One of the more historic is First Presbyterian Church, founded in 1876. From a small house church, it grew into a downtown campus of buildings and is now one of the more influential congregations here.

The church has a claim to fame in American evangelism. It was the site of the last evangelistic meeting of R.A. Torrey, the famed preacher. In 1927, Torrey came there to preach and soon after he retired to Asheville, N.C., where he died.

Torrey’s writings on prayer are some of the most influential in the 20th century, setting out in clear form the particulars of when prayer works and how best to pray.

Today, the church is led by Dr. David Swanson.

See the church’s history here.

• In downtown Sarasota, The Church of the Redeemer, holds a Eucharist for Anointing for Healing at 10 a.m. most Fridays and Saturdays. Led by a parish priest and a team of Lay Ministers, the 10 a.m. service is open to the public. See the The Church of the Redeemer website for service times.
• Another ministry of healing is Pastor Sharon Lewis’ Amazing Love Healing Ministry. The ministry started in 1994 at Church of the Holy Spirit, in Osprey where Lewis served as rector for 15 years. The group now holds healing services Tuesdays at 10 am. at the Dayspring retreat center in Ellenton. Dayspring, in a riverside setting on the Manatee River, is the retreat center and camp for the Diocese of Southwest Florida, and is just down the road from the Ellenton Premium Outlets. The services are held in the historic frame St. Thomas Chapel moved from Safety Harbor in 1986.

Florida is a major part of the development of the American evangelist Billy Graham; the state is now also the home to his grandson’s church, Coral Ridge.

Graham grew up near Charlotte, North Carolina, but truly became an evangelist in Florida. Graham came to Florida because of an ad for Florida Bible Institute in Moody Monthly.

Graham immediately acquired a taste for Florida’s palm trees and warm climate. And while in school here, he preached at dozens of churches, all the while attending Florida Bible Institute.

His connections with the state continued on, with rallies through the years and visits with the state’s notable preachers and politicians. In 1961 he even golfed with John F. Kennedy and Sen. George Smathers in Palm Beach. Pictured above, Graham and his wife Ruth with Rev. Billy Osceola.

1. Trinity College: Billy Graham attended the Florida Bible Institute, now Trinity College. The institution was founded in Temple Terrace by Dr. William T. Watson, a fundamentalist tent preacher from North Carolina. Watson housed the school at an old hotel, the Temple Terrace Resort. It is now home to Florida College.
2. Florida College: The old Florida Bible Institute is now Florida College; at the nearby Temple Terrace Golf and Country Club was where Graham received his calling on the 18th green. Adjacent to Florida College is the Billy Graham Memorial Park , where Graham used to walk and preach to himself along the Hillsborough River. An excellent way to experience the school is to attend one of Florida College’s chapel services each morning at 10:15.
3. Billy Graham Marker, Tampa: A marker at the site of his first street ministry is at Franklin and Fortune Streets.
4. WFOY: Graham preached on this station in St. Augustine every morning while he preached a week of sermons at East Palatka Baptist Church. Today, the legacy station at AM 1240 carries talk radio and such shows as Rush Limbaugh.
5. Peniel Baptist Church On December 4, 1938, while he was leading a series of meetings at the Peniel Baptist Church in East Palatka, Florida, he was baptized again by the church’s pastor, Rev. Cecil Underwood (a Southern Baptist), in Silver Lake. Peniel Baptist Church was founded in July of 1852  and in May of 1871, the name “Peniel Baptist Church” was adopted (see Genesis 32:30). The church ordained him to evangelistic ministry on January 14, 1939. http://www.penielbc.com/
6. Welaka Baptist Church: This church on the St John’s riverwas the home of a two-week evangelistic series by Graham. It was there that he developed the basics of his preaching style. While there, he stayed in the home of Cecil Underwood.
7. Coral Ridge Presbyterian Church: Billy Graham’s grandson, William Graham Tullian Tchividjian (pronounced cha-vi-jin), is pastor of the Coral Ridge ministry that was once led by James Kennedy. Tchividjian, who is the son of Graham’s daughter Gigi, is the Senior Pastor of the well-known Ft. Lauderdale church. A South Florida native, Tchividjian is a visiting professor of theology at Reformed Theological Seminary and was the founding pastor of the former New City Church which merged with Coral Ridge in April of 2009. The youthful pastor is bringing a new approach to the evangelical church.
8. Lake Swan Camp: This camp in Melrose was founded in 1927 by Graham’s mentor, Dr. John Minder, It has recently become an independent Christian camp. It was there that Billy was first asked to preach by Minder.

Note: If others have interesting sites that are not listed, please add a comment below this story.

• June 3 – PRESERVATION HALL JAZZ BAND is hailed as “stunning, joyous and alive.” Direct from the Crescent city and the historic birthplace of the band nearly a half a century ago.
• June 17 – MARK KOSOWER, newly-appointed Cleveland Orchestra principal cello, is one of the outstanding cellists of his generation.
• July 1 – ANN HAMPTON CALLAWAY, singer and songwriter, is known as an insatiable creative spirit and as a champion of the Great American Songbook.
• July 15 – AWADAGIN PRATT, classical pianist, is acclaimed for his musical insight and intensely-involving performances in recital and with symphony orchestras.
• July 29 – July 29 – NICHOLAS PAYTON, jazz trumpeter, made his recording debut in 1994 as a leader with From this Moment and ever since has been lauded as a significant, top-tier voice in jazz.
• August 12 – RAMSEY LEWIS, jazz pianist, is a captivating and multiple

WINTER HAVEN

Such was the idea of the ministry of the religious program Day of Discovery, which for years filmed many of its TV shows at Florida’s Cypress Gardens. SEE FUNKY COOL VIDEO HERE

Anyone who grew up in the 1970s would know the show. It’s Sunday morning, and all of a sudden you hear “Discovery, Discovery, Day of Discovery” and then these beautiful chiffon-singers standing under a pavilion in Cypress Gardens start to sing a hymn.

Day of Discovery, part of RBC ministries, started in Florida in St. Petersburg, and eventually moved to filming an entire season of shows at Cypress Gardens, the Winter Haven theme park that recently reopened after shutting down last fall.

One great idea to help revive Cypress Gardens is to bring the services back. We pull from the eCypress.com website’s interview with Burma Davis Posey, who helped save the park when it was threatened. She had an excellent idea for bringing visitors on Sundays, namely to offer the gardens for guest preachers on Sundays.

* Sunday morning services at the stadium for tourists and locals looking for a place to worship each week. “Day of Discovery” formerly broadcast from there before the former owners lost the contract. There can be visiting pastors, church choirs, musicians, etc. booked to speak and perform each week. The stadiums are already in place to use. Churches across the nation will look forward to a cherished opportunity to lead the service at Cypress Gardens. And this will bring new visitors with their family and friends from around the country. This could be beyond wonderful and lives could be touched in an eternal way! Perhaps a national ministry could be enticed to return to broadcast from the Gardens as Day of Discovery did for many years.

Today, the Day of Discovery ministry is in Michigan, and film crews go around the world venturing to Christian sites. Good stuff, but we do miss the Cypress Gardens shows. Who else but Cypress Gardens could get some water-skiers to drag flags around to promote a pop-culture religious program?

Read some related stories:

• Ministries to Visit While in Florida
• How to Save Cypress Gardens

• MIAMI Father Albert Cutié, known to viewers of EWTN, leads mass at St Francis De Sales in South Beach. Along with his TV show, he has written a book on relationships. The church is on Lenox Avenue (621 Alton Road) in Miami Beach. Their slogan is “When You come to the beach, don’t forget who made it.” Info at www.saintfrancisonthebeach.com
• WINTER PARK Pat Morley has led thousands of men around the world to Jesus Christ through his Man In the Mirror ministry. It all started with a Friday morning bible study that grew, and grew. He still leads the men’s bible study each morning at the Winter Park Civic Center at 6:50 a.m. If you are in the Orlando area, come by and meet him. www.maninthemirror.com.
• FORT LAUDERDALE Dr. James Kennedy’s Coral Ridge Presbyterian Church, seen on his television ministry, is known across the world for his practical teachings and scriptural integrity. Visit them on Sunday. While Kennedy died in 2007, his church, founded in 1959, has not. www.crpc.org
• LAKELAND The Lakeland Outpouring, an old fashioned revival through the Ignited Chuch, will continue through 2008. The nightly revivals include healing, singing and preaching. More information is at www.ignitedchurch.com
• DAYTONA BEACH The Drive In Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) has been in operation since1953. In cooperation with the owners and management of the Neptune Drive-In Theater, the members of The First Christian Church of Daytona Beach organized and sponsored a Drive-In service. It continues today. www.driveinchurch.net
  
• PENSACOLA In downtown, the Episcopal Christ Church has over 150 years of history. Its original building is the oldest standing church building in Florida, dating from 1832. The new church, in the Spanish Renaissance Style, dates from 1903. www.christ-church.net