I recently moved to Tampa and am looking for a church near by. We live in the WestChase Area of Tampa. Would like something with in 15-20 minutes of my home. We come from a Baptist and Presbyterian back ground.
i live in the Westchase area as well and attend First Baptist Church of Citrus Park on Gunn Hwy. It should take you about 10 to 15 minutes to get there from the Westchase area. Here's a link to their website. http://www.citruspark.org/
I'm Catholic so you can take my advice with a grain of salt!
There is Hillsdale Baptist at the corner of Ehrlich/Bellamy just east of the Veterans. I know the pastor and he is a wonderful man. Friends of mine have had their children in the preschool and decided to change churches to that church. The facilities are gorgeous. Another friend drives all the way from Temple Terrace to attend. The parking lot is always crowded. Other neighbors kids attend music lessons there (although they are Catholic too so they don't attend church there) - so there must be lots of activities to help you be connected with the church community. We've met the youth pastor at a community event and he seemed like a great guy - if your kids will be in the youth group it looks like it would be a fun one.
We attend Idlewild Baptist Church and love it. I think it would only be about 15-20 minutes from your home, especially on Sunday mornings, and the Dale Mabry exit on Veterans Expressway will take you very close to the entrance to the church driveway. They have a great and active youth program, and my grandchildren love their classes and Wednesday night choir. They also have dinner on Wednesday nights and we enjoy that also. The pastor is Ken Whitten and he is a wonderful preacher. I don't think you could go wrong by visiting and see what you think.
Try Countryside Christian Center just beyond Oldsmar in Countryside or Calvary Chapel Worship Center Just north of Westchase off of East Lake Road. Both great places to worship with fabulous children's programs
