New Birth Deliverance Ministries, Lakeland – Swampy’s Florida Sunday Services.
This church at Peachtree St and Massachusetts Avenue in Lakeland has lost some stained glass as of the time I took this photo in 2013. Since then, the structure has had a slew of troubles and is now “permanently closed”. You can see the covered areas which were once with glass and open. This building once had access from the corner through 2 arches, now covered and blocked. There’s also a wrought iron fence encasing the parking area. See the photo of the current church in comments.
The folks who first started the church are long gone and those who took over gave little care for the building, it’s history or those who attended. Nefarious doings by recent occupants. Including a scandal involving the child care center that had recently been there.
Back in 2013, I found no cornerstone and a parishioner I spoke with don’t know of the structure’s origins.
Not quite clear when the church closed. New Birth Deliverance Ministries has kept their license active with the state, as I looked it up. The address is a home about a mile from the church. I sure hope the future of this historic building is brighter than it has been to this point.
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#Florida #Lakeland #LakelandFlorida #Sunday #Church #Churches #Faith #Architecture
This building was originally Lakeland’s First Church of the Nazarene. My cousin was married there in 1956. The boarded up door on the northeast corner used to be the main entrance with the pews just inside facing west toward the pulpit. At some point, this arrangement was reversed and my understanding is that now the entrance is toward the back of the building near where the tan-colored car is parked.