Rev. Chris Reny
Senior Pastor
Rev. Chris Reny, along with his wife, Marie, and two young children, Noah and Grace, accepted the call to join The Church By The Sea family in January 2013. Chris received his Masters from Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary in 1990 and was ordained as a Minister of Word and Sacrament in 1991. He has served at First United Methodist Church of Smyrna, GA (1994-1997) and First Presbyterian Church of Fort Lauderdale (1997-2012). Chris strives to make all feel that The Church By The Sea is a place "Where The Less Than Perfect are More Than Welcome".
Rev. Brian Checchio
EXECUTIVE PASTOR
Rev. Brian Checchio joined the Church by the Sea pastoral staff in December, 2021 to focus on adult Christian Education, new member assimilation, and outreach. Brian received his Master’s of Divinity from Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary and has previously served churches in Pennsylvania and West Virginia.
Marie Reny
FAMILY PASTOR
Rev. Marie Reny has has a heart for the children and youth of our church body and a passion for finding new and exciting ways to equip families in raising up these young disciples. She served as our Children’s Director for nearly a decade before moving into the role of Family Pastor at Church By The Sea after receiving her Masters of Divinity from Indiana Wesleyan University in 2021 and becoming ordained in December 2023. She has learned that the sky is the limit when it comes to creatively reaching the next generation and that God truly makes all things possible when you just go for it and trust His lead.
Randy Starr
Administrator
A native of Fort Lauderdale, Randy Starr attended the Preschool at Church By The Sea in 1965. He has spent over twenty-five years in retail management including merchandising and human resources. Randy is currently serving as chairperson on the Worship Committee as well as serving on the mission committee. He is an elder of the church and just completed a three-year term on the Session Board. He is also currently employed at Church By The Sea as the Administrator.
Christopher Kane
Director of Music and Organist
A native of California, Christopher Kane is an alumnus of the Conservatory of Music at the University of the Pacific, Stockton, California, receiving a Bachelor of Music degree in organ performance. He also holds a Master of Music degree in Church Music from Westminster Choir College, Princeton, New Jersey. Since 1992, he has been on staff with Church By The Sea.
Deborah Lee
Event Coordinator
A second generation native of Fort Lauderdale, Debbi began serving the public in Emergency Services, first as a paramedic then as a Police Dispatcher. After leaving Emergency Services, she obtained her Bachelor's degree in psychology from Florida Atlantic University in 1998. She joined The Church By The Sea's family in 1995 and currently three generations of her family are members. As our Wedding Coordinator, Debbi's past experience allows her to assist our brides in creating the stress free wedding of their dreams.
Our Statement of Faith
We believe the Bible is truth because it is the inspired word of God and the ultimate authority in all areas of life. God reveals Himself through the Word so that we can come to know who He is, how He moves in the world, and His plans for the future. Our beliefs therefore stand on the foundation of the Scriptures.
We believe in one God, the sovereign Creator and Sustainer of all things, infinitely perfect and eternally existing in three Persons: Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.
Jesus Christ, the living Word, became flesh through His miraculous conception by the Holy Spirit and His virgin birth. He lived a sinless life and modeled how God calls us to interact with the world. He died on the cross as a sacrifice for our sins. In His resurrection, He conquered death and joined His Father in Heaven. He will come again - personally and visibly - to judge the living and the dead, and to fulfill the eternal plan of God.
The Holy Spirit, the third person of the Trinity, has come to glorify Christ, to convict us of our sin, and to draw us to the Savior. Dwelling in our hearts, He gives new life and imparts gifts for His service. He instructs and guides us into all truth, and seals us for the day of redemption.
Being estranged from God as a result of our sinfulness, our salvation is wholly dependent upon the work of God’s free grace. God grants eternal life only to those who put their faith in Jesus Christ.
The true Church is composed of all persons who, through saving faith in Jesus Christ and the sanctifying work of the Holy Spirit, are united together in the body of Christ. The visible, yet imperfect Church gathers as local congregations where the Word of God is preached, worship is expressed and God-honoring fellowship is experienced.
The Lord Jesus Christ commands all believers to proclaim the Gospel throughout the world and to make disciples of all nations. Obedience to the Great Commission calls us to a life of self-denying love and service.
Therefore, it is our desire to introduce and encourage every individual to enter into a relationship with God by trusting in the work of Jesus Christ for salvation. We believe that a relationship with God through Jesus is the only way to salvation and leads to a purpose-filled, abundant life. We believe that each person can have an intimate relationship with God and, through the Holy Spirit, be drawn into a deeper understanding of truth and a stronger desire for obedience. Membership in the Church by the Sea allows believers to walk with Christ together, supporting each other in our struggles, challenging one another in our faith and celebrating the love of Christ in our lives. We are dedicated to worshiping a loving God, to preaching and teaching His word, to participating in being part of the body, and to serving as His witness in the world. We are a diverse and inclusive community, open to all.
At the Church by the Sea, the less than perfect are more than welcome!
The Story of Our Church
When the little Church By The Sea first formed 65 years ago, it should have been called The Church On The Sea. There was no building, so congregants met aboard the Jungle Queen for services. Collections were gathered in fish nets so the money wouldn't blow away.
Downey approached newspaper publishers, lawyers and businessman to join the church and help put up a building.
L. C. Judd, developer of Harbor Beach, donated a piece of land to the church at what is now Southeast 17th Street and A1A (Seareeze bouldveard). The membership grew to about 100, and everyone chipped in.
" One of our early members was a daily visitor to the race track," said Frazier. "Her day's winnings were first donation to our building fund. She asked Dr. Downey if he would receive tainted money, and he replied that the only trouble was it 'taint enough.'" Frazier recalled there was also an Anheuser and Reynolds. "so we joked that our first building funds came from race track winnings, alcohol and tobacco."
In 1956, two years after the first Jungle Queen service, the church was built. The roof of the sanctuary, appropriately enough, is an upside-down hull of a ship built in a Broward Country shipyard.
Today the church has a courtyard, a fountain and gardens surround the small white brick-and-stucco structure. The church also now has a preschool and a Sunday school.
"Many times sun worshipers, in bathing suits, wandered over to sit on the dock and take part in the service," Irma Honebrink Frazier, one of the church's founders wrote in her history of the church. She recalled the two years the congregation met on water. The first church service was on December 6, 1953. "We served our first communion in a restaurant at Bahia Mar. We had it in there because the boat was going up and down." But that was part of having church on a boat, as was getting wet when it rained and taping the music they needed for their services.
Eventually, church members solved both problems: the rain - with canvas curtains, the music - by the Hammond Organ Co. Hammond lent the church and organ each week for Sunday services. "They would haul it onto the boat on the second deck," Fraizier said. "And we always had altar flowers."
The owner of the boat, Capt. Al Start, donated the boat to the congregation for Sunday services and also for Christmas Day, when congregants would board the boat to sing carols on the water.
The Rev. Edward Downey, who started the church, realized from visiting the residents of Harbor Beach that people of all denominations made up the neighborhood. He had envisioned a Presbyterian church but decided to make the church non-denominational.