Pastor/Teacher
Student Pastor
Administrator
Bookkeeper
Dawn Mullery
Circle Community Church evolved from a few couples who were acquaintances; the women were friends socially, but they all attended different churches. However, they all felt they were not being spiritually fed at their churches. In the middle part of 1971, the Howard Powell’s invited these ladies and their spouses to come out to their red barn in Chuluota for Sunday night Bible Studies. The first two or three meetings, there were no more than four or five people in attendance. They were “hungry” to be with other Christians and to get the kind of teaching which Campus Crusade for Christ had recently introduced to this area: How to know Jesus Christ personally and how to be filled with the Holy Spirit, to walk in the Spirit, live in the power of the Spirit. These people were concerned with the needs of other people and bringing others to Jesus Christ. Their concern was based on Colossians 3:11, (Living Bible translation): “In this new life, one’s nationality or race or education or social position is unimportant. Such things mean nothing. Whether a person has Christ is what matters. He is equally available to all.”
Each one of these people began to have a desire to start a non-denominational, Bible teaching church. When they discussed the matter at successive meetings, it was the intent of all of them that the church would be open to anyone who wanted to attend and that person would be welcome there. This was during the Vietnam War in the era of the hippies, long hair, bare feet, and ragged clothes. They wanted everyone to feel welcome and comfortable at their church because they knew of no other church where such people would be made to feel this way. There wasn’t a specific format of worshiping - it was their desire only to learn, to love, to listen, and to sing praises to Jesus.
When it came time to name the church, one of the men liked the name “Circle” because it is all-encompassing, with no beginning nor end, and no breaking point in it. Circle Community Church was incorporated in the state of Florida on November 17, 1971. The church was granted federal tax exemption status in February, 1972 by the Internal Revenue Service.
From the red barn, we were graciously invited to the Florida Room of the Jim Morgan home. We met on Sunday mornings and really “rocked” the neighborhood with our singing. We met in that room until it could nor longer accommodate the size of the attendance.
We then met at the Y.M.C.A. where the ladies had been attending a Bible Study class. We met in the big room off the lobby. When the attendance reached the point of filling that room and latecomers had to stay in the lobby where the meeting was aired through the P.A. system, we moved downstairs to the gymnasium. Much preparation was made each Sunday morning in order to use this facility -- putting down canvas on the floor, setting up chairs, etc.
We moved from the Y.M.C.A. to the Orlando Garden Club in 1974 because it had more facilities and the beginnings of Sunday School rooms where we could start being “departmentalized”. We stayed at the Garden Club until the church grew so large; they feared we would be trampling down some of the roses.
We were graciously invited to use the facilities of All Saints Episcopal Church in Winter Park. The minister extended to us the use of all the facilities we badly needed, particularly the Sunday School rooms. At one time we attended church service at 5:00 pm because the Episcopalians used the church in the mornings.
The church then left All Saints and had the use of the Seventh Day Adventist Church, just off Park Lake in Orlando, which had been offered to us. This was tremendous because the Adventists meet on Saturdays, and Circle could have the use of the facilities on Sundays. These facilities were used from 1975 to 1977.
We moved to Myrick Office building at 710 East Colonial Drive, Orlando in 1978, where we remained until a permanent location was acquired.
Dedication Sunday was held on June 29, 1980 for the first property purchased in the name of Circle Community Church at 3300 Edgewater Drive, Orlando, FL 32804. The property consisted of several buildings used by various businesses, restructured to become a main worship center and office with the “out” buildings used for nursery and Sunday School classrooms. By the early 1990’s we had outgrown the available Sunday School rooms, and were given the use of classrooms at adjoining Edgewater High School. July, 1995, our property was purchased by the Orange County School Board to expand Edgewater High School. We continued to use this property until February, 1996, at which time we relocated to the Edgewater High School cafeteria while awaiting the purchase and building of new facilities.
With the guidance of a Future Facilities Committee, we purchased property at 2200 Pembrook Drive, Orlando, FL 32810, near the Maitland/I-4 interchange on May 30, 1996. Actual construction of the building began April, 1997, and our first worship service in the new building took place on Easter Sunday, April 12, 1998. Dedication Sunday Service was held on May 3, 1998, with a Grand Opening celebration taking place the day before to introduce our church into the surrounding community.
Besides our current pastor, Rev. Ron Hoffmann, Circle Community Church has had four previous pastors: Rev. Bob Ross, Rev. Wayland Stephens, Dr. Alfred Warren, and Rev. John Woodall.
Our present leadership team consists of six elders, one full-time pastor, one full-time youth pastor, eleven deacons, one full time administrative assistant/secretary, one part-time bookkeeper, and about twenty-five ministry leaders. With a strong leadership team and a body of dedicated believers, we anticipate continued growth as we see people from our community visiting and deciding to join and participate in our church family. You’re certainly welcome to check us out!