Sarasota Community Church (Sarasota, Florida, USA)
Bahia Vista Mennonite Church (formerly known as Tuttle Avenue Mennonite Church), (Mennonite Church), located in Sarasota, Florida, was organized in 1950 by the Virginia Mennonite Conference with 15 charter members. Truman H. Brunk was appointed bishop, and Myron Augsburger pastor. During two years, while Augsburger was engaged in educational work and tent evangelism, Paul H. Martin served as pastor. The meetinghouse was dedicated on 31 December 1950, and later enlarged. During the late 1950s the attendance varied from 50 in summer to 600 or more in winter; the membership in 1957 was 93, with H. Michael Shenk as pastor. Shenk was ordained to the ministry in 1956 and served as pastor until 1971. In the late 1950s the congregation promoted a home mission outpost, a weekly radio program called "The Voice of Truth," and in co-operation with two other local congregations promoted the Shekinah Bible School, a four-week school held at the Tuttle Avenue Church.
In 1973, the congregation became part of the Southeast Mennonite Conference, which gathered together various Mennonite congregations previously linked to regional conferences in the Eastern and Midwest United States.
John H. Shenk and Stanlee D. Kauffman provided leadership in the 1970s and 1980s. The congregation reached a membership of over 600. A new church building was dedicated on 28 December 1980 on Bahia Vista Street, 30 years after the Tuttle Avenue dedication.
In the 1990s the congregation leveled off at about 650 members, with attendance soaring to over 1500 during the winter months. New programs were developed and many of them, such as the Christian Fine Arts Series, Community Night and Charis Center, were geared toward the broader Christian community in Sarasota. Bahia Vista paid off the debt on its facilities, which were often used by outside groups, and financially supported a variety of missions and ministries. A. Don Augsburger and Barry Wm. Loop served as pastors during this time. In the late 1990s, Bahia Vista adopted a new mission statement, entered into its first building project since the move to the new location, and began to dream about how God would lead in the future.
In the fall of 2001, Glenn Steiner became the senior pastor of Bahia Vista, and served until March of 2008. David L. Kniss was the Interim Pastor in 2009; the membership was 250.
In September 2017, the church changed its name to Sarasota Community Church. While still rooted in Anabaptist theology, it believed the term "Mennonite" no longer reflected its membership's nature.
In 2018, the Southeast Mennonite Conference voted to withdraw from Mennonite Church USA, and eventually became a district of LMC: a Fellowship of Anabaptist Churches. Thus, Sarasota Community Church became part of that conference.
In 2025, the average summer attendance was 150.
Bibliography
Barbe, Mary C. "Sarasota, Florida." Gospel Herald 43, no. 50 (13 December 1950): 1227.
_____. "Sarasota, Florida." Gospel Herald 44, no. 9 (27 February 1951): 211-212.
_____. "Sarasota, Florida." Gospel Herald 44, no. 41 (9 October 1951): 987.
Lehman, Martin W. Roots & Branches: a Narrative History of the Amish and Mennonites in Southeast United States, 1892-1992, 2 vols. Telford, Pa.: Cascadia Publishing Company, 2010-2011: v. 1: 108-110, 175-179, 181-182; v. 2: 46-50, 167-170.
Miller, James P. "History." Bahia Vista Mennonite Church. (broken link)
Additional Information
Address: 4041 Bahia Vista Street, Sarasota, Florida 34232
Telephone: 941-377-4041
Website: https://www.sarasotacommunitychurch.org/
Denominational Affiliations:
LMC: a Fellowship of Anabaptist Churches
Mennonite Church USA (Until 2018)
Pastoral Leaders at Sarasota Community Church
| Name | Years of Service |
|---|---|
| Jennings, William (1874-1972) | 1950-1951 |
| Myron S. Augsburger | 1951-1953 1955-1956 |
| Paul H. Martin (1921-2018) | 1953-1955 |
| Henry "H. Michael" Shenk | 1956-1971 |
| John H. Shenk (1911-1996) | 1971-1986? |
| Stanlee D. Kauffman | 1976-1989 |
| Harold F. Shearer (Associate)(1928-2019) | 1978-1980s 2000s |
| Marvin L. Miller (Music) | 1981-1991? |
| Arthur C. Wise (Associate)(1935-2022) | 1985?-1988? |
| Laban D. Miller (Youth) | 1985-1987 |
| Brian D. Boetger (Youth) | 1988-1991? |
| Glen M. Denlinger (Family Life) | 1988-2004? |
| David "D. Lowell" Nissley (1921-2020) | 1986?-1989? |
| Gerald P. Mininger (1927-2015)(Visitation) | 1988?- |
| Aaron "A. Donald" Augsburger (1925-2022)(Bishop) | 1989-1996 |
| Roy Roth (Interim Music) | 1990-1991 |
| Randall L. Spaulding (Music) | 1991-2002 |
| James P. Miller II (Associate) | 1993-1998 |
| Barry Loop | 1996-2000? |
| Paul M. Lederach (1925-2014)(Interim) | 2000 |
| Del Glick (Interim) | 2000?-2002? |
| Nanette M. Kanagy (Children and Youth) | 2001?-2004? |
| Glenn M. Steiner | 2001-2008? |
| Joe Bradshaw (Associate) | 2002?-2008? |
| Larry Diener (Music) | 2003?-2010s? |
| David L. Kniss (Interim) | 2008 |
| Roger Shenk | 2008-2021 |
| Dennis Bontrager | 2012?- |
Sarasota Community Church Membership
| Year | Members |
|---|---|
| 1951 | 33 |
| 1960 | 91 |
| 1970 | 254 |
| 1980 | 361 |
| 1990 | 620 |
| 2000 | 609 |
| 2009 | 250 |
| Author(s) | Myron S. Augsburger |
|---|---|
| James P. Miller | |
| Samuel J. Steiner | |
| Date Published | March 2026 |
Cite This Article
MLA style
Augsburger, Myron S., James P. Miller and Samuel J. Steiner. "Sarasota Community Church (Sarasota, Florida, USA)." Global Anabaptist Mennonite Encyclopedia Online. March 2026. Web. 16 Apr 2026. https://gameo.org/index.php?title=Sarasota_Community_Church_(Sarasota,_Florida,_USA)&oldid=181813.
APA style
Augsburger, Myron S., James P. Miller and Samuel J. Steiner. (March 2026). Sarasota Community Church (Sarasota, Florida, USA). Global Anabaptist Mennonite Encyclopedia Online. Retrieved 16 April 2026, from https://gameo.org/index.php?title=Sarasota_Community_Church_(Sarasota,_Florida,_USA)&oldid=181813.
Adapted by permission of Herald Press, Harrisonburg, Virginia, from Mennonite Encyclopedia, Vol. 4, p. 756. All rights reserved.
©1996-2026 by the Global Anabaptist Mennonite Encyclopedia Online. All rights reserved.