Particularization 

Grace Presbyterian Church is a Particular Church!

Since the beginning of our church, but especially over the last 6 months, we have been working towards moving from church plant status to our own, particular church. On Sunday, February 8, we did just that. Our service was a great time of celebrating all that God has done in the life of our church over the past 5 years, and preparing us by officially installing Pastor Stephen Speaks as our founding pastor, installing our first Ruling Elders [Bob Blaise, Brad Hough, and Dick Nangle] and changing our name from Seven Rivers Villages Church to Grace Presbyterian Church. You can see below for more information about what this process has entailed.

**CONGREGATIONAL MEETING [January 11. 2026]

On January 11, our members will meet to do 3 things:

  • Sign a Petition to Request becoming a Particular Church

  • Vote on our 3 Ruling Elder Nominees [Bob Blaise, Brad Hough, Dick Nangle]

  • Vote on Pastor Stephen Speaks as the Official Senior Pastor of this Particular Church

While only members can vote, we encourage whoever wants to come to be a part of this important milestone in the life of our church.

**PARTICULARIZATION SERVICE [February 8, 2026]

Pending the results of our Congregational meeting, and approval by the Central Florida Presbytery, we will hold a worship service to celebrate all that God has done to bring our church to this place, and to officially install our Senior Pastor and first class of Ruling Elders. We will have pastors and elders from around the area participate in this exciting step in our church’s life. We are looking forward to it and hope you will plan on being a part of it too. Plan on staying for a Celebratory Lunch afterwards!

What does particularization mean and what is required?

Particularization describes the process of becoming a “particular” or independent church in the PCA. Typically, it requires being 1) Self-sustaining 2) Self-funding 3) Self-propagating. SRVC has been training qualified elder candidates, has been sustaining itself financially for most of the church’s life, and has been growing steadily in membership and fruitful ministry.

Will things at SRVC change after our particularization?

The worship and ministries of SRVC will not change. Our pastors and staff will not change either. Practically, we will become more independent from our planting church, Seven Rivers Church in Lecanto, FL as we are led by our own congregationally elected elders.

What qualifies someone to be an elder and who will ours be?

We will be sharing more information over the next few weeks about our elder candidates and their qualifications for ministry in our church.

What is our timeline for particularization?

With a goal of particularizing in February 2026, below is a tentative timeline.

  • December 9: Elder Candidate Interviews and Exams [DONE]

  • December 11: Announcement of Elder Candidates [DONE]

  • January 11: Congregational Meeting to Elect Elders and Sign a Petition to Become a Particular Church [DONE]

  • January 13: Our Pastors Meet with Presbytery Committee for Approval to Particularize [DONE]

  • January 20: Presbytery Meeting where Our Particularization is Approved [DONE]

  • February 8: Official Particularization Service and Celebration Lunch [DONE]