In one year, the congregation grew from 125 to over 1,500. With growth of this scale, the Auburndale facility quickly became inadequate and, in April 2005, Pastor Scott began two Sunday morning worship services to accommodate the attendance. This, however, was only a short-term solution, as in September 2005, Without Walls Central Church moved to a new location at the former facility of Carpenter's Home Church in Lakeland, Florida.[2]
Pastors Scott and Cindy Thomas were the senior pastors at the church. Its operations included citywide ministry outreaches and relationships with city schools, businessmen, and government officials; networking with community organizations to help local residents; bringing well-known Christian artists and ministers to the community; and participating in city- and county-sponsored community activities.[citation needed]
In 2011, the Without Walls Central Church vacated the Lakeland building, as a result of debts.[3] The United States bankruptcy court required Without Walls to sell their properties. In February 2015, the building was purchased by developers.[4][5] Demolition commenced on 16 March 2015.[6][7][8]
Kay Fields
In November 2007, Kay Fields, a local school board member and member of Without Walls church,[9] responded to suggested new standards for Florida science teaching by suggesting that the section that mentioned evolution be changed to require the teaching of intelligent design as well.[10]
Polk County is located in the central portion of the U.S. state of Florida. The county population was 725,046, as of the 2020 census, and estimated to be 818,330, as of July 1, 2023. Its county seat is Bartow, and its largest city is Lakeland.
Auburndale is a city in Polk County, Florida, United States. It is part of the Lakeland-Winter Haven, Florida Metropolitan Statistical Area. The population was 15,616 at the 2020 census.
Lake Alfred is a city in Polk County, Florida, United States. It is part of the Lakeland–Winter Haven Metropolitan Statistical Area. The population was approximately 6,374 at the 2020 US census.
Lakeland is a city in Polk County, Florida, United States. Located along Interstate 4 east of Tampa and west of Orlando, it is the most populous city in Polk County. As of the 2020 U.S. Census Bureau release, the city had a population of 112,641. Lakeland is a principal city of the Lakeland–Winter Haven Metropolitan Statistical Area. The town is sometimes locally referred to by the nickname "Swan City" due to its sizeable population of swans, all of whom are descendants of two mute swans given to Lakeland by Queen Elizabeth II in 1957.
Lakeland Highlands is an unincorporated community and census-designated place (CDP) in Polk County, Florida, United States. The population was 11,056 at the 2010 census. It is part of the Lakeland–Winter Haven Metropolitan Statistical Area. It is an affluent residential community located south of the Lakeland city limits, and north of the Mulberry city limits. Lakeland Highlands neighbors Medulla, and together the two communities make up much of what is known as South Lakeland (unincorporated).
Polk City is a city in Polk County, Florida, United States. It is part of the Lakeland–Winter Haven Metropolitan Statistical Area. The population was 2,713 at the 2020 census.
Winter Haven is a city in Polk County, Florida, United States. Neighboring Lakeland to its east, Winter Haven is located about 51 miles (82 km) east of Tampa and about 47 miles (76 km) southwest of Orlando. The city's population was 49,219 at the 2020 census, making it the second most populated city in Polk County after Lakeland. It is a principal city of the Lakeland-Winter Haven, Florida Metropolitan Statistical Area.
U.S. Route 92 or U.S. Highway 92 is a 181-mile (291 km.) U.S. Route entirely in the U.S. state of Florida. The western terminus is at US 19 Alt. and SR 687 in downtown St. Petersburg. The eastern terminus is at SR A1A in Daytona Beach.
Rodney Morgan Howard-Browne is a South African-born American evangelist and conspiracy theorist. He has resided in Tampa, Florida since the mid-1990s and is pastor of The River Church in Tampa Bay. The River is considered both Pentecostal and Charismatic with revival meetings, led by Howard-Browne, known for those in the audience breaking into "holy laughter" and experiencing other phenomena similar to the Great Awakenings and Azusa Street Revival. Howard-Browne is the head of Revival Ministries International, a ministry he and his wife founded in 1997.
The South Florida Railroad was a railroad from Sanford, Florida, to Tampa, Florida, becoming part of the Plant System in 1893 and the Atlantic Coast Line Railroad in 1902. It served as the southernmost segment of the Atlantic Coast Line's main line. The line remains in service today and is now part of the Central Florida Rail Corridor in the Orlando metro area. The rest of the line remains under the ownership of CSX Transportation as part of their A Line.
Southeastern University is a private Christian university in Lakeland, Florida. It was established in 1935 in New Brockton, Alabama, as Southeastern Bible Institute, relocated to Lakeland in 1946, and became a liberal arts college in 1970. It is the largest Assemblies of God educational institution in the United States.
The Tampa Bay hurricane of 1921 was a destructive and deadly major hurricane which made landfall in the Tampa Bay area of Florida in late October 1921. The eleventh tropical cyclone, sixth tropical storm, and fifth hurricane of the season, the storm developed from a trough in the southwestern Caribbean Sea on October 20. Initially a tropical storm, the system moved northwestward and intensified into a hurricane on October 22 and a major hurricane by October 23. Later that day, the hurricane peaked as a Category 4 on the modern day Saffir–Simpson scale with maximum sustained winds of 140 mph (230 km/h). After entering the Gulf of Mexico, the hurricane gradually curved northeastward and weakened to a Category 3 before making landfall near Tarpon Springs, Florida, late on October 25. It was the first major hurricane to make landfall in the Tampa Bay area since the hurricane of 1848 and the last to date.
Carpenter's Home Church was a prominent Pentecostal megachurch in Lakeland, Florida, affiliated with the Assemblies of God USA. Opened in 1985, the church claimed nearly 7,000 worshipers at its peak. The church closed amidst financial scandal and dwindling attendance. The remaining members became two separate congregations, one of which became prominent as the host of the Lakeland Revival in 2008. The property was purchased by Without Walls International Church of Tampa, Florida, and the facility became the home of their affiliate Without Walls Central Church. Without Walls experienced financial difficulties requiring them to sell their properties. The building was eventually acquired by developers and demolition commenced in March 2015. Today, nothing remains of the building.
Paula Michelle White-Cain is an American televangelist and a proponent of prosperity theology.
The Lakeland Revival, or Florida Healing Outpouring, was a Pentecostal revival which took place from April until October 2008 in Lakeland, Florida, United States. The revival began on April 2, 2008, when evangelist Todd Bentley of Fresh Fire Ministries Canada was invited by Stephen Strader, pastor of Lakeland's Ignited Church, to lead a one-week revival, but remained there for over four months.
Polk County Public Schools is a school district headquartered in Bartow, Florida, United States. The district serves Polk County.
Randy Alan White is an American pastor and proponent of prosperity theology. He is the co-founder of Without Walls International Church, a large, non-denominational church in Florida.
Neil Combee is a Republican politician from Florida who represented parts of northern Polk County and northwestern Osceola County in the Florida House of Representatives from 2012 to 2017.
All Saints' Episcopal Church is an Episcopal Church in Lakeland, Florida, United States. It is in the Diocese of Central Florida.
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