Weekly Update

From our Elders at Central

Thursday, October 23rd | 2025

This is Week 8 of our series called I Will…  - A resolute series of I WILL statements that will help us to focus on little things over a long period of time leading to big change in our lives. This week Pastor Rich will be bringing the message I Will… Receive Healing.  If you want to prepare for this message, read Psalm 147:1-3 and II Corinthians 2:10-11.  Let us ‘set our face like flint’ toward our God.
 
Did you do your homework for this week and ask some friends to describe you? Was JOYFUL on the list? If not, maybe re-listen to Rich’s message from last week.
 
Worship songs for this Sunday are:   Praise, The Blood, Who Else, Nothing But The Blood,  Jesus Is My Healer

 
Our Fall Festival was last Saturday, October 18th at Northwest Park. We hope you were blessed to participate in this great outreach event to our surrounding community.
 
Have you seen the empty bags up on the stage? Central is going to fill 400 of those bags to help some local families enjoy a Thanksgiving meal.  It costs about $40-$50 to fill a bag. We are targeting to have those bags filled and back on stage by November 16th. We are partnering with Positive Impact of St Petersburg to make this happen.
 
Please continue to park at Northwest Park for both first and second service on Sunday morning. It will be a great help with parking for our many Visitors every Sunday if you can use one of our great Shuttle Vans. With the new service times, (9 & 10:45am) there is plenty of time to shuttle to services.
 
I hope you have been keeping up with your Bible Recap study. This Sunday, October 26th,  will be Day 299 – AS OF OCTOBER 1ST WE ARE IN THE NEW TESTAMENT!!  This Sunday we should be reading Luke 12-13.  It is never too late to start the recap – please join us in the New Testament.
 
Work has begun on the new Women’s bathrooms in the Connect Center with plans in place to be completed before the holidays.   New men’s bathrooms in the 2-story will start after the first of the year.
 
As you know, we have some serious maintenance items coming up over the next 6 months. One of our large 40-ton AC units has died (RIP) and the other is on life support (prayers please).  We have already paid a 25% deposit on one unit to be installed right after the first of the year. Cost of the first unit plus installation will be just over $270,000.  This was not a budgeted item.  
 
We will be starting a new Capital Improvements Plan and the associated fundraising campaign needed to achieve that plan in the coming months. We have some serious work that needs to be done to our facility in the coming years. It would also be nice to eliminate our mortgage.
 
Your Elders and Staff will be meeting in the next couple weeks for a 2-day strategic planning session to lay out goals and objectives for the next several years. Please pray for wisdom and guidance for us as we begin this process.
 
The Central staff & elders pray for the health and safety of you and your family every week. We pray for your physical health but also for your spiritual & emotional health. We pray that there will be harmony and unity within His church. Please continue to submit prayer requests on our Connection Cards, Linktree, or through our Central App. You can also stop by our Prayer Room on any Sunday morning to submit a prayer or meet with a prayer warrior. We are a church that believes in the power of prayer and we see it working every day in our lives.
 
Your Elders want you to know how much we value each of you. Please remember to keep our staff & Elders in your prayers daily. They need your prayer support to do the kingdom work that they do. The staff can always use extra prayers for strength, wisdom, patience, compassion, and understanding as they serve our flock.  
 
There has been an upswing in church attendance in our country lately; we’re actually seeing that increase here at Central. Did you know that Bible sales are up 36% over last year at this time? Is it possible we are seeing a spiritual revival in America? Something to continue to pray for.
 
Thank you for being YOU and for staying connected here at Central! Are you attending that EXTRA class or connect group each week? We all need more than an hour a week with the Lord and His word. What about discipling someone or being discipled? Are you active in our Women’s or Men’s Ministries? You should be.  Get more involved – Central is YOUR church – Be the church.
 
There are always visitors, some new, some repeat, showing up every Sunday morning. What a blessing!!  God brings them to us; it’s our job to make them feel welcome and share the good news. Don’t forget to invite our visitors back to worship with us again. Invite them to your class or small group.
 
Take some time to introduce yourself to someone you meet that you don’t know this Sunday – they could be a Central partner you haven’t met or maybe a visitor.  Be an encouragement to others – your smile might be just what they need this Sunday. This may be your opportunity to tell someone the good news or to invite them to one of the connect groups you attend.  Share  YOUR  Central story with others.
 
Be bold and share your Jesus story. Your first testimony is the joy in your heart and on your face.    
 
Feel free to reach out to  your  Elder or any  Elder with any questions or concerns you may have. The Elders are listed at the end of this email with the partners in their group, by last name.
 
YOU are a blessing to Central in so many ways.
 
The Lord has brought you  here  to be a part of His kingdom work.
 
We appreciate your heart for worship, giving, caring, and serving.




Rich Franz rich@centralstpete.com
Rob Breese pewter55@msn.com  (A to Cau)
Matt Lameyer mlameyer035@gmail.com  (Cha to Dif)
Bob Edwards robedwards83@yahoo.com  (Dis to Gessf)
Rudy Gonzalez rudygshow@gmail.com  (Gil to I)
Tony Lowe t.lowe4400@gmail.com  (J to Mar)
Sal Perconti sal@perconti.com (Mas to Rag)
Brent Winner brent.winner@myfwc.com  (Ram to Sny)
Will Crandle will.rutha.ccc@gmail.com  (Song to Z)



Would you like to receive the Elder Update by email? Contact the church office, and we’ll be happy to add you to our mailing list! (727) 343-6161