In Search of Growth
For the Rev. Christian Wood, rector of St. John’s Episcopal Church in Tampa, Florida, being a rector is a lot like being married: You have to figure out what your partner wants. It wasn’t all that different when he and his family moved to the west coast of Florida in February 2022 for the rector position.
Even though the 44-year-old had long struggled with a call to ordained ministry, a five-year stint as a youth minister led him to seminary at Nashotah House in Wisconsin before serving seven years again as a youth minister, an associate priest for formation, and an associate priest.
By the time Wood received a call to ministry at St. John’s, one of the cardinal parishes of the Diocese of Southwest Florida, he felt ready to lead the community but rather alone in his role. Several key staff members transitioned near the time of his arrival and a beloved deacon unexpectedly died. The congregation was still rebounding from the wearying effects of the COVID-19 pandemic and the beautiful neogothic church building was in desperate need of repair.
The only thing he could do was figure out what his partner wanted — and his partner, in this case, was the church.
So, Father Chris, as he is known to his parishioners, began noticing.
“We only had one door we could enter and exit through before and after services, but I noticed no one was going into the beautiful courtyard,” he said in an interview. “I talked to our sexton and asked him to put out a bunch of high-top bar tables, along with coffee and donuts. Instead of greeting people at the door after the service, I started greeting people in the courtyard.”
That singular move made a world of difference in the life of St. John’s, as parishioners naturally started to build relationships with one another and deepen connections.
Tampanians had already been drawn in by the parish’s robust and historic music program, led by Simon Morley. The parish website says “the quality is so high, parishioners frequently cite the music at St. John’s as one of the reasons they chose to make St. John’s their home.”
When Wood came on board, he and Morley made further adjustments to the liturgy to marry the music to the liturgy.
“What we have done, in partnering together to make sure the liturgy syncs, has enabled the liturgy to feel like it’s one,” Wood said. “As opposed to the two operating separately, they instead operate together. In turn, this creates a magnificent, authentic worship experience. It just feels like it fits.”
Soon thereafter, staff began to grow. Within six months, the Rev. Dale VanWormer discerned a call to St. John’s as an associate priest. The two priests had noticed a deep desire within the church community for formation classes, so VanWormer began expanding the program. In addition to offering Sunday school for young children, they added a formation hour after the second service, with classes for elementary, middle, and high school students, as well as adults.
Beyond Sunday mornings, though, the staff noticed that Wednesday-night programming efforts weren’t meeting the needs of the congregation — but big events like monthly breakfasts by the Kitchen Krew or yearly “fun-raisers” like Jambalaya and Jazz on Mardi Gras seemed to strike a chord with parishioners.
In discovering this about the community, Wood also found that those who called St. John’s home held an innate desire to give back to the greater Tampa area.
Instead of building new ministries from the ground up, the church began to work with different nonprofit organizations and agencies throughout Hillsborough County. Florida 1.27 and CarePortal help parishioners serve families in crisis, including children in the foster care system, the formerly incarcerated, human-trafficking victims, and homeless individuals. Love INC of Metro Tampa, Metro Ministries, and Faith Café offer congregants volunteer opportunities in caring for their unhoused neighbors.
Perhaps more than anything else, St. John’s parishioners are welcoming and caring about those who join them on Sunday mornings.
Even when an air conditioning unit died in the sanctuary and services had to be moved to the parish hall, attendance continued to steadily climb. Wood didn’t use any tricks to make this happen — he simply attempted to listen and learn from parishioners in order to discern the parish’s next best steps.
“Passion itself is contagious and passion for the Lord is just as contagious,” he said. “Our staff is magnificent; the vestry leadership has been so good and supportive. Through welcome, inclusion, and care, and maybe a little bit of passion too, we have made this place even better.”
St. John’s has seen a 72 percent increase in attendance in the last three years. In 2021, the year before Wood arrived, the average Sunday attendance was 142. By the end of 2024, it had jumped to 244. The church also welcomed 78 new members in both 2023 and 2024, which included 49 baptisms.
Former Catholics and lapsed Episcopalians continually walk through the parish’s red doors, just as the homebound and other visitors from along the Gulf Coast regularly watch services through YouTube and Facebook.
But for Wood, no formula exists other than to live by the gospel and reflect the light of God.
“You’re in a relationship with Jesus, so send that relationship out into others,” he said. “Shine that light into the darkness. Every human being is a potential tabernacle for the Holy Spirit, so treat them that way.”
Perhaps that’s why St. John’s has experienced such explosive growth: Parishioners have made people realize they have intrinsic value.
They’ve been the light of Christ.
St. John’s, Tampa is a partner of The Living Church.
Cara Meredith, a freelance writer and postulant for holy orders in the Diocese of California, lives in the San Francisco Bay Area.
