Greater Faith African Methodist Episcopal (AME) Church was the first AME church in Deltona — founded on August 15, 1999, under the leadership of Dr. Caroline Shine.
Shine graduated from the University of Central Florida in 1986 with a bachelor’s degree in environmental engineering. She then went on to graduate from Asbury Theological Seminar with a Master of Divinity degree in 2010 and earned a Doctor of Ministry Degree in Biblical Interpretation and Proclamation from Emory University in 2018.
Shine — who was previously a member of Sanford’s oldest church Saint James AME — was first called to preach in 1995.
“I always had a feeling that I would be preaching when I was coming up as a young child and young adult, but I was afraid of the pushback from women in ministry,” said Shine.
Shine preached her first sermon in August 13, 1995, at Saint James. She said she was drawn to the call through signs, visions and dreams.
“I fell asleep in the middle of the day in a deep dream where I heard the voice of God, and it sounded like water under the ocean. In the dream, I saw a light shining on a Bible,” Shine said.
“When I did wake up, my Bible was turned to Ezekiel 1 and 2. That described the voice of God as sounding like it’s underwater. That made it very clear to me that I was meant to preach God’s word. I still have the Bible today and inside I wrote the date that I received my actual calling.”
In 1999, Leroy Kennon, the Presiding Elder of AME churches in several counties at the time, said that he wanted to place churches in Tangelo Park, Lake Monroe and Pine Hills.
Shine – who responded to Kennon’s call — received her pastor’s appointment certificate signed by Bishop Frank Curtis Cummings on March 27, 1999, to start the church Lake Monroe Mission.
“Being in Sanford, especially at that time, very Baptist churches didn’t believe women should be in the pulpit. I had someone who came up behind me in the church and made it to the pulpit before me,” said Shine.
“The AME church did embrace women – Saint James in particular embraced me. They supported me very much in my calling,” she added. “The nurturing I received from Saint James and as a child to be the best I can be, helped me. My faith in God and knowing this was my calling is what drove me.”
The church attempted to buy 5 acres of land in Lake Monroe but couldn’t because of delay from the property owners. This led Shine to search for locations in Deltona to move the church.
The church found a home on Doyle Road, after Shine successfully purchased 10 acres of land in 2002. This became the first real estate owned by the African Methodist Episcopal Church in Deltona.
‘Prior to my dream I would have been second guessing myself, but the dream erased all doubt,” said Shine.
During an informal service on July 23, 1999, Shine declared that her faith increased after God blessed the church in finding a location. This led Presiding Elder Kennon to change the name of the church from Lake Monroe Mission to Greater Faith AME Church.
“It moved us from a mission to a church with a mission, built and surviving by Greater Faith in the Lord,” said Shine. “It ties us the persons Jesus spoke of with Great Faith in Scripture. It is a name that has to be lived out.”
In 2014, Greater Faith’s current active church location — 800 Deltona Boulevard, in what used to be Southland Bank — became the second real estate owned by the African Methodist Episcopal (AME) Church in Deltona.
But because the Church was issued a business license rather than an assembly license, they were prevented from using the new location by the City of Deltona for two years.
From December 2015 through February 26, 2016, Shine worked with the new City Manager to agree on a code interpretation that would let the church use part of the building for assembly, and the other part for business.
After coming to terms on a code, the first service in Greater Faith AME’s current location was held on March 6, 2016.
“In looking at the structure, one can easily see the Lord’s intent for this to be a place of worship and work. It is interesting that Jesus would speak of placing an investment in the bank with interest,” said Shine.
In the future, Greater Faith AME plans to keep building on the 10 acres while continuing to use the current location.
Article: https://www.mysanfordherald.com/article/how-greater-faith-ame-church-became-first-ame-church-deltona
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