Leadership

Churches are filled with members who have been churched by culture and lack in Biblical Discipleship.  The Lord Jesus has shown me the great need for the true Christian church to rise up in Plant City through the discipleship of those who know Him as Lord and Savior.  Plant City is growing by the minute, meanwhile the church is failing to live out the Word of God they proclaim to know.  People are searching for absolute truth and a real encounter with Jesus Christ.  God has led me to planting Ekklesia Revived to show Plant City and beyond exactly this, what it means to walk in a true and meaningful discipleship relationship with our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.  I was born and raised in Plant City and have lived here my whole life.  I attended Plant City schools as a child, and have lived through the rapid increase in our city in recent years.  My heart is for those who God has brought to our beautiful city to know Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior, to grow in a relationship with Him, and to be able to equip people to communicate this truth to their own friends and family.  Ekklesia Revived is a church like none other in our area. We are heavily outreach oriented, and teach, preach, and live out the gospel of Jesus Christ.  Our members live together in community with each other, meeting each others needs as we can, and spreading the love of Jesus Christ to our community.  (Acts 2:42). The future for our church is bright.  With members discipled in the Word of God and equipped to communicate their own testimony to members of our community we believe God will move in a mighty way and we will see many come find a newfound hope and purpose through a relationship with Jesus Christ.  We want all those who encounter our church and our members to experience a real encounter with Jesus Christ.  

God has taken me and my family on a great journey before planting Ekklesia Revived.  I have previously served as an Associate Pastor, Youth Pastor, College and Career Minister, and Young Married couple Minister in churches in the Plant City area.  I was ordained in 2018 in the Southern Baptist Convention by Eastside Baptist Church, Plant City.  I received my undergraduate degree from New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary with a Bachelors in Church Ministry in 2017.  I continued my education with a Masters in Divinity from New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary in 2021.  I am currently enrolled at New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary in their Doctorate of Ministry program and will receive that degree upon completion of my project dissertation.  My wife Naomi and I were married in Plant City and have three children, Isabella, Brayden and Nathaniel.   In my free time I enjoy playing golf, playing video games, traveling with my wife, and listening to my favorite preacher Adrian Rogers.  

Jesus has always put a desire of helping others physically and spiritually on my heart. As a result of this He has allowed me to serve as a Deacon and currently as an Elder of Ekkelesia Revived. The need for discipleship in our churches has led me to where I am today, in a church focused on building relationships and discipling believers in their walk with Christ.
I look forward to seeing how Jesus works through Ekklesia Revived in the community around us. Jesus has placed us in a wonderful area ready to be reached for Jesus. We do not focus on how large of a congregation we can get, we truly desire to help you in your relationship with Jesus Christ and enable you to walk through life as a fully armored Christian.
No matter where you are in your life, we would love to walk along side you and encourage you and help you through whatever it may be. We want to help you through the mountain tops and the valleys of life. A body of believers should live life together like an Acts 2 church (They were continually devoting themselves to the apostles’ teaching and to fellowship, to the breaking of bread and to prayer. - Acts 2:42), and that’s what we do at Ekklesia Revived.
I have served in the church in many different areas, from running the sound board, helping in youth, college and career, serving as deacon to where I am now as a bass player and Elder at Ekklesia Revived. God has equipped me through life with the necessary tools to serve the community for Jesus. My wife Lindsey and I got married May of 2016. I love to fish, new technologies and enjoy playing video games.

Hi I'm Andy Shirley, one of your Elders and Bible Teachers. I cant to be where I am today through God's hand on my life from age fourteen until now, both in good times and in some not so good times. I'm here at Ekklesia Revived because two years ago God began to prepare my heart for a more "Acts 2" church and less traditional models. I have had a heart for missions since first finding Jesus as Lord and Savior and this church is the epitome of mission minded churches (in my opinion) with the greater mission field right around us.
The people of Plant City need Jesus and God has places us right in the middle of nearly five thousand broken and needy residents that are not being reached by traditional churches. I've pastored two churches in the past and been active members of six others in Central Florida, serving as Music Director in two of them, Youth Director in one, Deacon in one, Pastoral Council Member in another, and Bible Teacher in all of them. Not one of those eight churches had (or has) the vision that Ekklesia Revived has for going and telling the community about our Savior. They are all full of good people with good intentions, doing what they think is the right thing, but they don't look like the Church of the New Testament.
I believe God wants us to use a different "score Card" and judge success by the number of people out sharing Jesus and providing ministry to the community as opposed to the number of people in the seats during worship service. Another measure of success should be the number of new churches we are able to plant over the upcoming years as God permits.
I have a bachelor's degree in history from the University of South Florida, and as much as eighteen hours of seminary training through Southern Baptist sources. I was married fifty three years to Sandra Shiver Shirley who went home to be with the Lord in March of 2022. Her impact on my spiritual life cannot be measured and I miss her. My last church position was as an Associate Pastor of Missions at Alfa Baptist Church in southern Hillsborough County from August of 2021 through March of 2022.

Bio coming soon!

Children and families are the future of our church.  I would not be where I am today if a local church and its members had not reached into my life and loved on me as a child.  I was born and raised in Plant City and have a deep desire to reach the children of Plant City.  I came to Ekklesia Revived on a call from the Lord to reach the people of Plant City.  The work of the church is no longer in the building, as we are called to go to the people with the gospel of Jesus Christ.  My desire is to meet the children and their families right where they are and to show the love of Christ and how Jesus Christ can transform lives and break generational curses.  I gave my life to Jesus Christ at 15 years old at Eastside Baptist Church.  I pushed past many barriers to continue to serve the Lord Jesus and grow in my faith.  I have served in youth ministry, as a house parent in a children’s home, in drama and creative ministries, and as a children’s minister.  I love to be creative with the gospel and enjoy writing dramas and incorporating the kids in the arts.
I am married to the love of my life Kate.  Together we have an adult son through adoption named Joseph who lives out of state and a young son named Camden.  We look forward to serving passionately the children and families of Plant City and can't wait to meet you and your family!

Hello, my name is Aaron, or as some would say A-A-RON. I am the Youth Minister here at Ekklesia Revived. I was called into youth ministry not long after high school but ran from that calling thinking I was not worthy enough, but God had a different plan for me.  I fully surrendered to my calling to youth ministry in 2018 and I was able to spend my first few years in youth ministry learning under our Senior Pastor Grant Fowler as his assistant. A little about me: I was born and raised in Lakeland, Florida and now call Plant City my home. I was blessed to become parent to Christopher DeTomaso in 2021. God has bigger plans, like taking a 15-year-old into my home or finally getting a college degree in your 30’s.  Plant City holds a special place in my heart . Now, I could not imagine living and serving God anywhere else. This city is ripe for the harvest for a church willing to not stick to the norms of the Church. At the heart of Ekklesia Revived Student Ministries is the acromion Worship. Working On Personal Relationships Seeking to Help Ignite Purpose. Every one of our students has a purpose in God’s Kingdom we strive to help them learn that purpose that God has placed on their life. We do this by teaching and leading them in God's word and living with them. I can't wait to see our students represent Ekklesia Revived in everything they do from sports to band, FAA, and more. We strive to be a family the true church of Act 2.

Bio coming soon!