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Esta página no está disponible en español. El SentinelClergyman's Faith SproutsBy Martin E. Comas
Dec 22, 2001
Man of vision. (GEORGE SKENE/EL SENTINEL) ---------- About two years ago, when the Rev. Santiago Panzardi became the head pastor of Iglesia de Dios Pentecostal -- a small but fast-growing Hispanic church tucked between Lockhart and Eatonville off Forest City Road -- he soon saw the need for a bigger sanctuary. Children would take their Sunday school lessons sitting outside the tiny white building with pink trim. While inside, many worshippers stood during the regularly crowded Sunday morning services. And last year, church officials held their annual Christmas party outdoors during one of the month's coldest days. "It was so cold, but we couldn't have it anywhere else. So we set up commercial heaters all around the place," said Panzardi, with a laugh. Two months ago, the church broke ground on a $2 million expansion and renovation project, which will add a new 10,000-square-foot sanctuary, a new school building with 17 classrooms and a 6,000-square-foot gymnasium. Another building on the property will be remodeled into a children's daycare and library. The expansion is needed, Panzardi said, otherwise, "people will stop coming to church and stay home." The existing church structure is only about 2,800 square feet. Iglesia de Dios Pentecostal sits on an 11-acre property on the western shore of Lake Lovely just south of Seminole County. The church also owns a small plot of land on the eastern shore of the lake, where Panzardi hopes to build a gazebo. It's an area of Orange County that is rapidly growing with Hispanics, and the small church is one of the few places that provides worship services in Spanish, said Panzardi, who is from Puerto Rico. In fact, since his arrival, the congregation has grown to more than 300 people, from just more than a hundred. When the project was started, large trucks and bulldozers cleared the land. "In a way, it was sad. There were several large oak trees that we had to cut down," Panzardi said. "One of the children counted the rings on the stump. We figured it was about 200 years old. Now, we've got to plant several trees to replace them." But when the project is finished it will add more space for his congregation. "This is to show that we're very committed to this community here," Panzardi said.
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