On February 1st, 1994 about 250 people voted to split from a mainline denomination and start a brand new non-denominational church. With this decision, Pastor Tim Santinga and this newly born congregation, recognized that that there was no building they could meet in, they had no church funds, they had a limited number of able-bodied volunteers, and there was little to no way that these needs could ever be met. However, this congregation was focused on their new church's slogan: "where God guides, He provides." They knew that God could fulfill their needs and do immeasurably more! Pastor Tim recollects: "we had no money, but we had God. He knew what was needed and we knew He would provide."

Within a few months of this declaration, God provided. The church's first meeting place, though temporary, was laid out: the top floor of Raymond James Tower on US 19 was leased for one year at 1/4 of the asking price. For one year, the lease was paid and the church expected there to be another interested party after that, however no business came to lease the space. 

In 1995, after searching for close to a year, a fourteen-acre property located on Rowan Road was found. The newly named Living Word Church knew they had found their forever home. However, at the time, it was just land—no building to meet in, no electricity, no plumbing—nothing at all. Through a capital campaign that lasted months, the funds to purchase the land were finally received on Easter Sunday, 1995 and God had provided all $115,000 to purchase the land. Once the land was theirs, they could start conceiving and building Phase One of Living Word Church's forever home. 

Although the land had been purchased, Living Word Church had 2 more problems: their month-to-month meeting place at Raymond James Tower was only temporary and could be taken from them at any point, and two, building a brand new, stand alone building was expensive. Before figuring out how much this new building was going to cost from their current plans, Living Word Church needed to find where they were going to worship until this new building could be completed. A school teacher at Cottee River Elementary School who was a member of Living Word, prayed and asked the school if the church could utilize their space. God provided for Living Word once more and allowed them to use the space. Again, this was a temporary place, but the congregation knew God would be using this time for preparation for their new building. Cottee River was Living Word Church's home until they were able to afford the $1.1 Million it took to build Phase One of Living Word Church.

On October 20th, 1996, Living Word Church had its first service in the brand new building. Phase One was complete! Pastor Tim recalls this day: "[it was] a day of unbelievable rejoicing and praise to God." From setting up and tearing down over 250 chairs every week for almost two years, to not having to set up chairs almost at all, this felt like a huge leap for Living Word Church, but it was a small step for God. His plans, unknown at the time, for Living Word Church were just beginning..

As the church continued to grow during the late 1990s and early 2000s, Living Word Church was beginning to burst at its seams. With new families coming to Living Word Church and with that, a growing children's ministry, the church needed to expand it's already new building. Phase 2 and Phase 3 of construction had to begin. Phase 2 focused on education and children's ministry, while Phase 3 would be focused on completing a brand new, much larger, dedicated Worship Center. 

After the completion of Phases 2 and 3, the church continued to grow in number and in faith. From a bustling multi-service on Sunday, to large mid-week programming for families and their children, Living Word Church was becoming a beacon in the community. As the times changed, so did the leadership. As Worship Pastors and Youth Pastors had come and gone, some stayed around. Joseph Flynn, just a Youth Minister fresh out of college at the time, had come to be a part of Living Word Church in the mid-2000s. Training under the leadership of Pastor Tim and some other influential leadership within the church,   

Although the land had been purchased, Living Word Church had 2 more problems: their month-to-month meeting place at Raymond James Tower was only temporary and could be taken from them at any point, and two, building a brand new, stand alone building was expensive. Before figuring out how much this new building was going to cost from their current plans, Living Word Church needed to find where they were going to worship until this new building could be completed. A school teacher at Cottee River Elementary School who was a member of Living Word, prayed and asked the school if the church could utilize their space. God provided for Living Word once more and allowed them to use the space. Again, this was a temporary place, but the congregation knew God would be using this time for preparation for their new building. Cottee River was Living Word Church's home until they were able to afford the $1.1 Million it took to build Phase One of Living Word Church.

On April 24th, 2022, Joseph Flynn had his first Sunday Service as lead pastor. 

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