Like treasured family heirlooms, the historic churches and temples of Tampa are lovingly cared for by their devoted congregations. With more than 200 vintage images, Historic Tampa Churches shares stories of tragedy and triumph, from St. Peter Claver Church, whose congregation watched the first church burn to the ground 10 days after its dedication, to the Sisters of St. Joseph at St. Benedict School, who found themselves jailed for teaching students in the African American community. Many of these churches, like Ybor City's Our Lady of Perpetual Help Church, West Tampa's St. Joseph Church, and downtown's Greater Bethel Baptist Church, are found at the center of Tampa's ethnically diverse communities. Passed down from generation to generation, these architectural gems serve as a reminder of the countless men and women who selflessly labored for the growth of their churches, leaving a lasting legacy of faith and good works.

Author Joy Sheffield Harris guides readers on an architectural tour through the religious diversity of the Sunshine State . Over 200 years have passed since the first Florida church was established and today the Cathedral Basilica of St. Augustine has been restored to capture its original beauty. Pioneer Village Church at Shingle Creek is home to a replica of one the first churches built in the Kissimmee, the St. John's Episcopal Church. The former St. Paul's By-The-Sea is now the deconsecrated Beaches Chapel at The Beaches Museum and History Park in Jacksonville Beach. Travel throughout the state or enjoy the beauty of these and many more churches without leaving home.

In Petula Clark's 1964 smash hit "Downtown," the singer describes a place where all troubles are forgotten and all cares are left behind with the glamour of bright lights, movie shows, and flashy neon signs that light up the city streets. During the 1940s and 1950s, downtown Tampa was a shining model of the American landscape. On every street corner, customers packed their shopping bags with the best to offer from dress shops, hat shops, shoe stores, and of course those beloved department stores of a bygone era, including Kress, Woolworth's, and Grant's. Locally owned stores and shops fueled by the entrepreneurial spirit of Tampa families also dotted the streets of downtown and flourished during Tampa's postwar population expansion, offering an endless bounty of possibilities for success. These historic storefront photographs, compiled from private collections and local library archives, present a walking tour of downtown Tampa and other popular neighborhoods during a simpler time that is so well-loved and remembered.

What behaviors do highly vital congregations have in common? How can all congregations move toward greater vitality? In Vital: Churches Changing Communities and the World, Jorge Acevedo passionately and effectively reveals how Grace Church in Cape Coral, Florida, has developed behaviors that result in vital and fruitful ministry. Focusing on spiritual pastoral leadership, lay leadership development, worship, small groups, and service and mission, Acevedo both inspires and coaches. He helps leaders of congregations act in their own contexts to develop behaviors essential to vitality, as identified by the recent study of 32,000 United Methodist congregations. The book includes brief summaries of learnings from the research and stories from other congregations illustrating vital behaviors in different settings. Approximately 15% of the 32,228 churches (4,961 churches) scored high in vitality based on the vitality index. What this means is that 15% of our churches have figured out some way to remain highly vital in spite of the fact that 85% have not. What this means is that we cannot assign all the blame for our congregational demise at the feet of the “institution” of the church. 4961 congregations have figured out ways to prevail in spite of our denominational condition. To me this is hopeful and promising! This book is my best attempt for us to learn from the 15% of United Methodist Churches that are vital, growing and prevailing. Jorge Acevedo

GOD HAS ALWAYS DONE MIRACLES IN HIS CHURCH ~ AND STILL DOES! The Holy Spirit has never left the Church and neither have His supernatural gifts and manifestations. They have been available in every century ~ from the days of the Apostolic Fathers, to the desert monks of Egypt and Syria, to the missionary outreaches of the Middle Ages, to the Reformation era and the awakenings and revivals that followed, to the Pentecostal explosion of the Twentieth Century and the increase of signs and wonders in the Twenty-first. Miracles, healings, deliverances, prophecies, dreams, visions ~ even raising the dead! ~ have all been in operation throughout the history of the Church. Anglicans, Baptists, Catholics, Congregationalists, Lutherans, Methodists, Moravians, Presbyterians, Quakers and many others have experienced the supernatural gifts and workings of the Spirit over the centuries. Miracles and Manifestations of the Holy Spirit in the History of the Church gathers up numerous accounts from a variety of historical sources and provides a handy reference for those who want to know more about: • How the Church has understood and operated in the gifts and manifestations of the Holy Spirit at various times in history. • Why the gifts and miracles were more frequently in manifestation in some eras than in others. • The many ways the Church has ministered in healing and deliverance. • How the Holy Spirit manifested in great revivals. • How the river of gifts and miracles continues to flow today.

Human history in the Tampa Bay area goes back thousands of years, long before the first European visitors landed in “La Florida,” before Florida became the 27th US state, before Henry Plant and others brought railroads and hotels to the area, and before Tom Brady led the Buccaneers to a Superbowl. Oldest Tampa Bay is your invitation to explore how one of the fastest growing and changing areas in the United States evolved from “Tampa Town” that sprung up around Fort Brooke to “Cigar City” which is home to the country’s oldest family-owned premium cigar maker, to a major metropolitan area. Visit a shipyard older than the state of Florida, take a ride on Florida’s oldest restored streetcar and have a tropical drink at one of the oldest tiki bars in the country. Catch a movie at the Tampa Bay area’s oldest drive-in theater or an exhibit at the oldest museum in St. Petersburg. Along the way you’ll meet some of the pioneering men and women that shaped the area, from the McMullen and Beall families to West Tampa developer Hugh MacFarlane, Kate Jackson who was the driving force behind the area’s first playground, John Ringling, Mary Wheeler Eaton, Madame Fortune Taylor, and a great many others. In 90 chapters spanning over a thousand years and multiple cities including Tampa, St. Petersburg, Clearwater, Bradenton and Sarasota, author Joshua Ginsberg has endeavored to capture the unique character of the Tampa Bay area.

What If the Church Truly Empowered People to Engage in God's Mission? Something extraordinary has been happening in Tampa, Florida. A new expression of the church has been quietly growing. It's something of an experiment, but over the last ten years the church has been validating its ideas with sustained and growing results. At The Underground, being the church is not focused around a weekly gathering or church programs. It's about empowering individuals to respond to God's call to ministry and mission, especially to the poor and disadvantaged in our midst. While many churches talk about discerning calling and engaging in mission, very few are structured to make this their ministry focus. Underground Church is a new vision for the church rooted in its biblical mission to share the love of God and serve the poor. Sanders explores how to make structural changes, how to think about leadership, how to fund ministries, and how to truly engage people in God's mission. Filled with creative insights, he explains what it means to center the mission of the church around the callings of individuals to outward ministry - whether that involves leading Bible studies in the workplace, feeding the homeless, or working to free women and children from sex trafficking. This book will both tell the inspiring story of a church that is rethinking what church looks like while also outlining and uncovering the principles that transfer for every church and Christian community that hopes for more. It's the true story of a 10-year experiment that unpacks the possibilities of a church structured and streamlined for mission. X

Ebenezer Baptist Church in Atlanta was founded in 1886. The name Ebenezer means "rock or stone of help." From a small group of believers, many of whom were former slaves, in a boxlike structure on Airline Alley, Ebenezer has grown to an internationally known church with over 4,000 members. The Gothic architecture of the Heritage Sanctuary on Auburn Avenue, coupled with the influence of the African meetinghouse seen in the architecture of the Horizon Sanctuary across the street, reflects the diversity of outreach of Ebenezer's ministry. Ebenezer has been a beacon of racial pride and social consciousness. The love and cooperation between the members and the pastor have created a family atmosphere that has sustained the growth and expansion of the church.

"Tampa has a ... past that has been [well] documented with one exception: African Americans ... Tampa's population exploded during the early 1900s, and the building boom universally required the skills and talents of African Americans, who provided services, labor, and entrepreneurship in a massive form. They played significant roles in everything from Tampa's wilderness era to its boomtown years and were key players in the first and second Seminole Wars with their Seminole alliance, [and have contributed in many ways since then]"--Back cover.