Our church, established in 1909, has a rich history and legacy of faith and service to our community. We have long been known as the church in the heart of Osprey with a heart for the people of Osprey.  We are an independent church made up of followers of Jesus Christ who align closely and cooperate with the Southern Baptist Convention (SBC)The SBC is a collection of like-minded churches cooperating together to reach the world with the Good News of Jesus Christ.

Causal atmosphere: Our people dress comfortably when we gather for worship. Some dress up, most dress casually. We care more about you than your clothes! So come however you are – you’ll fit right in. 

Powerful music: Our worship services include a mix of music styles, including great hymns of the faith and today’s favorite contemporary songs and worship anthems. Our talented worship band includes guitars, keyboards, drums, piano, and occasionally other musical elements. We care more about the message of a song than the style of the music. Therefore, we choose songs that are encouraging, biblical, and will prepare our hearts for the preaching of God’s Word, which is the primary focus of each service.

Family worship: Our worship service is our main family gathering time and we believe it’s important for the family to worship together. We have a nursery available for our youngest children up to 3 years old, but older ages sit with families through our music portion of the service. At the beginning of the message, our pastor will dismiss elementary-aged children to KidZone, where they’ll have a team of leaders teach an age-appropriate lesson.

Relevant preaching: Most of our preaching is done by our pastor, Jared Barkman, who brings relevant and practical messages from God’s Word with intentional application of Biblical truth. Typically through verse-by-verse exposition of the Bible, he connects truth with the struggles and challenges people face, while encouraging spiritual growth across all generations. The hopeful and challenging messages include principles to help us overcome life’s hardships through life-changing faith in Jesus Christ. To learn more about Pastor Jared and his family, click here.

Culture of spiritual growth: Discipleship is all about spiritual growth. Our vision is to be a healthy disciple-making church with a culture of spiritual growth. We gather to worship together, but grow together in groups.  Groups for all ages meet Sundays at 9am, and periodically at other times as well.  Check out some of our current group ministry opportunities here.  

The best way to get to know us is by visiting and giving us a chance to get to know you! If you have any questions, or would like to know more about our church, please complete our digital connection card hereWe hope to see or hear from you soon!

 Below is a strategic look into our ministry plan, including our purpose, vision, and values. We hope this will help you understand what drives our church as we grow together and seek to fulfill the mission God has given us. We’d love to have you come along for the journey as we love, grow, and serve together!

Our purpose is to glorify God with our lives by knowing Jesus personally, worshipping Jesus passionately, and making Him known greatly in our community and world. 

Our vision is to be a healthy church where people experience the love of Jesus, see their lives changed by His power and forgiveness, and begin to live in the freedom of a growing relationship with Him. 

We love God and people.

We show our love by the way we live our lives. We are committed to the truth of God's Word, the Bible as our sole authority for faith and life. Above all, we seek to please God with our lives. 

We intentionally show the love and forgiveness of Jesus to others in genuine, meaningful, and personal ways.

Transformed lives transform lives. 

We grow in groups together.

We encourage everyone to connect to a group where they can grow and belong. We grow in faith by studying God's Word. We grow closer to others best in groups by getting to know them and building genuine friendships. 

We encourage new groups and seek to develop leaders regularly. Groups are a place of relationship-building and disciple-making.  

Circles are better than rows. 

We serve in teams together.

We serve God by serving our community. We use our spiritual gifts to meet needs within our church and community. 

We give generously and selflessly so we can make the greatest impact possible for the cause of Christ. 

Every member is a servant, and we have a place of service for everyone. 

We steward God's blessings wisely.

We recognize that everything we have came from God and belongs to Him. We view ourselves as stewards, not owners, of the resources with which He has entrusted to our care. It is our responsibility to use those resources, whether monetary, physically, or a gift/ability, wisely. 

It is required that a steward be found faithful.

Our authority of faith and practice is the Holy Bible, which we believe is God’s inspired Word and divine revelation to mankind. We do not hold any religious creed or doctrinal statement to an equal or higher level of importance as God’s Word. The base articles of faith we believe are expressed in the Baptist Faith and Message 2000, which can be viewed here. 

We are committed to growing God’s Kingdom and fulfilling the Great Commission locally and around the world. As such, we give to support the SBC International Mission Board as well as other independent, nondenominational, and unaffiliated missionaries and ministries. You can learn more about these partner ministries by clicking here or on the images below.