The History of GBUMC
Use your pencils to take notes. There will be a test...
Founded in 1955 by seven faithful people in a sleepy, unincorporated seaside village, Gulf Breeze United Methodist Church has become one of the largest, fastest-growing churches in United Methodism in the country. Surrounded on three sides by water and a fourth by a National park, Gulf Breeze United Methodist has grown to over 4,000 members in a community population of 5700 and a ministry area population of 24,000. This year, our average worship attendance has exceeded 2,000, representing a 42% increase since 1997.
Children & Youth, Music, Parking
In October 1999, the Trustees began to assess the needs for facilities at the Fairpoint Campus. After meeting with program staff and key leaders they knew they had to address the shortage of age-appropriate space for children and youth, as well as parking, music rehearsal space and fellowship needs.With everyone’s support and participation, we added about 100 more parking spaces at Fairpoint Campus, constructed a new facility for children and youth, added a music rehearsal building attached to the sanctuary. We also completed the already-constructed second floor of the Soundside Campus to address the needs of our growing children and youth ministry and also greatly expanded our fitness facilities.
The Mark & Eloise Benson Building
The ground floor is built for our Children’s Ministries and accommodates pre-school and early elementary-aged children as well as provides a large, central gathering area for Children’s Church on Sundays.The upstairs is built to accommodate our youth ministries and also has a large gathering area where middle and high school youth gather and worship.
Music Building
Our music ministry at the Fairpoint Campus reaches and involves literally hundreds of people each week. The new building is almost 5,000 square feet and is located at the south end of the sanctuary. The size and location allow for much greater flexibility and access, not only for our Music Ministry, but also for other events. We also have a climate controlled fellowship area with this new building for greater fellowship of our members on that side of the campus.
Upstairs at the Soundside Campus
The response to the Soundside Campus has exceeded the wildest dreams we had back in 1998 when we were planning its development. We never imagined having over 2,000 individuals participating in recreation activities each week, plus over 100 families with children at the preschool, plus 1000 in worship every Sunday, plus, plus… The completion of the 16,000 square feet of space upstairs allowed our ministry at this campus to continue its wonderful growth and success.