COVER STORY 19 SEPTEMBER 2023 www.goodnewsfl.org Good News • South Florida Edition e I d t w e a t e G is kind of known to be a little “crazy and wild,” I wanted to honor the stylistic service of First Baptist, which we’re calling new classic. Then we’ll do a second style service that feels more like Church by the Glades with a little higher energy. We’re describing the contemporary service as a double expresso, and the new classic as café con leche because it’s a blend of beautiful flavors.” However, the challenges ahead are much greater than worship style. Hughes compares it to climbing Mount Everest, saying, “we’re at base camp, but we can climb this mountain together.” In the midst of the transition, the City of Fort Lauderdale was hit by a 100-year flood in April that damaged much of the 300,000 square foot facility, making their 3,000-seat auditorium unusable while they await settlement of the insurance claim, and the building was already in dramatic disrepair. When the air conditioning went out in the kids’ space, Church by the Glades gifted $600,000 for its replacement, saying, “We feel like it’s God’s money and it’s our call.” A Fort Lauderdale institution Many in the Christian community feel First Baptist Fort Lauderdale is just too important of a church for us to lose. “For generations this was the turf taking church, leading the charge in terms of the Kingdom, and we cannot just let it go quietly into the night and sell off its assets,” Hughes remarked. Stephan Tchividjian, CEO and co-founder of the National Christian Foundation in South Florida, agreed. “I've been pretty vocal for the last five to six years plus that a healthy First Baptist is essential to the South Florida Christian community. And it's not just a matter of keeping a church on life support or protecting a piece of property; it's way bigger than that. You've got one of the oldest churches in South Florida on one of the busiest and most influential intersections in our community. If you get on an airplane and look out the window, you see this beautiful big church right smack dab in the middle of it, and I think that church should be thriving. There should be multiple services. There should be lines of people trying to get in… I also believe because of the massive amount of growth in Fort Lauderdale over the last 20 to 30 years you have a significantly unreached population that live in those apartments and work downtown.” “There are also tremendous needs, and he’s got a church there that has great potential to penetrate the inner community in all kinds of ways,” added Tchividjian. “I remember when I was young, back in the O.S. Hawkins days, they used to have a big event called the Feast of Plenty in which they closed down the streets and fed many… it just had this testimony of this is how we take care of those around us. So, I told David plenty of times, you're not alone here. You can count on us to support and help you in any way we can… I’m a huge David and Lisa fan because they have such an evangelistic heart, and I think God will bless them for that.” When speaking with the search committee at First Baptist, Hughes referred to a passage in Luke 5 when Jesus said cast the nets on the other side and they had a giant catch. “As the boats began to fill and the nets began to break, they called their partners in the other boat. So, Simon is the one who obeyed the Lord, and he got the blessing, but James and John got spill over blessing because they came and partnered, and both boats were full,” explained Hughes. “God lit this fire in me 12 years ago, but I’m doing this because two boats catch more fish than one, and I’m ready to catch some fish!” n First Baptist Fort Lauderdale Pastor David Hughes
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