Promise Park consists of 28 acres on Taylor Ranch Trail.  It is not something we want to possess so much as it is a platform for the proclamation of God’s Glory. So we wanted to come up with a name to better describe the land we loosely hold for God. Promise Park reminds us of God's promises and blessings.

We don’t have the literal space at our Shamrock properties to meet all at once, so we have had occasional gatherings at Promise Park.  The first was held on Sunday, February 18, 2007 for our Sunday morning service.  Even though it was raining right before our time of worship, almost 300 people showed up. Many people had worked to make this a great morning, including doing things like; mowing the property; setting up a flat bed truck with a generator fed sound system; and paying attention to all the little details about parking, restrooms, and a great cookout following worship. This was all on top of the usual preparations we make to Worship God every week. Our hearts are full of praise to our Lord for a congregation that is willing to step out and do something different and even a bit difficult.

It was a bit cool for Florida - even though 55 degrees is not very cold if you have come from up north. And the wind was present. Yet there was not a single disparaging word. We praised God together and heard the kids sing, and we looked together into Scripture about the bold witness of the early church and our call to emulate them. And we prayed for our community right there where our promise is emblazoned on a sign for all to see.

We heard a little bit about God’s provision regarding the land we were standing upon. We were told about the parameters of this great gift of God (which many who were present had never stood upon before) and that as of January we still owed $57,712 on this land. The challenge was put forth in January to pay this off, and since that time with the help of a few major gifts and many other contributions we had paid the debt down to a remaining $8,102. This was an amazing item of praise, and then it got just a little bit better. After praying for God’s blessing at the cook-out, we were dismissed and then called back. An Announcement was made that one of those present offered to pay off the remaining debt.  We prayed to thank God, and we toasted God with Hot dogs and Chili.

 Today we are still celebrating our Savior, who orchestrated a final gift while we were standing in that very place. Once again, God has made us debt free. As if Salvation in Christ wasn’t enough. He continues to bless and encourage us and lead us into the future. Praise God, and we will follow You Lord wherever You lead us. I know God is calling us to much more than Venice Bible Church. His blessings are not about us. We are blessed to be a blessing, and we are called to seek His Kingdom. God has directed us to be a loving congregation (Matthew 22:37-39) and commissioned us to be evangelistic disciple makers (Matthew 28:18-20). And God is transforming us into a deeper maturity for the purpose of reflecting His Glory. (2 Cor. 3:18). In order for this to proceed, there are the actions we need to embrace.

Dedication Day: On April 22nd after our worship hours at the Shamrock campus, we traveled out to God’s provision for us, “the property” at Taylor Ranch. We celebrated a community meeting with ministry updates; we burned the mortgage on this God-given land, and revealed the new name – chosen by our congregation for the property at Taylor Ranch. We also shared a chicken barbeque lunch catered by Sonny’s right there on the newly paid for, renamed, and dedicated land.

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