Pastor Jared, his wife, Abby, and their three children have been serving at our church since 2019. In July 2022, our church called him as our Senior Pastor. He has a BS degree in Biblical Studies from Trinity Baptist College (Jacksonville, FL), graduating in 2006, and was ordained into Gospel ministry in 2008. Jared has been in the ministry since, serving in pastoral roles in two prior churches in the Ocala, FL area.
Jared seeks to glorify God with His life and prioritizes relationship-building in his ministry. He is passionate about helping people experience life change through the power of the Gospel of Jesus Christ. Pastor Jared seeks to exalt Jesus Christ with Biblical preaching that is dynamic, practical, and relevant. He loves hitting the beach with his family, playing basketball and watching sports, especially FSU Football – Go Noles! Abby is a Christian school teacher and gifted musician, she sings in our praise team and plays keyboard. You can contact Pastor Jared by clicking his picture or here.
First Baptist Church of Osprey has been Carrie’s home church for much of her life and she has faithfully served the Lord here for many years. Carrie is a gifted musician with a genuine desire to help others draw closer to Christ through worship. She is a local elementary school teacher and also a children’s book author.
Carrie is married to Ben, a small business owner who also teaches our youth class on Sunday mornings and serves with the Sarasota County Fellowship of Christian Athletes ministry as an Area Representative, focusing on motorsports ministry. Ben is an avid motorsports enthusiast and past racer himself and we are excited about how God has used and will continue using him to impact racers with the Gospel through FCA.
Deacons are the lead servants of the church. They assist the pastor in the work of the ministry and are called upon for a variety of needs within our church family, including hospital and home visitation, administering of ordinances, and benevolence ministry. An alternating “Deacon of the Month” serves as the primary point of contact for needs that may arise within the month. If you have a need, call the church office, contact Pastor Jared or reach out to the Deacon of the month directly – their number is usually in our weekly worship bulletin.
On September 8, 2024, Pastor Jared cast a vision for our church to embark on a thorough strategic planning process and chart a path toward the future God has for us. The goal of this plan is to help our church best fulfill our mission - "to reach people that are far from Christ and help them become fully committed followers of Christ."
This five-year plan will guide our leadership team in making decisions about potential ministry and facility enhancements and needs. Through this process, we will prioritize resources, including projects and funds, toward specific action items identified as top priority in the plan.
A key component is that the action items we pursue will be driven by the members of five focus groups, centered around our church's core values. About 50% of our average attendees have volunteered to participate in these focus groups!! This is an ongoing process, so if you would like to be included, let Pastor Jared know! The groups meet periodically to brainstorm ideas and further refine our strategies to accomplishing the goal. Please pray for each group, the group leaders, and for God's hand to be on this entire process.
Below are the groups and leaders:
Denise Tuggle,
LOVE Focus Group Leader
Chelsea Tuggle,
GROW Focus Group Leader
Thelma Proctor,
SERVE Focus Group Leader
