We recently connected with Elisabet Fountain and have shared our conversation below.
Elisabet, appreciate you joining us today. Was there a moment in your career that meaningfully altered your trajectory? If so, we’d love to hear the backstory.
It was 1992, and South Beach was beginning its phase as a destination for fashion photo shoots. Suddenly, what had been sleepy retirement town with senior citizens spending their last chapter on the porches of the dilapidated art deco district, was inundated by models from across the world and the whole industry that came with them.
My husband and I shared an apartment with a photographer and found ourselves in the middle of this vibrant new community, but they were like sheep without a shepherd. Our training was in discipleship: helping people recognize that they are deliberately created for a high purpose, and that by introducing them to their Creator, they could find their lives in focus.
Initially, we opened our home to whosoever wanted to study the Bible with us, but that soon proved too small a space for the spiritually hungry. Plus the needs for counseling and direction made it evident that a more solid infrastructure was needed.
So in the middle of this whirlwind, after searching far and wide for someone else to come bring leadership to this beautiful, but confused demographic, we planted a church that would be a shelter for all who longed for solid ground under their feet. Calvary Chapel Miami Beach was born in November 1993
Elisabet, before we move on to more of these sorts of questions, can you take some time to bring our readers up to speed on you and what you do?
We are a community that becomes family on the common ground of the Bible.
Sunday mornings offer church services with worship and teaching the scriptures, as well as a gathering place in our cafe to unwind and get to know each other.
Mondays and Thursdays 10AM-12PM we distribute food to anyone in the community, no questions asked.
Tuesday nights invites women to a meditative space where music and bible reading intersect with reflection questions and small group conversations for deeper connection. Simultaneously, men are wrestling with Scriptures’ relevance to their daily lives and calling each other higher in a spirit of genuine brotherhood.
Thursdays offer more Bible discussion for men with the intension of providing a solid understanding of the book we build our lives upon.
Throughout the week, we bring hope into several nursing homes and prisons.
Spreading light into a dark world, our purpose is to make disciples who make disciples rooted and grounded in the love of Jesus.
Let’s talk about resilience next – do you have a story you can share with us?
After we 17 years on South Beach, we changed location to North Beach in 2010. Though many moved with us, our demographic changed from young, mostly American families in the fashion industry to struggling immigrant families, many of whom didn’t speak English. At the same time, we came under pressure from many social media driven expectations of what exactly church “should” be, inducing a healthy identity crisis.
No longer the young South Beach church, who were we now?
Who should be be or become?
Through much prayer and conversation, the picture immersed with clarity:
We are a family in the community.
For the vast majority born in other countries, we become each other’s new family, providing a shelter of belonging and identity in a harsh world. That means we take on the difficult conversations, we work through issues with forgiveness and reconciliation as the goal, and together become the hand and feet of Jesus in our community.
Other than training/knowledge, what do you think is most helpful for succeeding in your field?
Recognizing that many of the people we help will move on from this transient city helps us love them without holding on to them. It clarifies the goal to help them become as healthy and fruitful as they are each designed to be, celebrating that others will reap the benefits. Watching people we have mentored thrive across the globe, transforming their new communities into life-giving places, is as deeply satisfying and those we get to keep to carry on our work right here.
Relinquishing any narrow ideas of how people grow into their full potential becomes an ever-new adventure of watching their original design unfold as they connect to their Creator, who works individually with every soul.
Rejoicing in diversity, celebrating the colorful palette of people entrusted to us, requires that we protect our unique culture from being hijacked by strong personalities or loud opinions that don’t represent our calling. It requires continual conversations and cultivation of the values that built this church.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.calvarymiabeach.org
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/calvarymiamibeach/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/CalvaryMiamiBeach/
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@CalvaryMiamiBeach
Image Credits
@manuelaclarkphotography