By KENNETH KNIGHT, The Tampa Tribune

Published: January 16, 2008

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TEMPLE CREST - For 50 years, Temple Heights Baptist Church and Christian School stood as symbols of faith, pride and community identity.

Three decades ago, the church earned a spot among the 100 largest churches in the nation and boasted of having the largest Sunday school attendance in Hillsborough County.

But the passage of time, declining membership and financial difficulties took a toll on church leaders and led them to sell the property at 8406 N. 46th St., where the church and school once stood.

In December, bulldozers knocked down the neighborhood landmarks, and crews cleared the land for a new public elementary school.

The demolition left a hole in the heart of Temple Crest but didn't weaken the resolve of church stewards who say they plan to rebuild a new kind of church.

"If it wasn't for Temple Heights Baptist Church and Christian School, we wouldn't be here today," Evelyn Sanford said after a recent service.

Sanford and her husband, Joe, moved from Seminole Heights to Hernando Beach a few years ago but not from the church they love.

They make the hour's drive from Hernando County to Tampa on Sundays to worship with the 60 remaining members at the Embassy Suites hotel on the University of South Florida campus.

Although the church and school site was sold, Temple Heights Baptist Church marches on. In addition to Sunday morning worship at Embassy Suites, the church uses meeting space at the Temple Crest Civic Association clubhouse and First Baptist Church of Temple Terrace on Sunday and Wednesday nights.

Sanford, a church member since 1974, said she has dedicated her life to Tampa Heights Baptist Church and the school because of the tremendous influence they have had on her family.

Sanford served as a teacher, cheerleader sponsor, school administrator and school board member before the school closed last year. Her granddaughter, Celeste Mannerud of Wellswood, taught drama there.

Clark Allen, then an assistant pastor, drove the bus that carried the Sanford children to services when they were kids. After more than 30 years as a missionary in Puerto Rico, he has returned to lead the church.

Allen said he hopes a new church home can be found in Temple Crest, where most of its members live.

"We would like to stay in the immediate area if at all possible," Allen said. "We want to build on what we have already started."

Allen said he envisions a future for Temple Heights Baptist Church that embraces bilingual sermons and multicultural fellowship. He leads Spanish language services at First Baptist Church of Temple Terrace on Sunday afternoons and evenings.

The pastor, who speaks Spanish fluently, said he plans to combine the English and Spanish services and preach one sermon in both languages at the new church.

"Today is the day of the smaller church," said Allen, who uses animated facial expressions and his hands freely during sermons to punctuate a point and draw chuckles from the audience.

"I like to have personal touch and accessibility as the pastor. I don't think I've been called to be a megapreacher."

The community has lost a good neighbor, said Terry Neal, president of the Temple Crest Civic Association.

"We valued the church because it was always stable," Neal said. "As a church and school, it was a large part of the community."

Neal said that when he moved to the neighborhood, the school was thriving, and its winning athletic programs offered a sense of community pride.

He said that although the community will miss the church and school, everyone is pleased the school district bought the property to build a much-needed elementary school.

Temple Heights Baptist Church was founded in 1957 at the Temple Crest Civic Association clubhouse on Miller Avenue, where the building remains today. Fourteen people were in attendance for the Rev. V.C. "Cotton" Nelms' first sermon, according to a 1973 Tampa Times article.

The church's rise to prominence began under the leadership of the Rev. Ronald L. Schaffer. When he became pastor in July 1969, the church, which had moved to 46th Street, averaged about 500 people in Sunday school, a 1972 Tampa Times article said. Within three years, the average rose to more than 1,500.

By today's standards, Temple Heights was considered a megachurch. It made the list of the nation's 100 largest churches - ranked 74th - in the October 1972 edition of Christian Life magazine.

As attendance grew, so did the goals of the church.

By 1972, major classroom additions allowed the school to enroll 1,400 students.

Church leaders formed Hope Enterprises, an outreach program that included a children's home, boys ranch, alcoholic rehabilitation center and a youth camp on 42 acres in Sumter County. It had a 35-bus transportation ministry to carry hundreds of children and adults to church services.

The church made plans to build a $25 million church, school and college complex called Faith City on land it owned in Thonotosassa. The project was a major financial undertaking and liability, which contributed to the church filing for bankruptcy in 1975, according to a Tampa Tribune article in 1975. The Faith City project was shelved.

"That was another sad time we lived through," church deacon Charles Kinsey said.

So, how did the church fall on such hard times?

"It's hard to say; a multitude of things over the years," said Kinsey, citing the passage of time, declining membership and the financial burden of maintaining the church and school as contributing factors.

In August, church leaders reached a deal with the Hillsborough County School District to accept $2.5 million for the 7.5-acre church and school site. The church also sold a 9-acre ball field on East Regnas Avenue to a developer who wants to build a subdivision.

The school district planned to renovate the church to bring it up to code, but repair estimates were too expensive, Hillsborough County schools architect P. Jill Edwards said. The church, school and auditorium were bulldozed to build a public elementary school.

Kinsey, who lives a few blocks from the former church and school site, said it's tough to drive by every day. He and his wife, Dorothy, were married there in 1971. Their children, Charles Jr. and Monica, attended the school, and his wife taught kindergarten there for 18 years.

Kinsey said the church is focused on brighter days ahead, and its goals are to find a new home and do God's will.

"We want to get where God wants us to be," Kinsey said. "We will be happy with whatever he brings us."

IF YOU GO

WHAT: Temple Heights Baptist Church

WHERE AND WHEN: The church holds Sunday school and worship services at 10 a.m. Sundays in the Cypress Room at Embassy Suites, 3705 Spectrum Blvd.; a worship service begins at 6 p.m. Sundays at the Temple Crest Civic Association clubhouse, 4242 Miller Ave.; bilingual worship services are at 7:30 p.m. Wednesdays in the Education One building at First Baptist Church of Temple Terrace, 10002 N. 56th St.; and Spanish-language services are at 12:30 and 7:30 p.m. Sundays at First Baptist Church of Temple Terrace.

INFORMATION: Call (813) 985-6415 or (813) 263-7967 or visit www.templeheights.com/ thbc/.

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Online community producer Kenneth Knight can be reached at (813) 865-4842 or kknight@tampatrib.com

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