Safeharbor Church sits on Upsala Road in Sanford, Florida, in Seminole County, and lives by the motto Renew Refresh Restore. The congregation gathers on Sunday mornings at 10:30 a.m. for a contemporary worship service, with children's ministry running at the same time. Around the rest of the week, the building hosts Bible studies, women's groups, young adult gatherings, and leadership meetings, while the campus is also shared with other English- and Spanish-language congregations that meet at 9:00 a.m., 2:00 p.m., and 6:00 p.m. on Saturdays and Sundays. Underneath everything is a single drive the church names plainly: to be a kingdom-focused, multi-ethnic, multi-generational family that makes much of Jesus Christ.
Sunday Mornings at Safeharbor
The weekend service is the church's main gathering place. Worship is described as contemporary, featuring modern music and dynamic singing, followed by a set-aside time for Scripture and a teaching segment that moves week to week through books of the Bible. A current series on the Letter to the Romans is moving the church through that letter chapter by chapter, with messages anchored in passages such as Romans 8:1-17, Romans 10:1-13, and Romans 12:1-13.
Families with young children can attend the full gathering together. Children's ministry is staffed during the 10:30 service in the Nursery and PreK Room, and the building also includes a designated Cry/Prayer Room for parents and infants. A first-time visitor's guide is offered to anyone who would like help navigating the room, the timing, or what to wear, and people are welcome to engage as much or as little as they prefer.
Lead Pastor Franklin Devontenno is the regular teacher, with messages also delivered live on the church's sermon page and saved for later listening.
What the Church Believes
The doctrinal center is stated in plain language. There is one God who exists as Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. Jesus Christ is the Son of God and the Savior of the world, who lived a sinless life, died on the cross for sin, and rose again. The Holy Spirit lives in every follower of Jesus and shapes them from the inside out. The Bible is the trustworthy, inspired Word of God. Every person is created in God's image and carries immeasurable worth, and sin has broken the relationship between people and God.
Salvation is a gift of grace, received through faith in Jesus and expressed through repentance, confession, and baptism by immersion, in which God forgives sin and gives the Holy Spirit. Salvation is not earned; it is God's gift received through faith and lived out in faithful obedience.
The church understands itself as a family of believers rather than an institution one simply attends. Members worship, learn from God's Word, encourage one another, serve the community, celebrate the Lord's Supper each week, and share the good news of Jesus with others. The church formally commits to follow the teachings of the New Testament, identifies simply as Christian, holds the Bible as its sole authority, and seeks to make love the defining mark of its life. Beliefs such as baptism by immersion and a weekly communion table place the congregation within the broader New Testament restorationist tradition, and the church explicitly welcomes those who have followed Jesus for years, those just exploring, and those with honest questions.
A Six-Step Discipleship Path
Safeharbor outlines its approach to spiritual growth in six steps stated simply:
- Love Them. Full, unconditional love that mirrors how Christ loves.
- Show Them. Discipleship that is caught as much as taught, lived out in character and conduct.
- Teach Them. Instruction rooted in Scripture as the sole authority for God's divine will.
- Correct Them. Leadership and accountability marked by grace and biblical truth.
- Equip Them. The knowledge, confidence, and resources needed to carry kingdom-building into everyday life.
- Send Them. In obedience to the Great Commission in Matthew 28, commissioning people to go into their neighborhoods, workplaces, and the world as ambassadors of the gospel.
The path is offered to anyone at any stage of faith, and the most natural entry point is a local Harbor Group.
Harbor Groups and Mid-Week Studies
The church teaches that Christian faith is not intended to be lived in isolation, so groups carry the gathered community into neighborhoods throughout Sanford and Seminole County. Harbor Groups meet in homes and around the city, and a group finder is available to connect visitors with a group close to home.
Wednesday night is the main mid-week Bible study. The Deep Dive Bible Study runs from 6:30 to 8:00 p.m. in the main building and is open to adults in the Next Steps track. It is led by Lead Pastor Franklin Devontenno.
For women, Women of the Word meets every other Saturday from 10:30 a.m. to 12:00 p.m. in the main building, coordinated by Nicole Devontenno. For young adults, Bruce Preston leads that ministry as Young Adult Pastor and serves on the elder team, with the Marina room on campus supporting the group's gatherings. Children's ministry, under Charisse LaSure, runs during the Sunday morning service.
Local and Global Outreach
The church describes itself as a safe harbor, a place of refuge and light for the city of Sanford and for the world beyond. Locally, Safeharbor supports specific ministries and runs its own initiatives, including an ongoing food drive and food bank involvement. A tutoring partnership is also listed as an opportunity to serve young people in the area.
Globally, the giving model is unusually clear. Safeharbor directs 50% of the tithes and offerings received toward work outside the region, supporting missionaries and global partners living out the Great Commission. Giving is framed as an act of worship and gratitude and is available securely online for tithers and for those giving above and beyond.
Leadership
The team is small and named on the staff page. Franklin Devontenno serves as Lead Pastor. Scott DiMiceli serves as Worship Pastor and as an elder, leading the contemporary music ministry. Bruce Preston serves as Young Adult Pastor and as an elder. Sam Wirick-Velez serves as an elder. Nicole Devontenno leads Women's Ministries, and Charisse LaSure oversees Children's Ministry. Elders meet on the second Tuesday of each month from 5:00 to 7:00 p.m. The church office is reachable at office@safeharbor-church.org or (407) 322-0980.
A Shared Campus in Sanford
The Upsala Road building is in regular use beyond Safeharbor's own calendar. The 9:00 a.m. Sunday hour belongs to Rivers of Living Waters, and the 2:00 p.m. Sunday hour is held by Iglesia Cristiana Rejoice, a Spanish-language congregation, which makes Spanish a working language on the campus as well. Saturdays from 6:00 to 8:30 p.m. feature the Powerline Church worship service, with Powerline worship practice from 3:00 to 5:00 p.m. and Powerline Church small groups on Tuesday evenings. Safeharbor's own Sunday service at 10:30 a.m., its Deep Dive Bible Study on Wednesdays, and Women of the Word on alternating Saturdays are the standing rhythms that belong to the Safeharbor family.