Heartway Church Celebrates 10 Year Anniversary!

CBF Florida & the Caribbean Islands is made up of over 40 different churches. This diverse community, throughout multiple countries, is what makes this CBF region so special. Heartway Church in Davie, Florida recently celebrated its 10 year anniversary. Both Tammy and Xiomara were at the celebration. I got to talk with Rev. Dr. Danny Prada last week about Heartway and their anniversary.

Xiomara & Tammy with Dr. Rev. Danny Prada

TM: 10 years as a new church community is a big milestone. Tell me about these 10 years at Heartway.

DP: Although Heartway Church started as a church plant out of the Southern Baptist Convention in 2016, its core identity has always been rooted in theological and political diversity. I founded the church out of a desire to create a culture of civil discourse rooted in love and in Christ.

Over the next few years, I realized that our church culture was moving away from the SBC, so in 2018, Heartway Church joined the CBF Florida & the Caribbean Islands community!

Since 2018, the CBF community has provided a lot of opportunities for me and our church. CBF has offered great coaching & mentoring opportunities for me as a pastor. I have gotten to form caring relationships with other ministers, and our church community is reminded that we are part of a bigger community of Christians with similar values around diversity and love rooted in Christ.

Tammy & Xiomara have been extremely helpful for me and our community. They both have been instrumental in providing useful resources related to pastoring. CBF has also provided financial support for us as a new church. Starting a church isn't easy or cheap, and having a larger community that can help smaller congregations like ours has helped us continue to grow and make it to the 10 year mark.

Xiomara was my mentor in the CBF Church Start program. Her mentorship was very important at the beginning, and I'm grateful for all of her time and guidance as I navigated starting a church in the Davie community.

Tammy & Xiomara eating lunch with members of Heartway Church

Glow Sticks For Celebrationg

Who Doesn't Love Waffles!

M: Tell me more about your experience as a part of CBF.

DP: I think CBF is a special community because it is has a "big tent church" mentality. By providing a bit tent, CBF is trying to bridge the divides we see in many churches, and within our Christian cultures. At Heartway, we try to create space for a wide range of political and theological views and try to emphasize our similarities more than our differences, and I think CBF tries to embody that idea too.

I think for any small church, being connected to a larger Christian community is important. Sometimes you can feel isolated in your work, or feel like you are all alone as a church, but being a part of CBF reminds me and our church community that we are just one part of a larger story.

Being a part of the CBF community has also given our church the ability to participate in ongoing advocacy and mission work throughout the state of Florida and in the Caribbean Islands. As a smaller congregation, it is helpful to have a community with these connections, so we can come alongside others in their advocacy or mission work, versus trying to do it all on our own.

---

We want to congratulate Heartway Church on its 10 year anniversary! Danny and his congregation have done a lot to care for their community in Davie and we hope you will continue to be praying for them as they move toward the next decade in their church's history.

You too are a part of the Heartway story. Through your prayers, financial support, and participating in CBF events and activities, you help create a community within which Heartway and many other churches thrive.

Because of your support, we are able to:

• Offer mentoring and coaching programs for pastors

• Host events like our Coffee With Speaker Series

• Financially help new church plants as they grow into sustainable communities

• Do meaningful advocacy and mission work that impacts the lives of the most vulnerable

We are so proud to be a resourcing community that supports one another with love and joy!

The love of Christ is what connects us, and here at CBF we try our best to support and encourage churches, ministers, and lay members in being the hands and feet of Christ.