First Baptist Church DeLand: A Family of Faith on Woodland Boulevard

A Church Family on Woodland Boulevard

First Baptist Church DeLand stands on Woodland Boulevard on the north side of DeLand in Volusia County, a few blocks from the heart of town. The congregation describes itself as \"a close-knit church family grounded in Scripture, guided by compassion, and committed to serving others.\" That description shapes everything the church does. Its motto is \"We don't strive to be the biggest church; just a faithful one.\" The reach of that faithfulness runs far beyond Sunday morning. From a long-running preschool to a monthly clothes closet and a year-round food pantry, the church has built a network of ministries that wrap around families at nearly every stage of life.

Sunday Morning at First Baptist

Worship gathers at 9:30 a.m. each Sunday, with small groups meeting at 11:00 a.m. Services typically last about an hour and follow a familiar rhythm: a blend of worship, prayer, and a Christ-centered message drawn from Scripture. First-time guests are not asked to stand, raise a hand, or introduce themselves. Visitors are invited to participate at their own comfort level.

Parking is available on and around the campus, with entrances on Woodland Boulevard and on Oakdale via Amelia Avenue. Dress runs the full range, from jeans and casual wear to more traditional Sunday attire. The guidance is simply \"come as you are.\" Children are welcomed through age-appropriate opportunities during the service, and the team is happy to help families find the right place for their child. Safety and care are always a priority.

For those who can't make it on Sunday, services are livestreamed on the church's Facebook page.

Spanish-Speaking Worship: Iglesia Bautista Betania

The church's chapel is also home each week to Iglesia Bautista Betania, a Spanish-speaking congregation that gathers for worship, fellowship, and spiritual growth through Bible study and prayer. First Baptist DeLand counts it a privilege to host and partner with Betania, and the two communities share space and support as part of the same extended family.

A Preschool at the Heart of the Church

One of the most visible ministries of First Baptist DeLand is the Early Childhood Development Center, known as ECDC. The preschool is described by the church as \"an extension of our church's heart for families,\" and parents who walk through its classrooms often describe it the same way, as a ministry rooted in love and service. Director Rhonda, who leads tours herself, sums it up this way: the school is \"a ministry rooted in love and service.\"

ECDC serves children from eight weeks old through VPK (four-year-olds ready for kindergarten). Hours run from 7:00 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. Monday through Friday, with preschool core hours from 8:00 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. Early drop-off begins at 7:00 a.m., and aftercare is available until 5:30 p.m. for an additional fee. Both full-time and part-time care are offered in the VPK and Pre-K3 programs, while the nursery and toddler rooms are full-time only.

Inside the Classrooms

The center organizes children by age and developmental readiness rather than by the calendar alone, and families and teachers together decide on the best placement for each child.

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• Infants (8 weeks to about 12 months): Hands-on care with tummy time, buggy rides, and sensory-rich interactions. Babies work on milestones like crawling, cooing, sitting up, and transitioning to one nap.
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• Toddlers (about 12 to 24 months): A vibrant, busy room where children explore colors and shapes with paint and crayons, begin using words to express themselves, and develop fine motor skills.
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• Twos (24 months until potty-trained): Structured yet playful learning includes standing in line, playground time, potty training, recognizing letters, names, and numbers, and replacing tantrums with words.
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• Pre-K 3 (three-year-olds): Children spell and write their name, zip their own jackets, count to thirty, match sounds to letters, color within the lines, and use scissors and glue, building focus and self-care along the way.
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• VPK (four-year-olds by September 1): Florida's free Voluntary Prekindergarten program, with 540 instructional hours and class sizes capped at eleven students with a lead teacher or twenty with an aide. Children count to one hundred, open their own lunch, respond to questions about read-alouds, recognize rhymes and patterns, memorize their address and phone number, and build early sight-word literacy.
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A sample Pre-K3 day runs from free play and crafts in the morning, through snack, small-group work, circle time, lunch, and nap, to afternoon outdoor time and aftercare with a final snack from 4:00 to 5:30 p.m. Faith is woven through each day with chapel once a week and a blessing before meals.

The Teachers

The teaching team is led by Director Rhonda. The VPK lead teachers include Ms. Haley (with the preschool for ten years and a Fine Arts degree and CDA), Ms. Yvonne (joined the preschool in 2025), Ms. Susy (with the program since 2017 and over twenty-five years of experience in early childhood education), and Ms. Sara (nearly five years at ECDC and almost twenty-five years in childcare overall). The Pre-K3 classrooms are led by Ms. Cathy (with ECDC since 2001), Ms. Nancy (since 2015 and fifteen years of childcare experience), and Ms. Julie. The nursery is staffed by Ms. Lorrie, Ms. Sherry, Ms. Holly, Ms. Keria, Ms. Ruth, and Ms. Stacy.

All teachers are background-checked, CPR-certified, and hold the Florida DCF 45-hour training credential. Each classroom has its own private, closed Facebook group, moderated by staff, where teachers share photos and updates with enrolled families. Parents are also given each teacher's personal phone number for direct communication when questions or needs arise.

Caring for Neighbors in DeLand

The church operates a number of ministries that open its doors to the wider community. The Clothes Closet is open to the public on the second Saturday of each month from 9:00 a.m. to noon, offering free gently-used clothing for men, women, children, and infants, as well as shoes and other essentials. Donations of clothing are accepted at the church office throughout the week, where volunteers sort and size items for distribution.

The Food Pantry provides groceries to individuals and families in need. Church members are encouraged to buy a one-get-one item at their local supermarket and donate the free item, and the ministry also welcomes cash and non-perishable food donations. Volunteers purchase needed items and pack grocery bags with ingredients for complete meals, which are made available to those who request them.

The Benevolence Ministry assists DeLand residents with electric and water bills. Residents who need help can call the Benevolence Ministry phone line at 386-734-5085, leave a voicemail with their name, phone number, and specific need, and a volunteer will return the call to schedule an appointment.

Shoeboxes, Trikes, and a Wider Reach

Each fall, the church serves as an official Samaritan's Purse Operation Christmas Child drop-off location for Volusia County. Volunteers receive filled shoeboxes from donors across the area, pray over them, and prepare them for shipping to children around the world, along with Gospel materials in the recipient's own language.

Each spring, the older children of ECDC circle the church parking lot on bikes, trikes, and scooters for the St. Jude Trike-a-Thon, raising money for St. Jude Research Hospital. Over the past three years, the children have raised tens of thousands of dollars for kids fighting life-threatening diseases.

A Welcoming Space for the Whole Community

Beyond its own programs, First Baptist DeLand opens its facilities to civic groups, musical performances, academic meetings, athletic events, weddings, funerals, and special family gatherings throughout the year. The Greeters offer a warm smile at the door each Sunday morning, and the Gather Team oversees Sunday morning fellowship time and plans church dinners and celebrations that bring people together. The church sees all of this as part of its calling: to be \"a welcoming presence and a resource for our neighbors throughout every season of life.\"

Roots in the Neighborhood

The church office is open Monday through Friday from 10:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m., and giving is available online through Tithe.ly. A Spotify page and YouTube channel extend the church's worship and teaching resources beyond the campus. Long-time families and newcomers, grandparents and children, longtime members and first-time guests are all part of the same Sunday morning room on Woodland Boulevard, where the goal is not to be the biggest church in DeLand but to be a faithful one.