Apopka Highland Seventh-day Adventist Church

History

  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. Lester Pratt is a Florida evangelist but has his membership at Apopka Highland.
  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 S. Highland where our present church is located was purchased and 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 and occupied in March,1959 and dedicated free of debt on June 24, 1961.
  The children’s divisions had been meeting in the old house on the church property, affectionately called the Adventist House”. Sabbath School rooms were needed and in 1963 construction was started and built 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.

History of Apopka Highland Pastors:

Arden and Dorothy Mote
David and Eileen Manzano
Orren and Rachel Bacheler
Ollie and Myrtle Bentzinger
Robert and Lorraine Schwebel
Joe and Nan Reams
Jim and Bonnie Davidson
John and Sally Appel
Haskell and Cindy Williams