Pastor makes progress with Shoreline Church

A new church has set its roots in Lakewood Ranch, and its pastor, the Rev. Pilgrim Benham, is eager to reach the community.

The church officially launched in January and already has 50 adults and 25 children attending Sunday services at the Lakewood Ranch YMCA. In late February, the church launched its community groups — weekly meetings at which members gather in one another’s homes for Bible study, discussion and fellowship.

“It’s an opportunity to grow and live together outside church walls,” Jenny Benham said.

Pilgrim Benham served as the youth pastor at Calvary Chapel Sarasota until 2009, when he and his family left to start a church, Calvary Chapel South Tampa.

“We knew we were supposed to start a church in Tampa and get it up and going,” Pilgrim Benham said. “We didn’t know what would happen after that.”

Circumstances kept pointing back to Bradenton. The Benhams began thinking and praying. Was there a need for a Calvary-style church — a contemporary, no- nonsense, casual, teach-from-the-Bible verse-by-verse church — in Bradenton? 

“Going away for five years and coming back, we realized there was,” Pilgrim Benham said. “Jesus could really meet a need here.”

That was in January 2014. By summer, the couple began meeting with people they knew in the area. They trained the associate pastor at the Tampa church and made a decision in May to make the change.

Pilgrim Benham uses his experience working with youth to describe his preaching style. 

“When I was a youth pastor, it dawned on me that teenagers speak a different language; it’s a different way of communicating,” he said. “You have to put (the Bible) in the language of the people. There are some people who will change the message to make it more palatable, but my desire is to simply present what the Bible says in a way that is understandable.”

Services, the Benhams said, are simple: a message preached and music consisting of a few vocalists accompanied by a guitar — no fancy lights or setup.

The church’s motto is “Love, demonstrated,” meaning love and serve your neighbors; identify needs and then find a way to help fulfill them.

As Pilgrim Benham explains, Shoreline doesn’t want to start a Christian softball league. It wants members to join a regular league and be real with people outside the church. 

“Our desire is to be like Jesus said — salt and light,” he said. “Salt is a preservative and a flavoring. We want to be a church where people come and find refreshment.”

Both Benhams work full time at Calvary Christian School. Pilgrim teaches eighth grade and science, while Jenny works in the office. Both enjoy their jobs, but hope for the church to become a full-time ministry one day.