Our Story
Founded in 2004 by Rev. Candace McKibben, Tallahassee Fellowship is a small home-based church dedicated to making a big impact in the world. Feeling a call to pastoral leadership, and with the support of mentors and trusted friends, Rev. McKibben invited all participants to share what they wanted in a church. Part of the Cooperative Baptist Fellowship, TF is a participatory worship service in which volunteers lead in readings, prayers, hymn singing, serving communion, and sharing thoughts on issues, book studies, and current events. From the beginning, Tallahassee Fellowship has centered around ministry to the marginalized.
We meet on Zoom each week (one Sunday a month we meet in person), allowing our church members to rest in the comfort of their home, participate in worship even if they are traveling, ill, or have permanently relocated, but want to remain involved.
Our Impact
HIV & AIDS
Caring for those living with HIV & AIDS through "World AIDS Day services.
Homelessness
We participate in monthly feeding and financially support ministries that support those who are unhoused.
The Environment
We participate in advocacy work to protect the environment for generations to come.
Refugees
Our congregation has supported refugee families from Afghanistan, Syria, Ghana and Mexico
Prisoners
We help support people that have recently been released from prison.
Immigrants
We support and advocate for our immigrants throughout the United States.
Our Pastor
Rev. Candace McKibben is a native Floridian who graduated from Furman University with a BS in Biology in 1977 and Southern Baptist Theological Seminary with a MDiv in 1980. She served as an editor at the Baptist Sunday School in Nashville, Tennessee (1980-1990), assistant minister at both Saint Paul’s United Methodist Church (1991-1993) and East Hill Baptist Church (1994-2004), in Tallahassee, Florida, and as chaplain and spiritual care director at Big Bend Hospice in the Big Bend Area (2004-2020). Candace is a weekly columnist for the Tallahassee Democrat Faith Section (since March 2012) and the pastor of Tallahassee Fellowship Church (since 2004). She is the wife of the Honorable R. Bruce McKibben, mother of four grown children, and grandmother of eleven darling grandchildren. She volunteers with TMH Spiritual Care, Westminster Oaks Sparklers, Second Harvest of the Big Bend, and local Refugee support efforts.
Candace enjoys cooking, gardening, paddling, walking, and Pilates. She feels honored to serve a house church that for 20 years met in her Tallahassee home. After her retirement from Big Bend Hospice, Candace and her husband downsized and moved to Mysterious Waters, a small community on the Wakulla River. For the past two years since, her church meets on Zoom three weeks a month and in-person in the homes or businesses of various members once a month. She is inspired by the beauty, faith, and generosity of the loving congregation she is blessed to serve as together they seek to be the love of God in this world.
Testimonials
This is a place where maybe 3 people from your church talk about why they love being part of the community.
David
"Tallahassee Fellowship has been a guiding light in my life, providing me with spiritual nourishment and a sense of belonging."
Sarah
"Being part of Tallahassee Fellowship has enriched my faith journey and allowed me to connect with like-minded individuals in a meaningful way."
Michael
"I have found a sense of purpose and community at Tallahassee Fellowship, where I am welcomed with open arms and encouraged to grow in my faith."
Frequently Asked Questions
Quick Answers
Explore some common FAQs about Tallahassee Fellowship.
What is worship like?
Through the years, we have worshiped with those from many different faiths, denominations, and world religions. We have been in community with those who have found shelter in our church for a while, before returning to their own, following a time of grief or misunderstanding. Being open to how others experience God and sheltering people for a season has not lessened our own faith, but deepened it.
What denomination are you?
We were established as a Cooperative Baptist Fellowship church. From its beginning, the Cooperative Baptist Fellowship movement understood the value of partnerships and connections. We find these partnerships with persons of different perspectives, including those who have more questions than answers, have strengthened our own faith and our love of God.
What do you study as a community?
From the beginning, we have planned our direction for worship together, voting on the next topic, Bible study or book study. Our worship often follows the liturgical pattern of the church year, including studies related to Lent, Easter, Advent, Christmas, and Pentecost. Many of these include daily readings, which we then discuss in worship. We find that focusing on the same readings or topics throughout the week keeps us close to each other during the week, and enhances our time in worship. Authors whose writings we have studied include Dietrich Bonhoeffer, Frederick Buechner, Jacqueline Bussie, Marcus Borg, Ibrahim Kendi, Kate Bowler, Henry Nouwen, Rachael Held Evans, Richard Rohr, Howard Thurman, Barbara Brown Taylor, the Dali Lama, and Desmond Tutu, among many others.
Where do you meet?
Tallahassee Fellowship is a home-based church. There is comfort in being in a home. It is an approachable location, offering intimacy and hospitality. In response to the COVID pandemic in March 2020, Zoom became an important means of gathering for worship. The continued use of Zoom allows individuals to participate in worship even if they are traveling, ill, or have permanently relocated, but want to remain involved. . Currently, we meet via Zoom on Sunday evenings, with one in-person gathering at a member’s home or business each month. Those in-person worship services include a time of Communion, and conclude with a time of fellowship and refreshments
