A Place to Call Home in Lake Wales
Tucked along Burns Avenue in Lake Wales, Impact Church has been a steady presence in Polk County for more than six decades. What began as a small gathering of believers in 1959 has grown into a multi-campus congregation that worships in two languages, runs a licensed daycare, hosts a nine-month discipleship school, and gathers online every weekday morning for prayer. The church's tagline captures its heart: a place to call home, un lugar para llamarlo hogar.
From a Women's Club to Two Campuses
Impact Church was founded on February 22, 1959, as First Assembly of God of Lake Wales. The founding pastor, James Abell, led the first meetings in the Lake Wales Women's Club before the congregation moved to a downtown storefront. By early 1960 a building was completed at the corner of Pine and Minnesota, and the church met there for the next twenty-five years.
Under Pastor A. J. Steverson the current Lake Wales property was purchased and the present buildings constructed. After his retirement in 2004, Walter Nelson became the senior pastor in November 2007. In July 2012 the church adopted the name Impact Church, a change meant to express the congregation's desire to carry the gospel beyond the walls of the building. Matthew 28:19, Go and make disciples of all nations, remains the church's first priority. A second campus in nearby Dundee was added as the congregation continued to grow.
What Impact Church Believes
Impact Church is affiliated with the Assemblies of God and holds to the historic Pentecostal statement of faith. Members affirm the verbal inspiration of the Old and New Testaments, the one true God revealed as Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, the deity and virgin birth of the Lord Jesus Christ, and salvation by grace through faith in Christ. Two ordinances are practiced: water baptism by immersion and Holy Communion.
The church teaches that all believers may expect and earnestly seek the baptism in the Holy Spirit, with the initial physical evidence of speaking in other tongues. Other doctrinal distinctives include sanctification, divine healing as part of the atonement, the imminent rapture and millennial reign of Christ, the final judgment, and the believer's hope of new heavens and a new earth.
Vision, Mission, and Core Values
The church describes its mission simply: to help people grow and develop in their relationship with God. Everything flows from four guiding principles: Know God, Find Freedom, Discover Purpose, and Make a Difference, which are also the four steps of the Growth Track class that Pastor Walt teaches to newcomers after the Sunday service.
Six core values shape daily life at Impact Church. They spell out the name: Integrity guiding every action, Ministry recognizing that every member is a minister, Personal intimacy with God, Authenticity in pursuit of Him, Community committed to making a positive impact, and Truth as found in the Word of God.
Sunday at the Lake Wales Campus
Sunday morning at 10:00 is the central gathering of the week. Worship is contemporary and expressive, led by Worship Pastor Marissa Fernandez and the church's music team. Children's Pastor Shawn Rudy and a team of screened workers open the nurseries for newborns through two-year-olds fifteen minutes before the service begins.
During the same hour, Impact Kids Church welcomes children in kindergarten through fifth grade for Bible stories, puppets, live characters, and object lessons. Three- to five-year-olds attend Aqua Kids, a ministry designed for their age group. Iglesia Impacto, the Spanish-language congregation led by Pastors Balaan and Amanda Cotto, meets at the same time so that entire families can attend together.
On Sunday evenings at 6:00, during the school year, the Lake Wales Campus hosts a second service made up of small-group classes for adults and students. The four-part Growth Track runs concurrently and is taught personally by Pastor Walt. Evening services pause during the summer.
Midweek at Lake Wales
Wednesday evenings at 6:30 light up the Lake Wales campus with a full slate of programs for every age. Rainbows welcomes preschool boys and girls, while Discovery Rangers serves boys in kindergarten through fifth grade and Girls Ministries serves girls in the same grades. Impact Kids Church runs concurrent programs for school-age children, and Compass, led by DeSean and Chelsey Batiste, gathers fifth through seventh graders for Bible study and fellowship.
Upstairs, Awakened Youth meets in the Hub from 6:30 to 8:00 p.m. (facilities open at 5:00) for grades eight through twelve, complete with a student-led worship team, games, small groups, and a youth-focused message. The Table, the young-adult ministry for ages eighteen through twenty-nine, is led by Joel Howe and meets Monday evenings at 7:00 in the church lobby. Men meet at 6:30 in the Men's Ministry Room under Brian Higbee, and Women Inspired gathers at the same hour for ladies' Bible study with Melissa Walsh.
The Iglesia Impacto Bible Study also meets Wednesdays at 6:30 in the lobby under Pastor Balaan Cotto, and Pastor Walt holds a brief noon prayer service in the sanctuary each Wednesday for anyone who can step away from work.
The Dundee Campus
Impact Church's second location at 102 First Street South in Dundee is pastored by Shaun and Meghan Flores. Sunday worship is held at 10:00 a.m. in English, and at 4:00 p.m. in Spanish. A separate Awakened Youth group for grades eight through twelve meets at 6:00 p.m. on Sunday evenings, and a men's fellowship gathers in the Fellowship Hall at 6:00 p.m.
Iglesia Impacto: Un Ministerio Bilingüe
Iglesia Impacto is the Spanish-speaking heart of Impact Church. Pastors Balaan and Amanda Cotto lead the ministry with a simple invitation: where everyone is welcome and everything is possible. The congregation worships together, celebrates together, and seeks to know God the Father together.
Sunday morning services are held at 10:00 at the Lake Wales Campus and at 4:00 p.m. at the Dundee Campus. A bilingual Bible study meets Wednesdays at 6:30 p.m. at the Lake Wales lobby. Wherever they gather, the goal is the same: to help Spanish-speaking families find purpose, healing, and community in Christ.
Empowered Master's Commission
For young adults sensing a call to deeper discipleship, Impact Church runs Empowered Master's Commission, a nine-month program that functions as both a ministry school and a life-formation year. The school combines classroom teaching, mentorship, and hands-on ministry experience, with the goal of launching graduates into the next phase of life equipped in every area. EMC is led by Executive Director Shelby Hardy and Assistant Director Marissa Fernandez, with Laurie Hayes coordinating student life.
A Life of Prayer
Prayer is woven into the weekly rhythm at Impact Church. Each weekday morning at 8:00 a.m., Pastor Walt hosts Prayer Live on YouTube, Facebook, and Rumble, giving anyone, member or not, a place to start the day. Wednesday brings the noon prayer gathering in the sanctuary. The first Sunday of every month includes a 6:00 p.m. prayer service in the sanctuary with worship music and open prayer led by the Holy Spirit.
Tuesday mornings at 10:00 a women-only prayer and Bible study meets in Impact Cafe under Mary Gean LeMaster and Maria Rodriquez. The annual Prayer and Fasting emphasis, traditionally held in January, walks the congregation through twenty-one days of Daniel-style fasting with daily prayer guides written by Pastor Walt.
Children, Youth, and the Golden Years
Children's ministry at Impact Church is led by Shawn Rudy, who also directs Impact Kids Daycare, a licensed childcare program that serves working families in the community. The nursery, Impact Kids Church, Aqua Kids, Compass (fifth through seventh grades), and Awakened Youth (eighth through twelfth) provide a continuous discipleship path from infancy through high-school graduation.
For adults fifty and over, the Golden Agers offer regular outings and fellowship, meeting Thursday mornings at locations announced ahead of time. The Table fills a similar role for young adults, and Connecting Point small groups meet throughout the week in homes, on campus, and at local restaurants, organized under three tracks: Bible-focused ("A Groups"), discipleship ("B Groups"), and community-care ("C Groups").
Impact Café and the Life of the Church
Impact Café functions as the church's hospitality hub and is used for ladies' prayer, midweek meals, and casual connection between services. Visitors will find coffee, conversation, and a friendly face waiting before and after the morning gathering.
Staying Connected Throughout the Week
Sermons are posted on YouTube and Vimeo, with archived teaching series available on demand. RightNow Media is offered free to anyone in the congregation through a dedicated sign-up link. Services are livestreamed on YouTube and on Facebook, so that members who travel, who are homebound, or who live out of state can worship alongside the Lake Wales family.
Giving can be done in any service, online through the church's secure giving portal, or through the SecureGive mobile app for iOS and Android. Visitors ready to take a next step can register for the four-part Growth Track, which meets after Sunday services with lunch provided in the lobby and café area.
Reaching Out
Impact Church partners with the Assemblies of God and with Pastor Walter Nelson's background in missions. Before coming to Lake Wales, Pastor Walt, his wife Tina, and their three children served as missionaries in the West Indies with Assemblies of God World Missions, a heritage that still shapes the church's desire to see lives changed both locally and globally.