St. Stephen's Church

St Stephen’s is an Episcopal (Anglican) church, centered on Jesus Christ and committed to be His disciples. We are a parish of the Episcopal Diocese of Central Florida and members of the worldwide Anglican Communion. Our faith is both ancient and new, with the timeless truths of the Bible and the Godly heritage of the apostolic Church alive and well in the lives of the saints of today. This is a church that:
• Believes the Bible to be the Word of God and contains all things necessary for salvation.
• Affirms the Nicene and Apostles’ Creeds of the Church as statements of our orthodox faith.
• Administers the Sacraments Instituted by Our Lord.
• Recognizes the unbroken apostolic succession through the lineage of Bishops.

Like our patron, Stephen the deacon and first Christian martyr (Acts 6-7), it is our mission “To Love and Serve – God and Neighbor” with all that we have and all that we do.

The church isn’t made up of land or buildings, but the people the Lord has gathered there as the Body of Christ to worship Him and be the Light of Christ within this community. So we take the concept of the “parish” seriously–the old English system where the local church had a spiritual responsibility for EVERYONE in the area, whether they showed up on a Sunday or not.

We consider ourselves a parish family, and we gather together on Sundays and throughout the week in worship, prayer, praise, discipleship, and service. Because we strive to be good stewards of what God has entrusted us with, you will find a campus busy with activity in order to build faithful followers of Jesus, bless the community around us, and glorify the Lord “not only with our lips but in our lives” (Book of Common Prayer p.101).

We are a loving and joyful church family dedicated to Godly worship, Christian discipleship, and servant ministry. Located on ten tree filled acres on the south side of Lakeland, Florida, we're the sort of church you can call home.