Our History

Church of Our Savior, MCC

Church of Our Savior, MCC, began as a satellite extension of the Church of
the Holy Spirit, now the Sunshine Cathedral, in Fort Lauderdale, to
accommodate worshippers from north Broward and south Palm Beach
counties. The first service was held in a rented space in Boca Raton in the
fall of 1990, and the church was chartered the following year. The
membership grew to about 125 during the first five years.

A traditional worship service was held on Sunday morning and a more
contemporary service Sunday evening.The church was actively involved in
community PRIDE events as well as outreach programs to feed the hungry
and homeless in Palm Beach County. Those living with AIDS met weekly as
a support group in members’ homes. In addition, the church hosted
various 12-step groups. In 1995, the church experienced a change in
direction and in 1996 they chose a new pastor, Rev. Tyrone Sweeting.

About this time, the church left its first location and started talking about
buying property. A member bequeathed $100,000, and the search was on.
In the meantime, services took place in an interesting two-room sanctuary
with a tiny passageway for the altar in between the rooms. (This was
affectionately known as the bi-roomal church.)

In 1997 Church of Our Savior bought a dine-in Pizza Hut. Members and
their friends did much of the alteration of the restaurant into a church. The
result was a dramatic transformation into the beautiful sanctuary that we
call home today. Unfortunately, all of this activity caused our numbers to
drop. Today our weekly attendance is between 60 and 70. In May of 2004,
Rev. Sweeting accepted a position in Tennessee. From June to September,
the board of directors and the lay ministry maintained the worship services,
and concerned members dealt with administration, visitation, and pastoral
care.

In September the Rev. Dr. Ana Vargas came as a part-time interim pastor.
She was responsible for helping the congregation to move back into the
community and to re-establish old programs and start new ones. In
September of 2005, the congregation called long time member and organist
to the pulpit. Rev. Renwick Bell was ordained on September 3, and installed
as pastor on September 4, 2005. The pastor and congregation have just
celebrated their two year anniversary in ministry together.