A Church with a Mission

Assisted by the leadership and generosity of St. John's Presbytery (now Central Florida Presbytery), Spring Lake Presbyterian Church was officially organized on October 3, 1976 with 55 Charter Members who are still living in the area and they remain active in the life of our Church. Rev. Paul W. Stauning was installed as the first permanent pastor on October 2, 1977. Under his leadership, in March of 1978, a Building Fund dinner was held. Pledges of $30,000 were secured for the construction of our multi-purpose-worship building and education-administration building. We dedicated our new buildings in a joyful ceremony on Sunday, November 26, 1978.


Since our Church was organized, we have stayed true to our mission statement (viewed on the first page). We managed to pay off our mortgage in 1993. We give generously within our community as well as to the needs of the larger Church and its missions. In the past we have assisted in the support of our missionaries in Africa. More recently we have developed a sister-church relationship with the St. Andrews Presbyterian Church in Belize City, Belize. In March 2004, several members made their first mission trip to Belize to work along side of Pastor Moises Chan and his family and associates in an area of great need.

Our church is very fortunate to have a talented couple, the Wedigs, leading our music program. Our worship services are enriched each week by the sounds of our outstanding choir and organist.

We have active women's groups, Bible studies, fellowship opportunities, Children's Church and Vacation Bible School. Our Elders and Deacons are hard working and dedicated in their service to the Church.

Over the past two decades, we have had a succession of pastors leading our congregation. After the departure of our first pastor, Rev. Paul Stauning, the Rev. Phillip Buss served as pastor beginning in 1980. He was followed by the Rev. Henry Stenner who was followed by the Rev. Don Hendrix. Dr. Donald E. Swope served as pastor until his retirement on July 7, 2002. At the congregational meeting held March 1, 2004, the members chose to call Rev. Kathryn Treadway as their next pastor. During the 20 months without a permament spiritual leader, we were blessed with four wonderful interim pastors who brought compassion and support to Spring Lake Presbyterian Church. They were Rev. Carl Bennett, Rev. Al Kromholz, Rev. Bert Lawrence, and Rev. Don Davis. We are indeed fortunate to have Dr. Swope and former interim pastor, Rev. Kromholz still active in the life of our Church.

We celebrated our 25th Anniversary in January of 2002 with a wonderful Dinner Reception. This event, something of a reunion, was attended by several former members and two former pastors, Paul Stauning from Pennsylvania and Hank Stenner from Arizona. All of these friends traveled many miles to be a part of our celebration.

2004 marked a new milestone in the history of Spring Lake Presbyterian Church. We joyfully welcomed our new pastor, Rev. Katherine (Katie) Treadway. Katie, her husband, Bill, and their two daughters, Hannah and Kaia, are a wonderful addition to our church family. We look forward to a long and happy association with Pastor Katie as we move forward into this exciting new page in our church's life story.