Page 8 - Florida Sentinel 5-19-17

Local
Former Lakeland Mayor, Tampa Pastor Elected President Of The Florida State Primitive Baptist Convention, Inc.
BY GWEN HAYES Sentinel Editor
A former Mayor of Lake- land and Pastor of a Tampa Church was recently elected President of the Florida State Primitive Baptist State Con- vention, Inc. Rev. Dr. Willie J. Williams, B. A., D. D., was elected last month during the 116th session.
The Presidential Inaugura- tion will be held during a Con- vention One-Day Session in St. Petersburg, January 11, 2018, 7 p. m. The Reverend Dr. Bartholomew Banks, Pres- ident of the Progressive Mis- sionary and Educational
Baptist State Convention of Florida, and Pastor of St. John Progressive MB Church, will deliver the inaugural message.
Dr. Williams was first elected to the South Florida Progressive Primitive Baptist District Association, Inc. in 1979 as Financial Secretary.
Since 1985, when he was elected Assistant Secretary, Dr. Williams has held an of- fice in the State Convention.
His affiliations with the National Primitive Baptist Convention began with his faithful attendance in 1979, to his first election in 1986, up to the present where he serves as Recording Secretary (since
REV. DR. WILLIE L. WILLIAMS
2011).
Professionally, he is a sub-
stitute teacher in the Hillsbor- ough County School District, and Pastor of Greater Mt. Pil- grim Primitive Baptist Church, Bradenton. He served as the Mayor of Lakeland in 1988, and a City Commissioner for
Lakeland , 1987-1992.
Dr. Williams served as Pastor of Greater Mt. Mo- riah Primitive Baptist Church, Tampa from 1992 to 2010.
When asked about his goals as the newly elected President, Dr. Williams said: “to ensure that our nurs- ing home is on sound financial footing (Miracle Hill Nursing and Convalescent Center, Tal- lahassee); and liquidate the mortgage on the Day Care (Miracle Years Child Care Cen- ter, also in Tallahassee).”
Also on his platform: to bring the Constitution up to date with current practices; re- vise the Convention office staff and make full use of current technology; formulate an Op- erations Manual to better gov- ern the Convention; develop a plan to better use the 80 acres of the camp located in Wor- thington Springs; and “include individuals from every Associ- ation in the Cabinet and ap- pointed positions.”
Statewide, there are 225 member churches in the Con- vention and 15,000 members.
Faith Christian Academy Now Taking Enrollment For Summer Program
BY KENYA WOODARD Sentinel Feature Writer
The neighborhood sur- rounding Tabernacle of Hope Church is one of the most downtrodden in the city.
But Pastor Kenneth Stewart is confident that his church’s new school will revive a community marked by poverty, crime, and hopeless- ness.
Tabernacle of Hope is one of 47 churches in the area, but the only one that will offer a place where children can be both spiritually and education- ally fed, Stewart said.
“Our goal is to build well- rounded students,” he said.
Faith Christian Academy won’t officially open until late summer, but Stewart isn’t waiting until then for the learn- ing to start.
Enrollment is open now for the school’s entrepreneurship program, which offers career exploration and provides stu- dents a lesson in business de- velopment.
Stewart says he would like to expand the program to in- clude teaching skills like cell phone repair that would allow students to create their own businesses and employ each other.
It’s crucial that students who do not desire to attend col- lege know there are other vi- able pathways to creating a living for themselves, Stewart said.
“We’re trying to prepare them for the real world,” he said.
The school’s curriculum will do the same, Stewart said. An extension of Faith Chris- tian Academy in Plant City, the Tampa campus will host grades kindergarten through five. It
Pastor Kenneth Stewart will head the Tampa campus of Faith Christian Academy.
will initially enroll just 50 stu- dents, but will add on more in subsequent years, Stewart said.
Slow growth makes it easier to engage students and ensure they have the attention neces- sary to be successful, said Nicole Williams, director of the Plant City school.
The goal is to expand the school into a high-tech institu- tion of learning and that can be realized with a lot of faith and hard work, Stewart said.
“Our big quest is to give these kids a leg up in the world,” he said.
Faith Christian Academy
Tampa Campus
Enrollment is open now for Faith Christian Academy’s Summer Entrepreneurship Program and for the 2017-2018 school year. The fee for the 11- week entrepreneurship pro- gram is $80 and starts in June. Financial aid is available for the school tuition. For more infor- mation, contact Kenneth Stewart at (813) 817-7288.
PAGE 8-A FLORIDA SENTINEL BULLETIN PUBLISHED EVERY TUESDAY AND FRIDAY FRIDAY, MAY 19, 2017