Purpose and History
Our Mission
Our mission is to provide a faith-based, church-related Christian retirement community where seniors of Baptist faith and practice may worship and serve God together, cultivate meaningful friendships and care for one another’s needs ‘til Jesus comes.
Christian Retirement with a Purpose
Maranatha Village is a unique community, offering Christians of Baptist persuasion a comfortable retirement setting where they can live reasonably, enjoy the fellowship of like-minded believers, and serve the Lord as he enables. The Village Motto is “Helping one another ‘til Jesus Comes.”
Located on 213 beautifully landscaped acres amidst the orange groves of Central Florida, the village consists of 139 duplex villas, 100 mobile homes, an RV Park with twenty full hookups, a guest house with six efficiency rooms, and a twenty-bed assisted living facility. Within its borders are also three stocked ponds for fishing, a paved walking path, a well-stocked library, an 18-hole golf course with clay greens, a full-size pool and spa, a picnic pavilion and fire pit, shuffleboard, horseshoe pits, a six-hole disc golf course, and a new and unique “wagon wheel” miniature golf course.
Located away from the hustle and bustle of coastal Florida, the city of Sebring is the seat of Highlands County, and the Historic Downtown is less than 3 miles from the village. The business district, with its indoor mall, big-box stores, and restaurants, is located along US Highway 27, just 10 to 15 minutes from the village entrance. In between is the beautiful 3212-acre Lake Jackson, with beaches, boating, and beautiful homes. Sebring is approximately equidistant (100 miles or less) from major metropolitan areas, including Orlando, Tampa, and Fort Myers.
In the heart of the village, physically and spiritually, is Maranatha Baptist Church, home of an independent Baptist congregation in fellowship with the General Association of Regular Baptist Churches. The church has three pastors and a full schedule of weekly services, along with a daily morning chapel for those who wish to come together to pray for missionaries and enjoy a brief devotional.
Each winter, the church holds three Bible conferences with nationally-known speakers, as well as three concerts with guest musicians. A 50-voice choir does seasonal musical dramas for Christmas and Easter. Members of the congregation are active in outreach ministries in local schools, nursing homes, and residential communities, as well as in the county jail and a nearby state prison. They are testimonies to the truth that retirement from the workaday world does not mean retirement from the service of the Lord.
During the winter season, the village offers the opportunity to rent a villa, giving prospective residents the chance to enjoy the Florida climate and engage in the “Maranatha experience.”
