Our paths crossed during our time in the US Navy. Upon our discharge, Chris pursued a career in Federal Law Enforcement and I in Christian Education.  After five years of marriage, we started our family—a son and daughter born 16 months apart. We were convicted that a Christian education was an important component to raising our children and made sacrifices to ensure this happened.

When our beautiful daughter went home to be with Jesus at the tender age of 21, her faith statement (written in the eighth grade) was read at her funeral. As we heard it being read, we realized she had lived out her faith statement in her very short life. Knowing this provided a peace that truly passes all understanding. We have been so grateful for the support a Christian education community provided for us in raising both of our children. This is one of many reasons why it was important for us to attend a church that was Christ centered, family focused, and mission oriented. We found all of that at Seven Rivers.

Since we’ve become members, we’ve found many different ways to serve in the school, church, youth group, and community. SRC promotes small group opportunities that help people connect with one another while growing in their faith. It is amazing how quickly a large church can become as warm and inviting as a close-knit family when you begin to reach out to be part of the body of Christ. 

When Mark and I moved to the area a few years ago, we were looking for a church we liked, that we would be comfortable in and where we could grow. Then we found Seven Rivers.
Do we like it? No, we LOVE it. Like was a thoughtless criteria. Love was unexpected and it swept us onto our feet - running.

Are we comfortable?  Not like we thought we wanted to be.  We were compelled to participate in this church.  We greeted one Sunday morning and were shown gracious kindness as strangers looked us in the eye, said our name and befriended us.  This was a community where we wanted to belong and to serve.  

Have we grown?  Well, I truly believe that the old us has died and we have been made new.  Growing seemed like a better choice than dying - wrong again.  We are flourishing at Seven Rivers where God’s grace and loving kindness is the good news that changed everything.  We are so grateful to have found such a beautiful church family that brings so much beauty to the community.

I was born in Puerto Rico, and at age seven we moved to New York. As a teen with low self-esteem and lack of self-confidence, I got involved with the wrong crowd and became heavily involved in drugs. At sixteen, God found me in my place of hiding, but for 30 years I continued to struggle, was in and out of rehabs and ended up homeless. Eventually, one halfway house made a lasting impact on me.

It was then that I met an amazing woman at an AA meeting and before long, Ruthie and I were married—but I continued my struggle with addiction. Once again, I turned to God, got back on my feet and into a good church in South Florida. During this time, Ruthie took in her one-and-a-half-year-old and newborn nephews. We ended up adopting Julianni and Jorriel and today, I am the proud father of these wonderful boys.  Later, we relocated to Citrus County. It was a blessing to buy a house near Adam and Anne Jones. They invited us to Seven Rivers—we joined the church and enrolled the boys in the Christian school.  The anointing that God has poured into the teachers, pastoral team and members committing to help our families raise our children is mind blowing. Seven Rivers Church is selfless. It’s mission is about helping others, a task they take on with sincerity.

Sadly, just over a year ago, I lost my wife to COVID and am now a single parent, but I am not alone. The church has helped with my boys and the love we’ve received can only come from people who truly love the Lord. I thank God every day for this church and the brothers and sisters he’s placed in our lives. Last month, I became the usher coordinator. I love the Lord and love to serve as an usher! I love to help others as they have helped me. 

My wife and I started attending Seven Rivers in 2021. We moved here during the pandemic to care for Rebecca’s aging parents. We appreciate Seven Rivers’ high view of Scripture (centrality of Christ, gospel, sovereignty of God) and the authority it has for a Christian’s faith life.

We’ve personally experienced love and compassion from the Seven Rivers pastors and staff during a very difficult time. Last year, both Rebecca and I lost a parent within a three-month period. While we were in the Pastor’s Class, my mother unexpectedly went to be with the Lord. We weren’t even members yet, but pastors called and prayed with me. Over subsequent months, I received a set of pamphlets to help me process my grief. I even received a note from Seven Rivers students to encourage me. Members of GriefShare walked alongside the grieving process with my wife and mother-in-law.

We love that Seven Rivers cares about fostering deep relationships through intentional efforts to connect after worship or a meal together with a pastor. Opportunities to serve are easy to access. We have served as door greeters and at the Information Desk. We’ve attended a Bible study, are a part of a Life Group and have discovered that relationships are easy to develop in community here.

Lastly, we appreciate the distinct way worship is conducted. The music chosen is consistently rich in theology and the worship band does not drown out the congregation’s praises.

Seven Rivers was an easy choice for us and we feel privileged to be members here.

I became a Christian as a youth, attended church regularly and graduated from a Christian university.  My husband Steve was in and out of his relationship with God throughout his life and gave his life fully to Christ just over a year ago when we attended the Pastor’s Class at SRC.

After our marriage, Steve and I used a myriad of excuses, including our different religious backgrounds (Catholic and Baptist), as reasons why we never made worship a priority. Our efforts to find a church home were sporadic at best.  

After relocating to Florida from Minnesota last year, we wanted to attend a Christmas Eve service. I found the Seven Rivers schedule online and we attended the 3 p.m. service. It can be a bit daunting to attend a church for the first time—particularly when one has not attended services regularly for many years. Would we be welcomed? Would we feel out of place? What would the service be like? Would we leave feeling hopeful or hopeless? Would we feel like we were being “judged” for our lack of biblical knowledge? And, as silly as it now seems—what do people wear to church in Florida? We had all those questions and more.

Despite our uncertainty, God was clearly at work drawing us back to him through the Seven Rivers Church family.  He showed us that SRC is made up of real people—each of us uniquely broken—yet loved by Him.  The lack of pretension or judgment coupled with the honest acknowledgment that we ALL struggle really resonated with us. We immediately felt God’s calling to become members and completed the Pastor’s Class last spring.  We have been blessed to become part of a small group where we share questions, prayer requests and support one another on our Christian journey.  Attending conferences and special seminars have also helped us grow in our faith and knowledge of God’s grace. We’re so grateful for the many opportunities to get involved in church—including supporting children’s summer camp, serving as a greeter and assisting with the Lord’s Supper preparation.  We are so grateful God led us to SRC.