In the fast-growing Parrish area, Bayside Community Church has new campus planned
One of Manatee County’s fastest-growing churches, Bayside Community Church, has purchased 20 acres along Moccasin Wallow Road, where it is planning to build an 800-seat house of worship.
The former nursery property at 9505 Moccasin Wallow Road is located west of North River Ranch, which is planned for 6,000 homes, and Barbara A. Harvey Elementary School.
The timeline for construction of Bayside’s North River campus is uncertain because of the COVID-19 pandemic, said Kristin Becnel, Bayside’s executive director of culture. “It’s up in the air.”
Moccasin Wallow Road is the epicenter of a building boom expected to bring 25,000 homes to the Parrish and North River area.
Bayside Community Church was started in 2002 in Bashaw Elementary School. Bayside is now a multi-location church serving Manatee, Sarasota, Hardee, and Wauchula counties.
“Our founding and lead pastor, Randy Bezet, started Bayside with a heart to love and serve our community and to help people know God, find family, live in freedom, and discover their purpose. With seven different locations, our heart continues to remain the same -- to be a church in and for the community and to love, serve, and help people know Jesus,” Becnel said.
Bayside’s North River Campus opened in 2016, meeting in Buffalo Creek Middle School. The campus, led by Pastor David Murphy, is now the church home for about 1,000 people from the North River area.
In July, Bayside began holding in-person services again at most of its locations. Bayside’s North River Campus has not yet resumed meeting in Buffalo Creek Middle. For now, the congregation joins in services at Bayside’s East Bradenton Campus.
“It is amazing to be part of a church experience in this season and time,” Becnel said.
In September, the North River Campus has 31 outreaches planned to serve this community in celebration of Bayside Community Church’s 18th Birthday.
“The grace of God ... no, for real the grace of God. We pray as a team for this area regularly, we know prayer is the basis,” Murphy replied in an email when asked about Bayside’s growth.
“From a human perspective we serve together, laugh together, cry together and sweat together and that has created a close community feel. It feels like family, and people are longing for community,” Murphy said.
“Bayside tries to do things to the best of our ability even in a middle school, but I can absolutely say that it is by God’s grace that we have seen growth. We are normal, genuine, imperfect people who are learning to take God and His word seriously and by doing life that way, God has been increasing our numbers. We want everyone to be in a life giving community of friends who love God and His word, and love the people around them, no matter who they are,” he said.
The Bayside North Campus has about 30-40 percent of its people meeting together with the East Bradenton Campus. The rest tune in virtually. Some have watch parties with other families while others join in on church online, Facebook, or YouTube.
“When we were meeting at the Buffalo Creek Middle School before COVID there was an average of 1,100 people, including kids and students, coming to the North River Campus,” Murphy said.
“We want people to know the name of Jesus. We are one of many different expressions of Biblical Christianity in our area but would invite those who want to know more, to come along and see what God is doing. This is His church, in this small area of the world, we are just trying to be faithful to Him,” he said.
For more information about the North River Campus of Bayside Community Church, visit https://mybayside.church/north-river-campus/.
