Feature Story and Photos by Larry H. Oskin
The Living Message Church of Downtown Clermont has effectively grown over the past 11 years while helping hundreds of local families here in South Lake County. Pastor Brian Broadway works with his wife Allison and a full spiritual leadership team to enhance life for their faithful followers.
Brian and Allison Broadway are the Lead Pastors and Founders of Living Message Church. They are originally from North Babylon in Long Island, New York. Brian’s father worked as an engineer for Northrop-Grumman and his mother was a professional beautician. Growing up as the youngest child in the family with his brother and his two sisters, he was very active in basketball, football, track, gymnastics and all team-oriented sports. Teamwork became a cornerstone and compassion for him. His parents encouraged active community involvement, while always teaching kindness, integrity and how to make good choices in life. He studied computer information systems at the State University of New York in Farmingdale. To start his career, Broadway first worked at a telephone call center in sales and customer service.
Broadway served at a very large 2000-member, non-denominational church in Long Island. As Youth Pastor, he started to oversee the youth ministry while working a full-time job. He participated in life-changing missions to Ghana, Jamaica and the Dominican Republic. He developed a passion for church leadership while studying the bible in the original Hebrew language and in Koine Greek. He became self-taught in the bible scriptures, describing himself as a ‘shepherd’ who helps lead others to a closer walk with God.
Broadway met his wife Allison at their family church; the Upper Room Christian World Center in Dix Hills, NY. Allison was a Youth Leader. They married were blessed with two daughters. In 2004, the family moved to Clermont. Brian served as an Associate Pastor at another local church. He always believed that the ‘Living Message’ is more than what you read, but rather, it’s what you become. He shares, “We must live out the message.” With this in mind, he became inspired to launch his own ministry and church with the name ‘Living Message’.
Humble Beginnings: They first started to regularly congregate as The Living Message Church for the first few years at a local Days Inn Hotel on Highway 27. From the beginning, they openly welcomed everyone to share core values of outreach, discipleship, fellowship and prayer.
The Living Message Church has no formal membership and no annual membership fees. Everyone is considered a “Family Member” as part of their community of faith. Their church is currently home to over 160 active followers. As a non-denominational Christian church, they go by the doctrine of the bible. They have a very diverse multi-cultural following that is universally from every race, creed, and sect possible. While Broadway uses the John McArthur’s Study Bible, everyone brings their own bible.
The Living Message Church is known for its warm friendly environment. Everyone is personally greeted. Two Sunday morning prayer services are offered. The 8:30 AM service offers an acoustic, natural-sounding presentation, with prayers and music from guitar and vocals. The 10 AM Sunday service offers prayers and sermons with complements from a full band inclusive of keyboards, guitar, drum music, and four singers. Pastoral services are not topical. Instead, they are always bible interpretations.
Coffee and snacks are always provided. Free facial masks are offered to everyone who enters. Due to limited space, they do not offer social distancing. They also offer online virtual services with live and archived past programs, so you can participate from the comfort of your own home.
Today, Allison shares Brian’s passions. She supervises all of the Living Message Church administrative work as well as all of the volunteers and children’s programs with their ‘Little Messengers’. She has developed an environment where children can learn, share and grow with fellowship. The children’s ministry is for newborn infants and nursery to four years old where they have a special room for videos, lessons, prayers, and fun interactive programs.
The Living Message Church has a strong youth ministry led by their nephew, Andrew Grant. They have a young adult program with supervised activities on the second and fourth Thursday nights each month for those from about 19 to 30 years of age. This includes activities on the first and third Thursday nights for married and non-married participants.
The church offers active men’s and women’s ministry programs. The Called to One Men’s Group is active with community projects, besides church maintenance and cleanup. They believe in providing genuine friendships and offer the opportunity to study and learn the bible at church and by yourself. Living Message Church strives to provide clarity of purpose, so the followers can all help each other. Coffee and Conversation is offered for newcomers. Next Step classes are shared with a series of four workshops, so everyone becomes closely and comfortably connected with leadership.
Find, Feed & Restore: One of the most important missions of the Living Message Church is to help the needy and homeless with guidance, council, food, and shelter. This program is the heart and soul of this church. The church owns and shares six trailer homes for helping shelter the homeless, so they can get back on their feet. They own one duplex home for another two families with children. They have recently acquired two acres of land for future development to help this program. Their number one goal is to provide safe and affordable housing. They have established outreach programs to help with homeless avoidance for those who may have lost jobs. They offer a Two-Plus-Two Program, where recipients are helped with pay for two months going backward as well as for two months going forward. They now have a recently donated 35-foot motorcoach with a few tents, which will be used for sharing after-school education, serving hot meals, and for support services to homeless families living in old hotels and schools. This bus has a washer and dryer, so they can help needy families get fresh clean clothes. This program offers job placement and career guidance support. They are often able to share vouchers for the homeless to purchase clothes and more.
Donations & Support Are Always Needed: They have been fortunate enough to receive $150,000 to $175,000 each year from local, state, and national grant programs which effectively helps their outreach support service programs become extremely successful. However, that important seed money does not cover it all. Anyone interested in donating land, trailers, supplies, or money monthly Find, Feed & Restore partner programs are encouraged to visit their website. The First United Methodist Church has been very helpful, sponsoring food and a full trailer for a year at a time.
Brian Broadway notes, “Through our ministry, we will help everyone we can. We will do our best to never allow anyone to become homeless again. We counsel, educate, and train our homeless with professional counseling for finance, banking, meal plans, job placement, and family services at no cost to the recipients, so they can get back on their feet and fend for themselves after being with us.” He also credits his brother, the Clermont Police Chief Charles Broadway, Clermont Mayor Tim Murry, and the City Council for being very supportive as well as the South Lake Chamber of Commerce. Broadway adds, “We really are a family! All of us are very accessible and approachable, inclusive of our full pastoral team. If you choose to join us, you will learn the bible yourself and you’ll be able to explain your faith.”
Broadway shares his favorite bible verse from Galatians 6:9, “Don’t become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up. … And let us not be weary in well doing: for in due season we shall reap, if we faint not.” He adds, “Never give up! Never allow the challenges of life to shrink your ambitions for doing good!”
For more information, contact Brian Broadway & Alison Broadway at the Living Message Church, 830 West Montrose Street, Clermont, FL 34711, 352-999-1355, 352-617-8484 or 866-236-2983. Email: Brian@FindFeedRestore.com. Visit: https:/LivingMessageChurch.com, https://www.facebook.com/LivingMessageFL/. For more information on Find, Feed & Restore, visit:https://www.facebook.com/FindFeedRestore/
