Without Walls Central Church

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Without Walls Central Church was founded in Auburndale, Florida, in January 2004 under the vision of Bishop Randy White of Without Walls International Church in Tampa, Florida. Pastors Scott and Cindy Thomas were set forth as senior pastors to shepherd the church. Many avenues of outreach were implemented: city-wide ministry outreaches which ministered to physical and spiritual needs; relationships with city schools, businessmen and government officials; networking with community organizations to help local residents; bringing well-known Christian artists and ministers to the community; and participating in city- and county-sponsored community activities.

This New Testament-style evangelism – taking the gospel into the streets and communities – brought exponential growth to the church. In one year the congregation grew from 125 to over 1,500. With growth of this scale, the Auburndale facility quickly became inadequate, and in April 2005, Pastor Scott began two Sunday morning worship services to accommodate the attendance. This however, was only a short-term solution, as in September 2005, the new location of the church was the former facility of Carpenter’s Home Church in Lakeland, Florida. The new sprawling, spacious facilities provided immediate relief to the growth of the congregation. Following this, the pastors' challenges changed from the suitability of the facility to the development of leadership and ministries to meet the needs of the growing church.

[edit] Pastors Scott and Cindy Thomas

Scott was a “Pastor's Kid” whose father was a minister with the Church of God (Cleveland, Tennessee headquarters). He was born in Middletown, Ohio, and at the age of four, his parents moved to Virginia to evangelize and pastor. He grew up and graduated high school in Virginia and enrolled in Lee University in Cleveland, Tennessee.

Cindy was born in New York to parents who came from Puerto Rico, but her family returned to Puerto Rico while she was a child. Her family also also attended the Church of God. After graduating from high school in Puerto Rico, Cindy moved to Cleveland, Tennessee and enrolled in Lee University where she and Scott met. They were best friends during college, but went their separate ways after graduation; Scott went to Florida with an evangelistic crusade, and met Pastors Randy and Paula White, who invited him to move to Tampa to help them develop the South Tampa Christian Center (now known as Without Walls International Church). He accepted the invitation and moved to Tampa, while continuing to keep in contact with Cindy (who was living and working in Cleveland). In time, the South Tampa Christian Center grew and required additional leadership; during a visit that Cindy made to see Scott, Pastor Randy asked her to join their staff, and she agreed to join. Approximately three years, Scott and Cindy married. Pastor Randy performed their wedding ceremony and they continued their ministry together in Tampa.

Scott and Cindy witnessed the conception and dynamic growth of the megachurch. They served 12 years under their senior pastors in whatever capacity they were needed, which in turn increased their ministry experience. Following this, Pastor Randy worked to establish a church in Central Florida. In January 2004, he set Scott and Cindy forth as senior pastors of Without Walls Central church in Auburndale, Florida.

[edit] Location

Without Walls Central is located in Lakeland, Florida in the former facilities of Carpenter's Home Church. Lakeland is located between the cities of Tampa and Orlando.