Gulf Coast Assembly of God Will Dedicate New 400 Seat Sanctuary Sunday, 4/20/08

North Port, Sarasota County, FL, April 15, 2008 – Gulf Coast Assembly of God will dedicate it’s new 400 seat sanctuary during the 10 a.m. Sunday morning service at 2800 Pan American Blvd. All interested North Port citizens are encouraged and welcome to attend. The guest list also includes North Port’s City Manager, Assistant City Manager, City Commissioners, and other City of North Port staff. Dedication service will feature special music by Phil and Jan Enloe and guest speaker Terry Raburn, District Superintendent of the Assemblies of God Peninsular Florida District.

A Brief History

Gulf Coast Assembly of God (GCAG), founded in 1983, has seen much growth since it’s humble beginnings when the congregation began meeting at the Al Goll Center with 25 in attendance. In 1985 the church purchased 1.7 acres of land and built a log cabin building on Chamberlain Boulevard and operated under several names including The Log Cabin Church, Harvest Chapel Assembly of God, North Port Assembly of God, and since 1996, Gulf Coast Assembly of God.

Keith Jones became pastor of Gulf Coast Assembly of God in 1998 when the church’s attendance averaged a total of 63. Under the leadership of Jones, church attendance saw steady growth and the church underwent 2 building and remodeling projects at the building on Chamberlain Boulevard. In 2002, having completely outgrown the facilities, Gulf Coast Assembly of God sold the renovated log cabin church to another local congregation and bought it’s current location on Pan American Boulevard that sits on almost 7 acres of land.

The current facility, formerly the North Port Christian Church, underwent upgrades and remodeling. As growth in North Port continued so did GCAG’s Sunday morning attendance. Attendance averaged 329 in a building that seated a maximum of 140! To accommodate, the church began holding 5 weekend services including Russian and Spanish language services.

The Present

In late 2004 Jones felt the need to lead his church through yet another building project to keep up with North Port’s rapid growth and to better serve its community. Construction began October 20, 2007 and by the end of March 2008 construction was complete. Additions include a brand new 400 seat sanctuary with all the latest technology, an expanded parking lot, 2 brand new state-of-the-art playgrounds, and Gulf Coast Christian Academy Daycare and Preschool complete with online streaming video surveillance.

The Future

GCAG has experienced a growth rate over the past 10 years of over 500%. In 1998 average church attendance was 63 and now in 2008 average church attendance is 359. With the steady growth of North Port and given history more growth and additions to Gulf Coast Assembly of God are sure to come! “We just want to be a blessing to the community. That’s the whole reason for all of this. I genuinely love North Port.” concluded Jones.

Gulf Coast Assembly of God
P.O. Box 8009
2800 Pan American Blvd.
North Port, FL 34290
941-429-1939

Pastor Keith Jones

Gulf Coast Assembly of God’s mission is to reach the world one life at a time. Regular Sunday morning worship services are at 10 a.m. Child care, Spanish and Russian translation, and sign language interpretation are all available in every service. Gulf Coast Assembly of God has something for the whole family!

Schedule of Regular Services:

Sunday 9 a.m. Sunday Bible Institute (all ages)

10 a.m. Worship Service

Cactus City Children’s Church (ages 5-12)

2:00 p.m. Spanish Language Service

6:30 p.m. Source Student Ministries (ages 12-21)

Wednesday 7 p.m. Adult Service

Source Student Ministries (ages 12-21)

Royal Rangers (boys ages 6-12)

Girls Club (girls ages 6-high school)

Thursday 7 p.m. Spanish Language Service

Friday 7 p.m. Russian Language Service

For more information about Gulf Coast Assembly of God, its services, ministries, or preschool, please call 941-429-1939 or visit www.gulfcoastag.net on the internet.

This release was published on openPR.