OUR History
In January, 1992, on Super Bowl Sunday, Pr. Ken Mahan and 50 others began a new ministry based on reaching the youth and their families in Boca Raton, Florida; through athletics, music and drama to a saving knowledge of Jesus Christ. Above & Beyond Community Church started in a living room, then moved to an office building, a high-school auditorium, a store front, back to a middle school and then to the Wayne Barton Center for 12 years. (See full of history of A&B here.)
Meanwhile, SonCoast Christian Ministries was founded by Chris Cowen in 1994 and began meeting at Meadows Park in Boca Raton. On Sunday, August 6, 1994, the first official worship service as a church was held in the gymnasium of the Boca Raton Elementary School.
In July of 1996, SonCoast was in need of additional space for the growing congregation. Creative thinking and God's provision led to the renovation of an auto mechanic's garage and warehouse directly across the street from the school's gym. This provided the ministry with an attractive facility for proclaiming God's message of love, forgiveness, redemption, and restoration for years to come. On February 9, 2000, SonCoast Christian Ministries and Evangel Baptist Church merged to become SonCoast Community Church. (See full history of SonCoast here.)
In 2009 Pr. Ken Mahan was called by God to take a job at a Christian University, and Pr. Austin Calder, Jr. became the senior pastor of Above & Beyond Community Church. During that time Pr. Reggie Azevedo became the small groups pastor and later, Pr. Ken Mahan returned as Executive Pastor. In 2017, after 12 years of gathering at the Wayne Barton Center, Above & Beyond’s lease ended and they started praying for a new facility where they could gather.
In March of 2018, the elders of Soncoast called Pr. Austin Calder to consider a merge with their church body, who had a great facility but needed a pastor. On Palm Sunday of 2018, Above & Beyond and SonCoast Community Church held their first combined worship service and on Easter Sunday, April 1, 2018 the two church bodies officially merged and dedicated themselves as one family, to the Lord.
“We have waited and watched God move us from place to place over these many years and are delighted to see His hand of providence bless our church family with a wonderful facility. We have no doubt this marriage of churches was completely ordained by the Lord Himself. Although we are thrilled to finally be in this “Promised Land” we are more delighted at what He has done and continues to do through this union, in the lives of the families that attend our gatherings. We have learned that His plans for us are so much greater, above & beyond, than anything we can imagine or orchestrate. Our mission statement says it all: “To know God and make Him known. Impacting Lives. Loving our community.”
We have the most amazing body of believers who bring the church into this facility every week. We have an extraordinary team of pastors, elders, deacons, musicians, and teachers who serve the Lord with the gifts He has given them. They love each other well and their love for the community is even stronger. It is our desire to reach the neighborhoods of Northeast Boca and Delray Beach for Jesus Christ, and to do it by loving each person who enters this place, with the love of God. You belong here!
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