Historic church reopens its doors in downtown Miami after six-year, $20 million renovation
After six years of costly renovations to its landmark historic building, Christ Fellowship Miami Church on Sunday is reopening the doors to its downtown campus.
The nearly 100-year-old church building — home to Miami’s oldest Baptist congregation — has wrapped up renovations costing upwards of $20 million to restore the strikingly beautiful neoclassical architecture and update the facilities to include new spaces such as classrooms, children’s areas and a cafe.
Church leaders are hopeful that the modernization of the space will help carry on the church’s rich legacy.
“I feel overwhelmingly grateful,” said Pastor Gideon Apé, Christ Fellowship’s Downtown Launch Campus Pastor. “This is for the next 100 years.”
Starting in 2018, the renovation hit a few bumps along the road. Work was halted for about 25 months due to the COVID-19 pandemic and ended up costing a few million more than originally estimated. But, despite the delay and challenges that come with restoring a historic landmark, Apé said that he is “grateful to God” for ushering the church through the finish line.
“His timing is perfect,” he said. “I’m deeply humbled by the prayers, the generosity, and the countless hands that have worked tirelessly to make Sunday possible.”
Officially recognized by the City of Miami in 1998 and added to the National Historic Places Register in 1989, the four-story church — located at 500 N. E. 1st Avenue — was built in 1926. The congregation itself dates even further back to 1896, formed two days before the city of Miami itself.
The church building would eventually rise on land donated by industrialist and railroad pioneer Henry Flagler, one of Miami’s most famous founders, and was previously known as Central Baptist Church. Around 2007, after years of decline, Central Baptist Church merged with Christ Fellowship. The Palmetto Bay location of Christ Fellowship was originally First Baptist of Perrine, the sister church of Central Baptist.
Over time, the building deteriorated, resulting in structural problems including outdated plumbing, a rotted foundation and electrical issues, said Apé. The church contracted T&G constructors for the project, which received recognition from the Dade Heritage Trust for their work restoring and preserving the historic site.
Many of the building’s original elements — elaborate stained glass windows, a floor-to-ceiling organ and chandelier manufactured in Europe — were kept close to their original condition. Even the pews themselves are original.
The majority of the funding for the renovations, according to church leaders, came from a sale of the church’s parking lot. Christ Fellowship agreed to sell the plot of land to developers who had plans to build mixed-use condos, and in exchange, the church received money for renovations.
“We knew that this building is going to be much to renovate and restore, and how the Lord provided for us is that this part of land has eventually fed this church,” Apé said.
It’s a deal that helped keep the church alive while ensuring that the parking situation — which has become one of the most challenging aspects of being located in chaotic downtown Miami — was addressed. The church received 300 spaces in the condo garage next door as a part of the deal.
“We needed parking spaces in perpetuity,” Apé said. “Because, what good is it to have a church and nobody can park?”
Because of its pedestrian-friendly location and proximity to public transit like the Metromover, Christ Fellowship’s downtown campus gets more walk-in engagement than the church’s other Miami locations, said Apé.
“The people just that are walking by, they see that there’s life here at this church, and they just come in,” Apé said. “It’s an opportunity to welcome them in.”
To address the needs of the homeless population around downtown, the church partners with the organization, Caring for Miami, to bring meals and dental and medical assistance to those in need.
At a Thanksgiving gathering last week, Apé said around 12 young people walked by the church, heard the music and ended up sharing a meal with Christ Fellowship members. It’s a common event for the downtown church, and a reminder, Apé said, that the reopening of the church is not just about a newly renovated building but the community of people it serves.
“My prayer is that as these doors open, they would never just be a place to gather, but a launch pad for mission, for serving our neighbors and for proclaiming the name of Jesus,” Apé said.
The pastor, originally from North Carolina with Samoan roots, was once one of those outsiders who wandered into church one Sunday, over a decade ago.
“I came here off a lie,” Apé said.
Before he was a pastor, Apé moved to Miami after undergrad to work in education reform. He said he lied to his parents about finding a church and doing “good things” for himself.
“I Googled a church near me. This campus showed up. I walked through those double doors, and I sat down here in the second pew,” he said. “And it changed my life forever.”
The service that resonated with Apé was given by the church’s former pastor Dr. Rick Blackwood, who recently passed away.
“The crux of the message was not calling yourself a Christian if you truly don’t live like one. That was me,” Apé said.
Many of the members at Christ Fellowship’s downtown campus know the lore of the second pew. It’s a story that Apé shares that’s reflective of the church’s open door, “come are you are” policy.
Christ Fellowship Miami (no relation to the Christ Fellowship in Palm Beach County) has campuses in Doral, Redland, West Kendall and Palmetto Bay, as well as international campuses in the Dominican Republic, Guatemala, Cuba, Colombia, Honduras and Costa Rica.
This story was produced with financial support from Trish and Dan Bell and from donors comprising the South Florida Jewish and Muslim Communities, in partnership with Journalism Funding Partners. The Miami Herald maintains full editorial control of this work.
This story was originally published December 8, 2024 at 5:30 AM with the headline "Historic church reopens its doors in downtown Miami after six-year, $20 million renovation."
