Visiting a new church can be a little scary and overwhelming. We invite you to explore the options below to make your visit something to look forward to.
Maranatha: Our Lord Comes
The signature tone of the life and ministry of Maranatha Baptist Church is found within its name: Maranatha. Maranatha is a Greek word that means "come, our Lord" or "our Lord comes". Our Lord, Jesus Christ, could come again at any moment. When He does, He will receive believers everywhere unto Himself.
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In anticipation of Jesus Christ's imminent return, Maranatha Baptist Church is here to proclaim the Good News and glorify God by meeting the spiritual needs of Maranatha Village, the surrounding community of Sebring, and many winter residents. This is accomplished through teaching and preaching the Bible while providing multiple opportunities for Christian fellowship and service. We are committed to maintaining a good testimony for Jesus Christ in our community by our daily living.
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We also maintain a priority focus on domestic and world-wide missions through informational updates, dedicated prayer, and generous financial giving.
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We want people everywhere to be ready when Jesus Christ comes again. Are you ready? Have you heard the Good News?
Who We Are
We are a unique community of senior believers who strive for an atmosphere of graciousness, a heart of worship, a ministry of discipleship, and a practice of service as we await the return of Jesus Christ.
A Unique Community
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We represent a rich mix of backgrounds, occupations, and professions who have served the Lord with distinction either in full-time Christian ministry or in secular jobs and through local churches.
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An Atmosphere of Graciousness
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We seek to be a community characterized by grace. We pray for and actively strive for grace to permeate every aspect of our church culture. Because we recognize our deep neediness, we desire to extend grace to those in our church family and to the people of our community.
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A Heart of Worship
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We seek to be a church characterized by a full-hearted, participatory and unified, Christ-centered worship. Because we believe that the worship of the local church should be corporate, we see every aspect of worship as an act of the entire congregation joyfully joining together. We strive to sing, pray, and preach the Word in a way that encourages the participation of the entire congregation.
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A Ministry of Discipleship
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We seek to be a community characterized by being disciple-making followers of Jesus Christ. Because we believe that the mission of the church is making disciples of Jesus Christ, we strive to pray for and seek out relationships for that purpose.
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A Practice of Service
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Our practice of service expresses itself in the spontaneous loving care and selfless service regularly showered upon one another, as well as the joyful anticipation of the sound of the trumpet that will accompany our entrance into the presence of the Lord. Maranatha: Behold He cometh!
What to Expect
Walking into a church for the first time can be intimidating, so we want to help you know what to expect when you visit.
What to Wear
We are thankful for a God who does not look on the outward appearance, but upon the heart. He only asks that our apparel be modest.
Children
Since we occasionally have children visiting our church, we offer Sunday School for children ages 5-12. Please notify an usher if you are visiting with children.
Sunday School
On Sunday morning at 9:00am, the church family comes together for Sunday School where we learn God's Word and its application to all areas of life. Following Sunday School, we have a 30 minute break for fellowship before our morning worship service begins at 10:15am.
Service Format
Our service is traditional in format. We sing several songs, offer congregational and pastoral prayers to God, hear Scripture read, and give our offerings and tithes. We close each morning worship service with a benediction, with the typical service finishing around 11:30 a.m.
Sermon
Our service messages are generally expositional, meaning that they seek to systematically work through passages of Scripture, declaring the point of a particular Biblical passage. The practical application of that declared point is rooted in the Scripture passage. Sermons usually last around 35 minutes and focus on the explanation and application of the scripture passage. The preaching stresses the gospel, the Bible's message of God saving sinners through the death, burial, and resurrection of Christ.
Music
Our music is traditional and conservative. We join in congregational singing of a blend of lyrically rich songs both historic and recent. This is accompanied by piano and organ and occasionally an orchestra. Each week, our choir provides special music to prepare our hearts for the preaching of God's word.
Meet the Team
Dr. Daryl Jeffers
Senior Pastor
Dr. Daryl Jeffers is a native son of Florida having been born in Miami. At an early age, he moved with his family to Atlanta. He accepted Christ as his Savior at the Bill Rice Ranch in Murfreesboro, TN, while attending there with his church youth group.
Daryl attended Bob Jones University in Greenville, SC, majoring in History and minoring in Greek. There he met his wife Jan, and they were married in 1975. After graduating from BJU, Daryl attended Central Seminary in Minneapolis, MN, earning M.Div. and Th.M. degrees. He spent 8 years as the youth pastor of First Calvary Baptist Church in South St. Paul, MN, before accepting the call to Calvary Baptist Church in Clymer, PA, where he served as the Senior Pastor for 35 years. During his tenure as pastor at Calvary Baptist, he earned his D.Min. degree from Bob Jones University.
Daryl and Jan have three daughters and one son. All are faithful in their local churches with their families which include 4 grandsons.
Dwight Turbett
Administrative Pastor
Rev. Dwight Turbett has been involved in full-time and part-time ministry for over 40 years. His ministry began during his Bible College and Seminary training years in the areas of youth, music, and preaching. He was born in Guayaquil, Ecuador, South America into a missionary family serving in Ecuador. Upon returning to the USA, his family settled in St. Cloud, MN. He was saved as a boy of 8 years at First Baptist Church of St. Cloud, MN. He was baptized by immersion shortly after and was brought into the membership of the church there.
After graduating from White Bear Lake High School he attended Pillsbury Baptist Bible College. Then he attended Central Baptist Theological Seminary of Minneapolis. Since 1974 , his ministry experience has included the pastoral ministry, assistant pastor, school administrator, and doing interim pastoral work.
Dwight and his wife of 50 years, Cheryl, have 3 grown children and 10 delightful grandchildren. Their two daughters are involved in church ministry. One is a pastor’s wife. One is a Christian school teacher. Their son is in law enforcement. All three of the families live in Michigan.
Dwight and Cheryl came to Maranatha Village and Maranatha Baptist Church in June of 2018.
R. Reid Kitchen
Visitation Pastor
Rev. R. Reid Kitchen attended an engineering school in Detroit and worked as a tool designer for 15 years. Following God's call, he attended and graduated from Midwestern Baptist College in Pontiac, Michigan and served five churches in Michigan.
Reid and his wife Beverly were married 61 years before her homegoing. They have two children, four grandchildren, and three great-grandchildren. They moved to Maranatha Village in 2012 and joined the staff of Maranatha Baptist Church on March 1, 2021. Reid married Alice Hamblen in October, 2023.
What We Believe
Our beliefs are grounded in the authority of the Word of God. Feel free to explore each bullet in our Articles of Faith as it explains those beliefs.
Articles of Faith
The Scriptures
We believe that the Holy Bible, as originally written, was verbally and plenarily inspired and the product of Spirit-controlled men; therefore, it is truth without any admixture of error for its matter. We believe the Bible to be the center of true Christian unity and the supreme standard by which all human conduct, creeds and opinions shall be tried. (II Timothy 3:16-17; II Peter 1:19-21)
The True God
We believe there is one and only one living and true God, an infinite, sovereign Spirit, the Maker and Supreme Ruler of heaven and earth; inexpressibly glorious in holiness, and worthy of all honor, confidence and love. We believe that in the unity of the Godhead there are three persons: the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit, equal in every divine perfection, and executing distinct but harmonious offices in the great work of redemption. (Exodus 20:2-3; I Corinthians 8:6; Revelation 4:11)
Jesus Christ
We believe in the absolute deity of the Son, the Lord Jesus Christ; that He was divine as no other man can be, being very God of very God, existing from all eternity co-equal with the Father and the Spirit; that He never ceased to be God for one instant and that His humiliation did not consist in laying aside His deity; that as a man He was miraculously begotten of the Holy Ghost and born of the virgin Mary. (John 1:1-2; I John 5:20; Matthew 1:20; Luke 1:26-38)
Holy Spirit
We believe that the Holy Spirit is a divine Person, equal with God the Father and God the Son and of the same nature; that He was active in the creation; that in His relation to the unbelieving world He restrains the evil one until God's purpose is fulfilled; that He convicts of sin, of righteousness, and of judgment; that He bears witness to the truth of the Gospel in preaching and testimony; that He is the agent in the new birth; that He seals, endues, guides, teaches, witnesses, sanctifies and helps the believer. The gifts of tongues and healing were "sign gifts" until the Scriptures were completed. The gifts ceased at that time. (John 14:16-17; Matthew 28:19; Hebrews 9:14; John 14:26; Luke 1:35; Genesis 1:1-3; John 16:8-11; Acts 5:30-32; John 3:5-6; Ephesians 1:13-14; Mark 1:8; John 1:33; Acts 11:16; Luke 24:49; Romans 8:14,16,26,27; 15:19; Hebrews 2:4; I Corinthians 13:8)
Creation
We believe the Genesis account of creation as being neither allegory nor myth, but a literal, historical account of the direct, immediate creative acts of God without any evolutionary process; that man (spirit, soul and body) was created by a direct work of God and not from previously existing forms of life; and that all men are descended from the historical Adam and Eve, first parents of the entire human race. We believe that the days of creation in Genesis were literal 24 hour days. (Genesis 1 and 2; Colossians 1:16-17; John 1:3).
The Fall of Man
We believe that man was created in innocence under the law of his Maker. By voluntary transgression, Adam fell from his sinless and happy state, and all men sinned in him, in consequence of which all men are totally depraved, are partakers of Adam's fallen nature, and are sinners by nature and by conduct. Therefore all men are under just condemnation without defense or excuse. (Genesis 3:1-16, 24; Romans 1:18,32; 3:10-19; 5:12,19).
The Virgin Birth
We believe that Jesus was begotten of the Holy Ghost in a miraculous manner, born of Mary, a virgin, as no other man was ever born or can ever be born of woman, and that He is both the Son of God and God the Son. (Genesis 3:15; Isaiah 7:14; Matthew 1:18-25; Luke 1:35; John 1:14; Hebrews 1:8).
Reconciliation for Sin
We believe that the salvation of sinners is divinely initiated and wholly of grace through the mediatory offices of the Son of God who, by the appointment of the Father, freely took upon Himself our nature, yet without sin, honored the law by His personal obedience and by His death made a full and vicarious reconciliation for our sins. We believe His atonement consisted not in setting us an example by His death as a martyr, but was a voluntary substitution of Himself in the sinner's place, the just dying for the unjust, Christ the Lord bearing our sin in His own body on the tree. (Jonah 2:9; Ephesians 2:8; Acts 15:11; Romans 3:24-25; John 3:16; Matthew 18:11; Philippians 2:7-8; Hebrews 2:14; Isaiah 53:4-7; 1 John 4:10; I Corinthians 15:3; II Corinthians 5:21).
The New Testament Church
We believe that the true spiritual church is a New Testament organism, unknown to the Old Testament prophets; established by Jesus Christ, who is the sole Head; revealed, empowered and perpetuated by the Holy Spirit; His "body" for service and His "bride" for glory. It began with Pentacost, after the ascension of Christ, and will be consummated at the coming of Christ in the Rapture. (Ephesians 3:2-6; I Thessalonians 4:13-18; Ephesians 1:22-23; Acts 1:8; 2:1-2; I Corinthians 12:12-18). We believe that the local church is a congregation of immersed believers, associated by a covenant of faith and fellowship of the Gospel, observing the ordinances of Christ, governed by His laws, and exercising the gifts, rights and privileges invested in them by His Word; that its officers are Pastors and Deacons whose qualifications and duties are clearly defined in the Scriptures. (Acts 1:8; 2:41-42; 15:4-28; 20:7,28; I Corinthians 11:2; Ephesians 1:22-24; I Timothy 3:15; Colossians 1:18; Matthew 18:15-17)
The End Times
We believe in the sovereign selection of Israel as God's eternal covenant people; that she was dispersed because of her disobedience and rejection of Christ; that she will be regathered in the Holy Land and, after the completion of the Church, will be saved as a nation at the second advent of Christ. (Genesis 13:14-17; Romans 11:1-32; Ezekiel 37) The Rapture of the Church will take place at the end of the dispensation of the church age. It is the imminent, premillennial return of Christ for his Church. The dead in Christ shall be raised in glorified bodies, and the living in Christ shall be given glorified bodies without tasting death, and shall be caught up to meet the Lord in the air. (I Thessalonians 4:13-18; I Corinthians 15:42-44; Philippians 3:20-21; Revelation 3:10) We believe that the Millennial Kingdom on earth will be ruled by the Lord Jesus Christ from the throne of David. (Luke 1:32; Acts 2:29-30; Isaiah 9:6-7)