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Maranatha Village Celebrates 50 Years of Ministry

By March 23, 2023One Comment

Maranatha Village, a retirement community in Sebring, Florida, celebrated 50 years of ministry.

A week of events, beginning March 5, marked the historic occasion: a banquet at a restaurant, a fishing expedition on the Gulf, a couples’ golf outing on the grounds’ Fellowship Acres Golf Course, a concert with vocalists and instrumentalists Niah and Allisha Merrill, a health fair with healthcare providers and first responders, and dinner and an ice cream social in the pavilion.

During the week, residents also participated in a Legacy Stroll around one of Maranatha Village’s three ponds. About 150 luminaries made from small paper bags lined the walking path. On those bags residents had written tributes to people—honoring those who had served in the military, remembering people who are now with the Lord, praying for those fighting cancer, thanking God for family and friends.

“It was a blessing to read the messages on the bags during the daylight,” Marantha Village says. “Then it was inspiring and beautiful to see the illuminated bags around the lake after the darkness descended. Beautiful tributes.”

Maranatha Village, founded by two men from Regular Baptist churches, “is a Christian retirement community where seniors of Baptist faith and practice may worship and serve God together, cultivate meaningful friendships, and care for one another’s needs ’til Jesus comes,” Marantha says.

Maranatha’s 213 acres (on which sit duplex villas, mobile homes, an RV park, a guest house, and an assisted living facility called Marantha Manor) are located “away from the hustle and bustle of coastal Florida.” And “in the heart of the village, physically and spiritually, is Maranatha Baptist Church,” a Regular Baptist church.

“Many past and present residents of Maranatha Village have been missionaries and pastors,” says Jonita Barram, assistant editor of The Baptist Bulletin, writing in a 2013 issue. “Their names are familiar to longtime Regular Baptists who met them in churches, camps, or annual conferences, or read about them in The Baptist Bulletin or state newsletters. Many are recorded in Dr. Paul Tassell’s Quest for Faithfulness: The Account of a Unique Fellowship of Churches, which is still available from Regular Baptist Press.”

As the weeklong celebration progressed, Maranatha Village said, “We are reminded of God’s faithfulness and blessing day by day at Maranatha Village. Even though the campus is a wonderful place, it is the fellowship enjoyed with others that makes Maranatha special.”