Tampa Bay Presbyterian Church sits on Bruce B. Downs Boulevard in New Tampa, Florida, where a small gathering of twenty people first met for Sunday evening services in September 1979. More than four decades later, the same congregation continues to call northeast Tampa home, marked by a steady commitment to biblical preaching, Reformed worship, and a broad set of ministries that extend from a Sunday morning sanctuary into the surrounding community and around the world.
From a Summer Church Plant to a Mortgage-Free Campus
The church was born out of a commission from the Central Florida Presbytery of the Presbyterian Church in America. In July 1979, Rev. James Saxon was ordained and sent to plant a new church in northeast Tampa Bay. He spent that summer gathering a core group, and by September the group was meeting on Sunday evenings with around twenty people. Sunday morning services began in November 1979, and the church was officially organized in June 1982 with sixty charter members.
The congregation moved onto its current property on Bruce B. Downs Boulevard in 1986 and held its first services in the new building on Easter weekend 1988. The facilities grew over the years: a Phase II educational building was dedicated in November 1992, two more acres were added to the campus in 1993, and a West Wing expansion opened in April 2015 with new classrooms and storage space. A Forward by Faith Capital Stewardship Campaign wrapped up in November 2009, and the mortgage was paid off the following September, a milestone the church still celebrates.
One of the early fruits of that growth came in February 1999, when Tampa Bay Presbyterian helped plant Redeemer Presbyterian Church in the Brandon area of east Tampa. It is the first of several church-planting partnerships TBPC has supported through its presbytery, including current work assisting the planting of a Korean PCA congregation.
Worship Ordered Around the Triune God
Worship at Tampa Bay Presbyterian is anchored in a simple conviction: that the way a church gathers on Sunday should reflect who God is. The service blends a historic Reformed liturgy with contemporary musical forms, drawing on psalms, hymns, and newer praise songs side by side. Members and visitors often describe it as ordered and inspiring, with a set shape that runs from call to worship through benediction.
The full Order of Worship begins with a prelude and welcome, followed by a Call to Worship, an opening song, and an invocation. The congregation then moves through a Call to Confession, a corporate confession of sin, an assurance of forgiveness, and a responsive song. From there the order includes an Affirmation of Faith or recitation of the Law, a Scripture reading as part of the church's reading-through-the-Bible program, a sung Psalm, prayer for the church, the offering, a choir anthem, the sermon, communion, a closing song, and a benediction.
The church observes the Sacrament of Baptism and the Lord's Supper as part of the regular Sunday rhythm. Music is overseen by an interim music director and a worship leader, with the choir providing a preparatory anthem before the sermon.
A Sunday Morning Rhythm
Worship is held every Sunday from 10:45 a.m. to 12:00 p.m. in the sanctuary. Adult Bible Fellowships, the church's name for Sunday School, meet at 9:15 a.m. for children, youth, and adults, providing an hour of teaching before the service. Children's classes are offered for ages three through fifth grade. All Sunday School classes are suspended from Memorial Day through Labor Day.
Visitors walking in for the first time will be greeted at the Welcome Center just inside the double doors. Greeters and ushers in the narthex hand out a bulletin and help with seating. Worshipers dress in a variety of styles, and the church simply asks that anyone joining come as they are. A staffed nursery is available for infants and very young children, just steps away from the sanctuary.
About halfway through the morning service, during the Psalm, children ages three through fifth grade are dismissed for Children's Church. The order of worship intentionally makes room for that transition so families can worship together before sending kids to age-appropriate teaching.
Children's Ministry and New Tampa Christian Academy
Tampa Bay Presbyterian takes seriously its call to partner with parents in raising children within the covenant community. The Children's Ministry supports that calling through Sunday School at 9:15 a.m., Children's Church during the latter half of the worship service, and a Vacation Bible School each summer that draws children from across the area. The Children's Ministry team is led by Ashleigh Kemp.
Sharing the campus is New Tampa Christian Academy, a Christian preschool that began at TBPC in the fall of 1994. NTCA educates children from a biblical worldview, helping them see the world as God's creation and themselves as image-bearers. Director Amanda Randall oversees the school, and its classrooms are housed in the same complex as the church.
Youth Ministry: PHOS
The youth ministry at TBPC goes by the name PHOS, the Greek word for light. Students are encouraged to become L.I.G.H.T., an acronym for Love one another in fellowship, Invite others to follow Christ, Give of themselves in service, Honor the Lord in everything, and Train to follow the call of God.
PHOS is led by Associate Pastor Rev. John Revell and runs a full Sunday School hour for junior and senior high students at 9:15 a.m. during the program year. Summer classes are paused. Throughout the year, students take part in discipleship groups, retreats, summer camps, mission trips, service projects, Bible studies, youth rallies, and social events, all designed to foster an environment for faith formation. The ministry is structured as a partnership with parents, equipping families to fulfill their God-given role in the spiritual nurture of their children.
Adults Growing Together
Adult Bible Fellowships use a curriculum drawn from the denomination's Christian Education and Publications series, covering Bible, doctrine, church history, and Christian living over a three-year rotation. Classes meet on Sunday mornings at 9:15 a.m., suspended during the summer months between Memorial Day and Labor Day.
Beyond Sunday mornings, adults gather in smaller groups throughout the week. Women's Bible Study currently meets in three configurations: Tuesday mornings at 10:00 a.m. at the church, Tuesday evenings at 5:30 p.m. at the church, and Monday evenings at 6:30 p.m. on Zoom. Women's Ministry, led by Brandi Shultz, helps every woman in the church know Christ and extend His Kingdom in her home, church, and community.
Men's Bible Study meets weekly at the church at 8:00 a.m. for fellowship and an in-depth study of Scripture, with classes suspended for the month of August. Men's Ministry, under Brian Carrier, also organizes activities that allow men to share life together.
A Brunch Bunch group, a Hospitality team, a Nursery team, a Membership team, and a Prayer ministry round out the adult ministry ecosystem. All of these teams coordinate through a broader Leadership Team that meets quarterly to plan, support one another, and report to the elders, deacons, and congregation.
Reaching Out: ESL, Bridge Events, and Missions
TBPC has long held that ministry beyond the walls of the building is part of what it means to be the church. The Outreach Ministry supports an on-site English as a Second Language program with classes from beginner through intermediate levels, taught by volunteers. ESL brings people from many nationalities and religious backgrounds through the church's doors to practice English, make friends, and hear about the Christian faith. A small fee covers class books and materials, and free childcare is provided.
The church's signature community-facing gatherings are called Bridge Events, designed to build bridges between TBPC and its neighbors. These include Christmas Eve services, Easter services, Night Light activities for children and families at Halloween, and Walk Thru Bethlehem, among others.
Missions is woven into the life of the church. Tampa Bay Presbyterian currently supports around twelve missionaries in various countries, sends summer mission teams within the United States, and partners with Mission to the World to send teams abroad. Roughly ten percent of the church's annual budget is directed toward missions. Closer to home, TBPC gives sacrificially to church planting within its presbytery and continues to support its daughter congregation, Redeemer Presbyterian.
Seeing Jesus Together
Bible reading is a particular focus at TBPC. The church's flagship initiative is called Seeing Jesus Together, a journaling approach to Scripture built around daily solitude. Monday through Friday, readers work through one chapter from the Old Testament and one from the New; on Saturdays, the focus is a single psalm. After reading, journalers meditate briefly on what the passage reveals about God, about godly and sinful living, and about their own need for Jesus, then move into structured prayers of adoration, confession, thanksgiving, and petition.
The church also publishes a full-Bible reading plan and a New Testament yearly plan that aligns with the Seeing Jesus Together journal. Ruling Elder Ed Jordan leads workshops on getting started with the practice. Pastor Freddy Fritz writes daily devotionals that appear on the church's Facebook page, and a printable Bible chapter check sheet is available for anyone who wants a simple record of what they have read.
What the Church Believes
Tampa Bay Presbyterian holds to the historic Christian faith as summarized in the Westminster Confession of Faith and the Westminster Larger and Shorter Catechisms. The church teaches that the Bible is the written word of God, inspired by the Holy Spirit and without error in the original manuscripts, infallible and authoritative in all matters of faith and practice.
The church confesses one God who exists eternally in three persons: Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. It teaches that all people are sinners and totally unable to save themselves, and that salvation is by God alone, on the basis of His grace, through faith in Jesus Christ alone. The eternal Son of God, through His perfect life and sacrificial death, atoned for the sins of all who trust in Him.
The church also affirms the covenant faithfulness of God to His people across generations, the indwelling work of the Holy Spirit in the lives of believers, the bodily and visible return of Jesus Christ to judge all mankind and receive His people to Himself, and the call for every aspect of life to be lived to the glory of God under the Lordship of Jesus Christ.
Leadership
Rev. Freddy Fritz has served as Senior Pastor since August 2002. Born in South Africa, he came to the United States in 1983 for theological studies at Trinity Evangelical Divinity School in Deerfield, Illinois, where he earned his Master of Divinity in 1986. He and his wife Eileen married in 1985. Before Tampa, Freddy served as Associate Pastor of Evangelism, Discipleship, and Missions at Chippewa Evangelical Free Church in Beaver Falls, Pennsylvania, and as a pastor at Oakwood Presbyterian Church (PCA) in State College, Pennsylvania.
Rev. John Revell joined TBPC in August 2025 as Associate Pastor of Youth and Families. A native of Dallas, Texas, he was brought into the Reformed tradition through Ligonier Ministries in 2015, earned his MDiv from Reformed Theological Seminary in Jackson, Mississippi, and also holds an MTh from Union School of Theology in Wales. He was ordained into the PCA in August 2020 and previously served as youth and family pastor at Lakeland Presbyterian Church in Flowood, Mississippi.
Rev. Scott Simmons serves as Assistant Pastor. The church is governed by a Session of teaching and ruling elders, including Fritz, Revell, Simmons, Todd Bayley, Ed Jordan, Waldo Kemp, and emeritus members Bert Barber and Joe Kirkpatrick. A Diaconate under Treasurer David Cross, Chairman Michael Rush, and Derk Shultz oversees mercy ministries, finances, and facilities.
Plan a Visit
Tampa Bay Presbyterian Church is located at 19911 Bruce B. Downs Boulevard, Tampa, FL 33647. The church office is open Monday through Friday from 8:30 a.m. to 5:00 p.m., and can be reached at 813-973-2484 or office@tampabaypresbyterian.org.
Sunday School for all ages begins at 9:15 a.m., followed by worship at 10:45 a.m. Worship services are livestreamed on YouTube, and recordings of both video and audio sermons are available for later listening. The church's newsletter, The Trumpet, is published monthly and archived online, and giving is available through an online portal as well as in person during the service. A private church app called The Band helps members stay connected between Sundays.