Welcoming Pastor Zach Terry

Floor Speech

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Mr. BEAN of Florida. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to honor First Baptist Church of Fernandina Beach, Florida, and our bold spiritual leader, Pastor Zach Terry.

My wife and I have discovered that First Baptist is a place to find strength and hope in times of adversity and to feel God's love. It is an incredibly welcoming place, and I challenge anyone to make it from the parking lot into the sanctuary without getting welcomed at least twice.

First Baptist is a cornerstone of our community, having reached and transformed countless lives, both in northeast Florida and, really, all over the world. Through its outreach programs and compassionate ministries, the church has been a steadfast advocate for the greater community, serving neighbors and sharing God's grace.

On October 7, Hamas had its attack in Israel. There were 54 members of the First Baptist Church of Fernandina Beach who found themselves stuck in Israel. Airports closed. Roads shut down. There was limited travel. It was indeed a scary time for getting these pilgrims out of that country safely.

Every day, we would text or communicate with the group, including Pastor Terry, about options, how we do it, what we could do. There was a lot of hunkering down. After a very, very long bus trip to Jordan over a week later, the team made it out.

During that time of chaos, Pastor Zach made several videos saying: We are calm. We are good.

Being a spiritual, dedicated shepherd, he reminded everyone what Mark 11:22 says: ``Have faith in God.'' By faith and hope in a God who never fails, our congregation did make it safely back home.

Mr. Speaker, I am proud to welcome Pastor Zach Terry; his wife, Julie; their children, Cole, Caitlyn, and Carly; and Pastor Zach's mother, Ms. Teresa Terry.

There are dozens of members of the congregation here in our Nation's Capital. It is a big day for everybody from the small town of Fernandina Beach.

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