Supper with bread and grape juice, taken in remembrance of Jesus' sacrifice. Marriage is defined as a sacred covenant between one man and one woman, instituted by God. The church also teaches divine healing as part of the atonement, the second coming of Christ, the reality of heaven and hell, and God's will to provide for his people spiritually, mentally and emotionally, physically, and financially.
Sunday mornings at Family Worship Center
The Sunday service begins at 10:00 AM at 4425 S. Ridgewood Ave., Port Orange, and runs about ninety minutes. Worship is led by Mary Cuchetti Roig, a contemporary Christian artist and vocal coach from New Smyrna Beach who directs the FWC worship team. Services are described by the church as friendly, dynamic, and rooted in relevant Bible teaching. Communion Sunday falls on the last Sunday of each month, and the Lord's Supper is observed together as a congregation. Visitors are welcome to come as they are; the church's own FAQ says plainly, "Do I need to dress up? Nope. We like you just the way you are." For those who cannot attend in person, the service is livestreamed online, available on Facebook Live, and accessible through the BoxCast app on Roku, Fire TV, and Apple TV.
First Wednesdays and Immersion
On the first Wednesday of every month, the church gathers for Immersion, a dedicated evening service held from 7:00 to 8:00 PM. The format includes extended praise and worship, Bible teaching, and a family-friendly atmosphere. Children's classrooms are open during the service. Immediately after worship, the church hosts Immersion After Dark from 8:00 to 8:30 PM, when families stay for food, fellowship, and connection. Immersion gives the church an additional midweek touchpoint beyond Sunday and serves as the second of the two weekly service rhythms the church highlights on its Times + Location page.
FWC Kids: birth through fifth grade
Family Worship Center takes its children's ministry seriously. Classrooms are open fifteen minutes before every service, and the church teaches that what happens in FWC Kids is just as important as what happens in the adult service. Every classroom is staffed by volunteers who have undergone background checks and been approved by the pastoral staff, and every classroom is monitored by security cameras. Parents check children in at a kiosk in the hallway using a phone number, with a Family Registration Form completed on the first visit.
Children are grouped by age. The Infant classroom serves newborns through sixteen months and focuses on the love of God shared through music, prayer, and attentive care. The Toddler classroom serves children from sixteen months through thirty-six months with prayer, Scripture reading, music, interactive play, and Bible story cards. The Preschool classroom, for three-year-olds through kindergarten, teaches a weekly lesson built around a Bible story, a memory verse, a story board, and a coloring sheet, activity page, or craft. The Elementary classroom, for first through fifth graders, is committed to showing the love of Christ while teaching the uncompromised Word and helping children develop godly friendships and a heart for service. Children move up on Promotion Sunday, the first Sunday in August. Kathy Dowding directs the infant ministry, Ellie Gibbons directs the preschool classroom, and Jonathan and Christina Remmers lead the elementary children's ministry.
Decision Youth Group: middle and high school
The youth ministry at Family Worship Center is called DYG, or Decision Youth Group, and its mission is "causing teenagers to make a daily decision for Christ." The church takes seriously the belief that teens are not just the future church but the present church. DYG Adrenaline meets on Monday nights at 7:00 PM and is geared toward students in grades six through twelve. The evening features high-energy, interactive praise and worship led by the DYG band and a relevant, powerful message for today's teenagers, with games, activities, and theme nights built into the rhythm.
For middle schoolers in particular, DYG Ignite meets during the Sunday morning service, giving students an age-appropriate Bible study alongside the rest of the church. The DYG band invites teens who sing or play an instrument to be part of praise and worship, and the team handles everything from sound and lights to lyrics and video. The youth ministry also runs an annual summer camp called Camp Decision and takes students to conferences such as Motion in Birmingham.
Young adults, men, women, and Young at Heart
For adults in their late teens and twenties, FWC Young Adults is a community for ages 18 to 30 that gathers during Life Group semesters. The group also meets monthly for the Young Adult Life Group, known as YALG, on Sunday afternoons right after church for lunch and fellowship at the Mazza residence.
The Men's Ministry gathers men ages 18 and up for Life Groups and a monthly Men's Breakfast on Wednesday mornings at Hannah's Diner in South Daytona, a gathering centered on meaningful conversation, encouragement, and prayer. The Women's Ministry serves ladies 18 and up through Life Groups and special events, with a monthly Ladies' Breakfast, occasional Ladies' Game Nights, and trips to conferences such as the Love Life Women's Conference. Carol Kangur coordinates Young at Heart, the church's ministry for adults 60 and up, which meets monthly for luncheons at restaurants in Port Orange, South Daytona, and New Smyrna Beach.
Life Groups and the GROW class
Life Groups are the small-group engine of Family Worship Center. A Life Group is made up of people who share similar interests, are in the same stage of life, or want to learn from each other, gathering around a sport, a meal, a Bible study, or simply friendship. The groups meet in homes and other locations during the semester, and a current Life Group booklet is published each season so newcomers can browse and sign up. Anyone with a topic and a willingness to lead can host a group; the church provides first-time leader training and ongoing support.
For those ready to take a next step, the GROW class is a three-part course held on Sunday evenings in Suite 5 of the 4393 S. Ridgewood Ave. building adjacent to the main church. GROW typically runs on the last Sunday of each month and walks through who Family Worship Center is, the purpose God has for each person, and how to develop leadership and get involved. Completing GROW is the gateway to joining the Dream Team, the church's all-volunteer serving community.
Dream Team and the work of the body
The Dream Team is Family Worship Center's name for its volunteer serving community. The church teaches that every believer has been given gifts and passions and that the local church is the place to use them. Dream Team opportunities include the Administration Team, the Coffee Bar team, the Communications and Marketing team, the Facilities team, the Greeters and Parking team, the GROW Hosts, the Events team, the FWC Kids classrooms, the Kids Check-In team, the Hospitality team, the Life Group leaders, the Usher team, the Students team that supports DYG, and the Worship team that leads music each week.
Outreach: FWC Pantry, Mission Blessing, and Casa del Destino
Family Worship Center has a clear outward focus. The FWC Pantry is an outreach ministry that provides food to families throughout the community. It operates on the biblical principle of feeding the hungry and reaching the world around us, and the pantry is open Monday through Thursday from 1:00 to 4:00 PM at the church offices. Mission Blessing is a rotating collection of community projects that run throughout the year, including a Back to School drive, a Thanksgiving Dinner outreach for families, and a Toy Drive for local foster children.
Globally, Family Worship Center is one of several partner churches that co-founded Casa del Destino, a children's home in Antigua, Guatemala, established in 2007. Casa del Destino, or House of Destiny, is a legal corporation recognized by the Guatemalan government with the authority to place children in adoptive homes. Its vision is to help raise children in the teaching of God's Word and place them into healthy Christian homes around the world.
Visiting Family Worship Center
The church building is located at 4425 S. Ridgewood Ave., Port Orange, FL 32127, with the church office just across the parking area at 4393 S. Ridgewood Ave., Suite 6, open Monday through Thursday from 9 AM to 5 PM. Office staff can be reached at (386) 788-3966 or churchoffice@fwcpo.org. The mailing address is PO Box 290877, Port Orange, FL 32129. Sunday morning starts at 10 AM, the first Wednesday of every month brings Immersion at 7 PM, and both services include FWC Kids and DYG Ignite. Visitors can plan a visit online, fill out a Connect Card, or download the FWC app from the Apple App Store or Google Play.
Giving and staying connected
Tithes and offerings can be given online through the church's secure giving platform, set up through text message, mailed to the PO Box, or placed in the offering containers during Sunday services. Donations of stock can be made through Stock Donator, and Donor-Advised Fund gifts are accepted through DAF Direct. Messages from recent teaching series, including the current "Let's Talk About It" eight-week series drawn from congregational survey responses, are available to stream and download. Pastors can be reached for prayer requests through the church's online prayer page, and Life Group sign-ups, baptism registration, Dream Team applications, and the church calendar are all available online.