History
Chapel Baptist Church is an outgrowth of the ministry of Open Door Baptist Church of Clermont. Pastor Bruce Stewart started Open Door Baptist in 1984. A year later he was asked to hold a service at All Seasons RV Resort which was located in what has come to be known as Four Corners.
That service which became known as Open Door Chapel began the following Sunday with a service at
8 a.m. The first service was attended by 74 adults and was held in a double-wide trailer. Services continued each Sunday and were held in any and every available facility. Often there was standing room only.
Pastor Stewart, Associate Pastor Harry Camp, and the people who attended the services began to trust God to supply a building for the chapel services. The people gave generously and Pastor Stewart began to look for land on which to build a building. Little did anyone know how strategic a step of faith this would be.
In October of 1987, Pastor Stewart signed an agreement of sale for 2.5 acres of land on Highway 474 just west of Highway 27. Ground breaking was held in December of 1987 and construction began soon thereafter.
The chapel construction was completed in three and a half years. Eighty percent of the work was done by those who attended the services of Open Door Chapel. Hundreds of hours of labor were donated during the construction. As a result of the hard work and generosity of many people, the building was built debt free.
Pastor Stewart and Bro. Harry Camp shared the ministry responsibilities over the next several years. Services were held at 8 a.m. and 6 p.m. on Sunday and a Bible study was conducted on Tuesday evenings.
During the 16 years Open Door Chapel has been ministering in the Four Corners area, another phenomena has taken place. The area which for many years was primarily citrus groves, has turned into a burgeoning residential area. In addition to the many folks who winter in the area there are now thousands of year-round residents. The Four Corners area is one of the fastest growing areas in the state of Florida. New construction is taking place throughout the area. The need for a local Independent Baptist Church became clearer and clearer to Pastor Stewart and the people of Open Door Baptist Church.
Several years of planning and prayer culminated in the call of Christopher W. Luppino to lead the church- planting effort in conjunction with Open Door Baptist and Open Door Chapel. God confirmed His will in the calling of Pastor Luppino in many ways. He and his family relocated to Lake County in May of 2000.
Chapel Baptist Church was Pastor Luppino’s third pastorate. Pastor Luppino, his wife Nancy, and their five children came to Florida excited about the opportunity to found a church on the straightforward principles of the New Testament.
In March 1, 2020, Pastor Luppino and Nancy surrendered to full time missions ministry to missionaries and Joe Boots became the second senior pastor of Chapel Baptist Church. Pastor Boots served for 8 years as the bi-vocational assistant pastor and is a graduate of Pensacola Christian College and Pensacola Theological Seminary.
Chapel Baptist is a church focused on the Biblical command to make disciples, found in Matt. 28:19. The goals of our church are very simple. We desire to lead people to a personal faith in Christ.
Once people are saved we want to help them become established in the basics of the Christian life and to become mature Christians through their understanding and application of the Word of God. Finally, we want to help them to reach their friends, relatives, acquaintances, and neighbors with the gospel of Christ.
Chapel Baptist is a church founded on the basic belief that the Bible is the inspired and preserved Word of God. We believe that the Bible is our final authority for belief and behavior.
We are not focused upon a particular worship form. We are not caught up in the popular Christian fads of our day. We are not driven by the seeker mentality that models the church around the interests, tastes, and desires of lost people.
We believe the promise of the Bible: that if Christians go about their lives in the power of the Holy Spirit people will be saved, and saved people will grow. We look forward to God’s blessings as we are faithful to Him and His Word.