Sunday Morning at Myrtle Lake
The Church at Myrtle Lake gathers at 2017 Riegler Road in Land O' Lakes for a Sunday schedule that begins well before the worship hour. Sunday Bible study classes meet at 9:00 AM for every age group, and the unified Sunday morning worship service begins at 10:30 AM. The service brings the church family together through music and the preaching of God's Word, with the goal of sending believers back into their week encouraged and equipped. For those who cannot attend in person, the entire 10:30 AM service is livestreamed on both Facebook and YouTube, so the same sermon and songs can be followed from a living room, a hospital bed, or anywhere with a connection.
Parents arriving with children find a careful process waiting for them. The church uses KidCheck, a secure digital check-in system that prints two matching labels when a child is registered. One label goes on the child and the other stays with the parent, and the two are matched at pickup. Although the system may look involved, it takes only a moment and is presented as a serious safeguard for every child who comes onto the campus, whether a first-time visitor or the child of a longtime member.
A Staff Built Around Family and Discipleship
The pastoral team is small and intentionally focused. Kevin Mays has served as Senior Pastor since 2015. He and his wife Julie came to Land O' Lakes from Ohio, and his ministry has previously taken him through Oklahoma, Connecticut, Pennsylvania, Maryland, and North Carolina, where he has served as a worship pastor, senior adult pastor, visitation pastor, and interim senior pastor. His ministry emphasizes pastoral care and a personal concern for people.
Angel Chitty directs Children's Ministries. A longtime homeschool educator and co-op administrator, she coordinates the children's Sunday programs and also serves as the KidTown AWANA Director and a children's Sunday School teacher. She works alongside her husband Ben, who is an ordained deacon and an AWANA leader. Sarah Benitez is the Director of Media, producing the livestream graphics each Sunday morning and serving as the Music Leader for Vacation Bible School. Kyra France is the Finance Specialist and Margy Dearolph serves as Administrative Assistant, having been part of the church since 2005.
The church is also served by a deacon body that includes Mike Valenti, Ben Chitty, Ed Davis, Brian Wilson, Steve Spanger, Gary Roach, Curtis Gillespie, Randy Gueits, and Allen Rogers.
KidTown and the Wednesday Night Cadence
On Wednesday evenings during the school year, the campus shifts from an adult-focused rhythm to a children's ministry focus. Doors open at 5:30 PM for a free dinner, and the AWANA club - nicknamed KidTown - begins at 6:00 PM. AWANA, a global child and youth discipleship program, is offered to children from age 3 through 8th grade, and the goal is to give every child who walks in a fun and energetic approach to learning Scripture and applying it to daily life.
A typical Wednesday night follows a predictable cadence. Small group and handbook time is when children work with their leaders to memorize Scripture, understand its meaning, and apply it to their lives. Opening ceremony and large group time launches the evening with pledges, contests, and a brief devotion. Game time fills the gym or lawn with team-oriented games and challenges that build belonging and good sportsmanship. The night closes with an awards ceremony where clubbers receive prizes and recognition for what they have earned. Many weeks carry a special theme, and clubbers who come in costume earn AWANA Bucks that can be spent later at the AWANA Store.
Registration is done online each season, and walk-up visitors are welcomed by staff and volunteers who know the children by name.
Sunday School, Children's Church, and Vacation Bible School
Children have a full place in the life of the church beyond Wednesday nights. Every Sunday morning during Bible study hour, classes are organized for preschool, children, youth, and adults, so that an entire family can be in a class of their own at the same hour. After Bible study, children are invited into a dedicated children's church during the 10:30 AM worship hour.
Each summer, the church hosts a free Vacation Bible School that runs Monday through Friday, 9:00 AM to 12:00 PM, and is open to children who have completed kindergarten through sixth grade. Mornings are filled with music, crafts, recreation, and a themed Bible study, and walk-in registrations are welcomed at the door. The annual themes have included Breaker Rock Beach, Magnified, and Illumination Station, with the upcoming season themed around flight.
What the Church at Myrtle Lake Believes
The Church at Myrtle Lake identifies itself as a cooperating church of the Southern Baptist Convention and adopts the Baptist Faith and Message 2000 as its confession. The Bible is described as God-breathed, totally true and trustworthy, the supreme standard for Christian conduct and doctrine, and a unified testimony to Christ at its center. God is one living God in three persons - Father, Son, and Holy Spirit - each fully divine yet distinct in personal attributes. The Father rules with providential care; the Son, Jesus Christ, was conceived by the Holy Spirit, born of the virgin Mary, lived without sin, died on the cross as a substitute for sinners, rose again, ascended to the right hand of God, and will return in glory to judge the world; the Holy Spirit inspired Scripture, illumines truth, convicts of sin, regenerates the sinner, baptizes every believer into the Body of Christ, cultivates Christian character, and empowers the church for worship and witness.
Salvation, in the church's understanding, is offered freely to all who receive Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior. It includes regeneration, justification, sanctification, and glorification, and depends on the inseparably linked gifts of repentance and faith. Election is taught as the gracious purpose of God, and perseverance as the assurance that those whom God has accepted will be kept by His power through faith.
The church understands itself as an autonomous local congregation of baptized believers, governed by Christ through democratic processes, with pastors and deacons as its scriptural officers. Two ordinances are observed: baptism by immersion of believers in the name of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, and the Lord's Supper, a memorial of Christ's death. Marriage is taught as the lifelong covenant union of one man and one woman, and the family is upheld as the foundational institution of human society. The statement also affirms religious liberty, the separation of church and state, and the responsibility of believers to engage in peacemaking, oppose racism and sexual immorality, and care for the orphaned, needy, aged, and unborn.
On Mission from Land O' Lakes to the Ends of the Earth
The missions philosophy of the church is shaped by Acts 1:8. The same verse frames every outreach priority, and the church organizes its mission work around four concentric circles: Jerusalem, Judea, Samaria, and the ends of the earth.
Jerusalem is the immediate community of Land O' Lakes. Vacation Bible School and AWANA are cited as the primary local mission expressions, because they reach children and families who do not yet have a church home. Judea, in the church's framework, widens out to the greater Tampa Bay area and the state of Florida. The Back to School Drive-Thru and canned food drives are examples of this regional outreach, both aimed at helping families in practical ways. Samaria represents nationwide ministry within the United States, and the church has sent mission teams to Alaska, Georgia, and New Mexico. The ends of the earth captures international vision, with prior mission engagement in Brazil, Paraguay, and the Dominican Republic, alongside disaster recovery work in North Carolina following Hurricane Helene.
A Global Outreach Team coordinates these efforts year-round, looking for new opportunities to live on mission in each of the four spheres.
Community Events and the Christmas Angel Tree
Beyond its weekly rhythm, the church has built an annual calendar of community events that draw neighbors from across Pasco County. Each spring brings an Easter Egg Hunt, with food trucks, inflatables, prizes, and age-divided hunts from Pre-K through sixth grade. Each summer, the Back to School Drive-Thru hands out free backpacks and school supplies for kindergarten through twelfth grade, with one backpack given per child in attendance. The summer is also anchored by Vacation Bible School.
The signature community event of the year is the Christmas Angel Tree Car Show and Craft Fair, which the church now hosts each November. Car registrations and craft vendor fees include a new, unwrapped toy, and all of the toys collected go to families in the Land O' Lakes area who have been adopted through the church's Christmas Angel Tree ministry. Show hours run 10:00 AM to 2:00 PM, and the day also features inflatables, food trucks, a fan favorite vote, raffles, and a 50/50 drawing.
Other gatherings fill out the calendar in the fellowship hall, including a Chili Cook-Off whose proceeds support AWANA, Saturday night Game Nights where families bring their favorite board or card games, and periodic Membership Luncheons held after Sunday worship for those exploring what it means to belong.
Bible Study Classes for Every Stage
The 9:00 AM Sunday Bible Study hour is structured so that every member of a household can find a class. Among the adult offerings are the Watchmen on the Wall co-ed class taught by Gary Roach and the Ladies Friendship Class taught by Louise Erickson. Young adults between 18 and 25 gather for Sinners and Saints, taught by Mike Valenti. High school students in grades 9 through 12 meet in a co-ed class led by Ana Valenti and Allen Rogers, while middle school students in grades 7 and 8 gather in a co-ed class led by Penny Wilson and Debbie Roach. A monthly publication called The Learning Tree keeps the Education Department's work visible to the congregation throughout the year.
Getting Connected
The church office is open Monday through Friday from 8:00 AM to 12:00 PM and can be reached at (813) 949-5516 or by email at info@myrtlelake.org. Visitors who want a personal follow-up can fill out the short "I'm New" form online, after which a staff member will be in touch. A weekly newsletter goes out every Thursday with upcoming events and church news.
Online giving is available through a dedicated giving platform, with the option to set recurring tithes so contributions are never missed. Members and friends can also keep up with church life through Facebook and Instagram, where Sunday mornings are livestreamed along with YouTube. For those who want to come alongside the church's mission, the North Carolina mission trip and recurring trips to the ends of the earth are open to new volunteers, and the Children's Ministry welcomes teachers and helpers throughout the year.
Across Sunday mornings, Wednesday nights, summer weeks, and mission trips, the rhythm at 2017 Riegler Road remains the same: gather around Scripture, walk with one another, and carry the gospel of Jesus Christ from Land O' Lakes to the ends of the earth.