Dear Friends through Christ,

A little over seven years ago I became your pastor.  I can remember like it was yesterday walking the entire campus for the first time, noticing all the older buildings, and thinking to myself, “This place has gotta cost a fortune to keep up, but wow, look at all the opportunities to do ministry.”  I also noticed that Peace was going to need outside financial assistance in order to support not only the daily operations of the church, but the many and various ministries that serve our community.  I knew that these weather-worn buildings would be the help we needed.  Looking back, it is truly incredible how much has been accomplished with the limited resources that we had. 

The first step was basically a freebee—Adopt A Plot.  Thirteen people/families signed up to make Peace look like She was loved.  To this day our campus is still beautiful.  Thanks to everyone who played a part, especially Mark Grice.  He was my property angel.  Next, we moved on to Peace Place, (the old sanctuary built in 1965 and neglected for the past few years) The quotes to remodel came in at $85,000 to $120,000 but remember we have no money.  So, Peace took out a loan for $100,000.  Funny story, but we accomplished the remodel for $33,000, recarpeted the sanctuary and replaced two large air conditioners.  Pastor Chips with “In Season Ministry,” now occupies our remodeled Peace Place and helps with our bills to the tune of $18,000 per year.

Then came Covid-19 in January of 2020, lasting to the Fall of 2021, almost two years.  Here the Church actually shut their doors for at least eight weeks and many of those churches never opened again.  Peace survived, but we don’t just want to survive, we desire to thrive.  What’s next?  Well, the church desperately needs a coat of paint.  Nothing good came from Covid, but it did save us $20,000 in painting cost, because people were now desperate to work, instead of paying $33,000 to paint our entire campus, we found someone for $13,000.    

Tough decisions came during the pandemic.  We sold the parsonage/home to Richard Pribell, who has done wonders with not only the home, but the property is now incredible.  Rick has put in walking paths and is building a dock.  He wants to turn the 10 acres into a park. Lots of possibilities! (For Him and Us). These funds from the sale of the old parsonage helped us to weather Covid, pay down our mortgage and purchase a beautiful new sign.   

 Next, we move on to building F, which years ago served as a pre-school.  Let’s just say trying to utilize this building for ministry and at the same time bring in needed income has caused more than a few sleepless nights.  We tried a medical clinic and an air conditioning guy that trained the unemployed.  Neither worked out.  Then I met Dr. Cooks, who runs “Life-Line Academy,” a Christian based school.  He loves the campus and has all kinds of ideas to expand. The process took over two years of messing with the city and all their inspectors, but finally, we got her done.  Life-Line ministry brings in about $50,000 per year to help support the Church, while teaching 75 high school students that bring laughter and joy to our campus.  Plus, he has ideas.      

But we’re not done yet.  Just recently, we finalized a ministry with the Shekinah French Church who are renting our worship center and fellowship hall all day on Saturday, the day of worship for Seven Day Adventist.  They too love our campus.  Their ministry will generate an additional $12,000. 

With the combined income of $80,000 from our partners in ministry and generous donations of many of Peace’s members, we continue to serve the community of Palm Bay well.  From the wonderful ministry of Alcoholics Anonymous meetings each and every day, probably saving about as many souls as our gospel, to our food pantry providing meats and vegetables for about 400 families a month. (Thank you, Lori!)  Then there’s Meals on Wheels serving up healthy food to about 250 seniors every day during the week for our front porch.  Plus keep in mind all kinds of events we host during the week, from HOA meetings, different clubs, and all kinds of celebrations.  The campus of Peace Lutheran is busy seven days a week.  And never, never forget the power of the Gospel, proclaimed each and every Saturday and Sunday, accomplishing more than we could ever imagine.   

So yes, over the past seven years we have accomplished much together.  Our campus serves the community faithfully.  She has become quite active and everything we do points to the gospel of Jesus Christ.  May I just say, “Well done, my good and faithful servants!”

Just this past Sunday I announced that Sandy and I will be leaving Peace Lutheran Church sometime soon, probably around November 2025.  Doctors tell me, “Better sooner than later.”  The heart attack I had one year ago has kicked this pastor’s you know what and basically zapped my energy. I feel weak and have a challenging time exhaling, not good for preaching and teaching. I’m not sure exactly what is next, but I do know something new lies ahead, either in this life or the next.  God is good!  All the time.  God is good!   

Now over the next couple of months, we have our work cut out.  The first thing that needs to be done is form a “call committee.”  We need to gather a group of six people who love the Lord and Peace Lutheran, leaders who want desperately to see Her go forward and have an open mind about the future. Once the call committee is in place the Holy Spirit of God will guide you to through the next steps.

I have learned that in moments of uncertainty if I read Matthew 6:25-33 my heart and soul are put at ease.  Jesus says to me, “Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or what you will drink, or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more than food and the body more than clothing? ²⁶ Look at the birds of the air: they neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not of more value than they? ²⁷ And which of you by worrying can add a single hour to your span of life? ²⁸ And why do you worry about clothing? Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow; they neither toil nor spin, ²⁹ yet I tell you, even Solomon in all his glory was not clothed like one of these. ³⁰ But if God so clothes the grass of the field, which is alive today and tomorrow is thrown into the oven, will he not much more clothe you—you of little faith? ³¹ Therefore do not worry, saying, ‘What will we eat?’ or ‘What will we drink?’ or ‘What will we wear?’ ³² For it is the gentiles who seek all these things, and indeed your heavenly Father knows that you need all these things. ³³ But seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well.”

We will talk more before I leave. 

In Christian Love,

Pastor David Trexler