Faith

Larry Locke is a senior pastor at Community Congregational Church in Naples. Locke has been working at the church since September and says he hopes to get the church more involved in the community.
Though Locke, 53, has been a minister for more than 20 years, he says that his life was not always on the straight-and-narrow. Once a collegiate basketball player and PGA professional, Locke says a lack of a strong moral compass led him to living homeless in Los Angeles.

In the following interview with The Banner, Locke shares how he turns his life around and talks about goals for the future of Community Congregational Church. Full story »

Mark Goodman is pastor at Christ Community Church in Estero.
Goodman recently made a trip to overseas to work with a Christian organization in India, the Christ for Ministry in India.
Goodman and his mission team were in India during the terrorist attacks in Mumbai in late November. Though they were hundreds of miles away from danger, Goodman says the events made travelling home difficult.
Below is an interview with The Banner in which Goodman talks about his faith and his recent mission trip. Full story »

Like any other organization making the transition into today’s Web dominated culture, churches are trying to reach to an audience through the Internet.
The Rev. Dana Hendershot, associate pastor at Christus Victor Lutheran Church in Naples, says she’s trying to bring young adults closer to faith in God through her Internet blog, Kaleidoscope Faith (www.kaleidoscopefaith.blogspot.com).
Hendershot, or Pastor Dana as she’s known at church, says she was disillusioned with organized religion when she was in her early 20s. Full story »