Our Leadership Team and Strategic Plan
Pastor Jared, his wife, Abby, and their three children have been serving in our church since 2019. In July 2022, our church called him as our Lead Pastor. He has a BS degree in Biblical Studies from Trinity Baptist College (Jacksonville, FL, class of 2006) and was ordained into the Gospel ministry in 2008. Jared has been in the ministry since, serving in pastoral roles in two prior churches in the Ocala, FL area. As Lead Pastor, Jared is our elder / spiritual overseer, working with the rest of our leadership team to equip our people to for ministry and service to our community.
Above all, Jared seeks to glorify God with his life and he prioritizes relationship-building in ministry. He is passionate about helping people experience life change through faith in Jesus Christ. His biblical preaching is dynamic, practical, and relevant. Jared and his family love living in SW FL and enjoy visiting our beautiful beaches regularly. He loves playing basketball, watching sports, especially FSU football and the Orlando Magic! Abby is an elementary principal and gifted musician who sings and plays keyboard in our praise team.
First Baptist Church of Osprey has long been Carrie's home church. She has faithfully served the Lord here many years. Carrie is a gifted musician with a genuine desire to help other draw closer to Christ through worship. She is a local elementary school teacher also a published children's book author.
Carrie is married to Ben, a small business owner who also teaches our youth group on Sunday mornings and serves as a Chaplain for Motor Racing Outreach. He is an avid motorsports enthusiast and past racer himself. We are excited about how God has and will continue using him to impact racers with the Gospel.
Deacons are the lead servants of the church. They assist the pastor (elder/overseer) in the work of the ministry, primarily in care and needs ministry (hospital visitation, benevolence, widows, in addition to serving communion the first Sunday of each month.
If you need anything, please call the church office, contact Pastor Jared, or reach out to the deacon of the month directly (name and number in bulletin).
Strategic Planning | Mapping out a Strategy for our Future
In the last quarter of 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 rolling five-year plan is a living document that guides our leadership team in making decisions about potential ministry, program, and facility enhancements and needs. Through this process, we are prioritizing resources, including projects and funds, toward specific action items identified as top priorities.
Five focus groups were organized around our church's core values. These groups are comprised of about half the people who attend services weekly. This is an ongoing process - the plan is updated regularly as groups meet to brainstorm ideas and organize ministry activities, outreach events, and service opportunities. Please pray for each group and the following leaders as they serve our church, and reach out and let us know if you want to be part of one of the teams!
OUR CORE VALUES | LOVE - GROW - SERVE - STEWARD
Focus groups based on these core values:
LOVE Focus Group Leader:
Denise Tuggle
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.
GROW Focus Group Leader:
Chelsea Tuggle
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 one another 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.
SERVE Focus Group Leader:
Thelma Proctor
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 that 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.
