Faith » History

Though Adventists did not officially organize as a church until 1863, Adventist roots go back at least to the early 1800s. Between 1831 and 1844, William Miller, a Baptist preacher, launched the "great second advent awakening," which eventually spread throughout most of the Christian world. Based on his study of the prophecy of Daniel 8:14, Miller calculated that Jesus would return to earth in 1844. When Jesus did not appear, most of the thousands who had expected His return left the faith, disillusioned.

A few, however, went back to their Bibles to find why they had been disappointed. They learned that the Bible prophecy did not specify Christ's second coming on that date, but rather, they discovered that 1844 was the time when Jesus would begin a special ministry in heaven for His followers. From this small group, who refused to give up after the "Great Disappointment," arose several leaders who built the foundation of what would become the Seventh-day Adventist Church. Standing out among these leaders were a young couple, James and Ellen White, and a retired sea captain named Joseph Bates. Ellen White, a mere teenager at the time of Miller's preaching on the "Great Second Advent Awakening," grew into a gifted author, speaker, and administrator, who would come to enjoy God's special guidance as she wrote her counsels to the growing body of believers.

In 1860, at Battle Creek, Michigan, the loosely knit congregations of Adventists, who had continued to seek and gain understanding of the Scriptures after the "Great Disappointment," chose the name Seventh-day Adventist, and in 1863, formally organized as a church. In early 1997, the Seventh-day Adventist Church had a membership of over 9 million and continues to preach and look forward to the soon return of Jesus.

History of Apopka Church

On November 12, 1955, a group of 21 people first met and planned for the organization of a church in Apopka. Two weeks later the first Sabbath meeting was held in the Apopka Health Center (which no longer exists). On January 7, 1956, 36 people signed up as charter members. Still members of the church here in Apopka are Troy Chudeuz, Jack and Luvenia DeGraw, Evelyn Knight and Lester Pratt. Luvenia and Jack DeGraw were attending from the beginning but were not present for the signing as charter members.

The Florida Conference of Seventh-day Adventists assigned Robert McCumber as the pastor to help organize the company. The members started right away to purchase property and build a church. In the meantime, there was a need for a place to meet as the Health Center was not large enough for those beginning to attend. An old church at 6th and Highland in Apopka was rented and remodeled for temporary use.

In 1957, the lot on South Highland was purchased. Under the leadership of Elder A.C. Mote, the members worked hard to pay for the lot and build a new church. It was mostly constructed by the members. It was dedicated free of debt on June 24, 1961. As the church grew, Sabbath School rooms were needed, and in 1963, construction was started by the members.

Also a Dorcas Welfare Center, where the needy could receive help in the way of food and clothing. This building was dedicated in March of 1964, with Arline Grantier as the director. Our church began to grow, its membership doubled, then tripled. June 7, 1973, we had to add more buildings to fill our needs. These were used for our social hall, kitchen, youth chapel and a community service center. In 1978, it was paid off. In the summer of 1981 an addition of offices and restrooms were added to the sanctuary. Once again, the construction was done by our members. New pews were added to the sanctuary and the old ones were sent to the Honduras - enough for two churches - and the only padded pews in the Honduras!

Today our membership stands at over 800, and we have now moved to 340 Votaw Rd. as of March 2003.