With tax season in full swing, local churches are facing financial hardship they have never faced before. One local church was charged $16,000 for their non-ad valorem assessment that funds fire districts.

Former drug addicts and convicts are often left to fend for themselves, but at the United Congregation of Yahweh in Milton, they are welcomed with open hearts and open arms.

Pastor Lee Horne knows how difficult it is to leave prison with the clothes on your back and to feel like the world has turned its back on you. He served six years in prison for drug trafficking, and when he was released in 2009, he turned to religion to help him find salvation. Now, he is the senior pastor for the United Congregation of Yahweh in Milton and operates a ministry for men where they learn about the bible, trades, and skills.

Soup kitchens are nothing new in the Christian church. Every day you can find churchgoers preparing and serving meals for the needy.

While the soup kitchen is a well-known fixture of ministry work, St. Paul United Methodist Church is using theirs to serve more than just sustenance.

For 15 years Ferris Hill Baptist Church has opened its doors to those in need of shelter from the cold. During Winter Storm Enzo the shelter was never needed more.

In Santa Rosa County the church was the only cold weather shelter available. The Clyde L. Gracey Community Center was on standby if the church reached capacity, but it was not opened. According to shelter volunteer Michelle Morency they had 15-18 people take shelter at Ferris Hill during the storm.

For the past five years, Chumuckla Community Church has faithfully given boxes filled with food donations to the local community.

Robert Gilliard was born and raised in Milton and grew up attending and playing music at West Florida Baptist Church. Today he still lives in Milton and uses his lifelong passion for Jesus and music to lead a worship team at Coastline Calvary Chapel in Gulf Breeze.

Bethel Baptist is often called the beacon on the hill. The church is located on a high point of Old Bagdad Highway, but it also has functioned as a beacon of light that has drawn in members from all walks of life for decades.

Over the past five years Bearing Fruit Community Church has seen trials and tribulations, but through it all the congregation and leadership has learned to grow and overcome.

Every year at St. Mary’s vendors and eager holiday shoppers convene. This year was no different and with the church planning a new ministry and missions for next year they were delighted to see the turnout.

Albert Marion Chambers Jr., who was lovingly known as Junior, died at the age of 79-years-old on Nov. 14. He was a Marine Corps Vietnam Veteran and touched many lives by serving as the founding pastor of Joy Bible Baptist Church.