A Baptist Church on Pine Forest Road
Milestone Baptist Church sits along Pine Forest Road in Cantonment, just north of Pensacola in Florida's Panhandle. From a single building at 3800 Pine Forest Road, the church holds one Sunday morning service, broadcasts it online, and runs a year-round rhythm of small groups, children's ministry, and volunteer teams. The congregation describes itself with the phrase Practical Faith. Genuine Community., and the tone that runs through everything from the worship music to the children's ministry is approachable, casual, and unpretentious. Visitors are invited to come just as you are.
The church is pastored by James Carter, a former missionary whose family served nearly two decades in Western Australia before returning to the United States. That cross-cultural background shapes Milestone's relaxed, come-as-you-are spirit and its conviction that church should help people live out their faith in everyday life rather than perform religion at the door.
Sundays at Ten with Live Music and Teaching
The Sunday gathering is built to fit a real week. Milestone holds one worship service at 10:00 AM that runs about an hour and includes live music and teaching. The service is also broadcast live at 10:00 AM and made available to watch shortly afterward, so anyone unable to attend in person can follow along from home. Online viewers find the livestream on the church's Facebook page and a growing library of full messages on its YouTube channel.
For first-time guests, the church has put together a Plan a Visit page that answers the practical questions most people have. Service lasts about one hour, but the welcome team encourages early arrivals and unhurried departures. Coffee and conversation are part of the rhythm. Dress is casual; the staff puts it plainly, we keep things casual around here, so feel free to wear whatever makes you comfortable.
Volunteers in the Guest Experience team handle the parking lot, the front doors, and the walk-in greeting, so first-time visitors are met from the car to the auditorium. Anyone with questions can simply ask, and a volunteer will help them find seats, locate the children's areas, or answer questions about the service.
Pastor James Carter, From Australia to Pensacola
James Carter has been in church ministry since 2000. For nearly twenty years he and his wife, Holly, served as missionaries in Western Australia, sharing the Gospel with a diverse community across that region. They returned to the United States in 2019, and in 2020 Pastor Carter stepped into the role of lead pastor at Milestone Baptist Church.
The Carters' missionary years shape the church's outward focus. Milestone frames its purpose as to help people deepen their relationship with Jesus and to equip people to live out their faith every day. The hope is that what is learned on Sunday shows up at home, at work, and in the neighborhood during the week. Pastor Carter also regularly teaches through book-by-book studies of the Bible, and guest speakers occasionally bring their own series, such as Jeff Westcott's study of Colossians titled First & Foremost.
Milestone Kids and the Nursery
Children are a central part of Milestone's Sunday rhythm, not an afterthought. The church operates Milestone Kids, a children's program for kids from birth through fifth grade that runs alongside the main worship service. Its goal is to help kids know about a God who created them, loves them, and is with them every day. Everything in the kids' service is built around that single aim, from age-appropriate lessons to the volunteers who lead them.
For the youngest children, Milestone runs a nursery for infants and toddlers ages 0 to 3. Nursery caregivers provide attentive supervision, engage children in age-appropriate activities, and keep the space clean, safe, and welcoming for both kids and parents. The nursery is staffed by friendly, reliable volunteers, and no prior experience is required to serve there - just a willingness to love on the church's littlest members.
Older elementary children in first through fifth grade gather for Bible lessons, age-appropriate worship, and activities designed to build a strong foundation of faith. Parents can drop their kids off and join the main service with confidence that their children are being taught in a way that fits their stage of life.
Life Groups on Sunday Mornings and Tuesday Nights
Milestone believes that faith grows best when shared, and the church organizes its adults around two weekly Life Groups that meet on campus. The stated purpose is straightforward: to study God's Word together as a community on Sundays and dig deeper into the message from Sundays on Tuesdays.
- Sunday Morning Group meets at 9:00 AM for forty-five minutes in the Home Room. The group gathers before the main service for fellowship and learning, so attendees can head straight into worship afterward.
- Tuesday Night Group meets at 6:30 PM for one hour in Room 14. This second gathering allows the same teaching to go deeper during the week.
Anyone is welcome to drop in. Two options are available, and people can contact the church if they want more information or are interested in starting a new group.
Joining a Volunteer Team
Volunteers are the engine that keeps Milestone running, and the church lays out five teams that newcomers can plug into.
- Guest Experience is the team that greets people from the parking lot, opens the doors, walks first-time guests to seats, and generally helps every person feel seen and valued.
- Worship is made up of committed musicians who lead the music each weekend. The team works to create an atmosphere that helps people engage with God during the service.
- Production runs cameras, lighting, and on-screen lyrics to support the worship service each week.
- Nursery serves children ages 0 to 3 with attentive care and a safe, welcoming environment.
- Kid's Ministry serves kids in first through fifth grade with Bible lessons, worship, and activities.
Serving involves two steps: choose a team that fits your gifts, then fill out the form. Whether someone is naturally outgoing, musically inclined, behind-the-scenes minded, or simply loves kids, there is a place to use those gifts at Milestone.
What Milestone Believes
Milestone Baptist Church holds to historic Christian beliefs and lays them out in plain language.
- God. The church believes in one God who exists in three persons - Father, Son, and Holy Spirit - and teaches that Jesus Christ, the Son of God, became human and sacrificed his life to save humanity from sin.
- Salvation. Jesus is described as the only person to live a sinless life, whose death on the cross paid the price for sin. Salvation is a gift from God, received when a person acknowledges their sin and accepts what Jesus did through his death and resurrection; it is not earned by good works or human effort.
- The Bible. The Bible is the authoritative Word of God, written by human authors under the guidance of the Holy Spirit, and the source of all truth for faith and life.
- Baptism. After trusting Jesus as Lord and Savior, baptism is the outward, public step of obedience that announces a new life in Christ.
- Humankind. All people were made in the likeness of God and were meant to resemble him in character, but disobedience broke that relationship, leaving people unable to restore it on their own.
- The Church. The church is the body of Christ, with Jesus as its head, made up of every person who follows him. Its purpose is to glorify God by becoming more like him and by making him known to those who do not yet believe.
Messages to Watch and a Livestream on Sunday Mornings
Milestone maintains a deep archive of teaching messages that is freely available online. Recent sermon series have included It's About Time, His Stories, Prayer, Protected, At Peace, First & Foremost, Promises Promises, Home, We Are the Church, Trade-Ins, Redemption Possible, The Call of Duty, Hope Full, Live Free, Disciple, Faith For Living, Happy Even After, On Point, How Did We Get Here, Thrive, Foundations, What's Your Story, Gathered, and How To Win At Life.
The full library sits on the church's Watch page, and the same messages are also published on the church's YouTube channel. Anyone who misses a Sunday can catch up during the week, and people who are curious about Milestone can sample several messages before visiting in person.
Shoeboxes for Children Around the World
Milestone partners with Operation Christmas Child, the international shoebox-gift ministry that demonstrates God's love in a tangible way to children in need around the world while partnering with local churches to share the message of Jesus Christ. Members and friends of the church fill shoeboxes and return them to the church by the final Sunday in November, and gifts can also be built and sent online.
Giving Through Donorbox or a Bank Transfer
Giving is handled through Donorbox and is accessible from the church's Give page. A Donorbox account is not required for a one-time gift - only an email address for the digital receipt that doubles as a record for tax purposes. Donors can also give anonymously by providing an email address only for receipt purposes. Recurring gifts can be managed from a Donorbox donor portal, where donors can pause, cancel, or adjust the amount, payment method, and frequency.
For people who prefer personal online banking, Milestone accepts payments through services such as Plaid and Zelle. The payee should be listed as Milestone Baptist Church with the account name set to the donor's name and the payee address set to 3800 Pine Forest Rd, Cantonment, FL.
Plan a Visit or Reach Out
Anyone considering a visit can fill out a Plan a Visit form, which helps the Guest Experience team know to look out for them on Sunday morning. Prayer requests can be submitted through the Prayer page, and general questions can be sent to contact@milestonebaptist.com or left as a voicemail at (850) 494-3010. The church office is at the same Pine Forest Road address, where Milestone Baptist Church continues to grow as a small, friendly, gospel-centered community in the northwest corner of Pensacola.