Our Story

Our church was founded in 1986 and chartered in 1987 under the name Killearn Lakes United Methodist Church.  The first service was held in the living room of our parsonage.  Shortly after, we moved to Plantation Center, a local strip-mall, and occupied four of the store fronts.    In 1992, we built our first facility, a multi-purpose building, at 8013 Deerlake Road in the center of Killearn Lakes Plantation.  We held our first service on August 23, 1992 and officially consecrated the new facility on September 27, 1992.  We completed our second building phase in the fall of 1997 and our third in 2015.

On March 1, 2009 we renamed our church.  As the Church, planted in and called to this mission field in Tallahassee, we desired a name that captured and communicated the essence of who God has called us to be as a people.  We believe that God gave us the name, Deer Lake United Methodist Church.  Psalm 42:1 says, "As the deer pants for streams of water, so my soul pants for you, my God."

We are a church for real people who struggle and search.  We are a people of faith, who as we gather in true community find hope and healing and joy in the presence of God.  And, we are a church who are both fully satisfied by the living water that Jesus offers, and yet still hungry and thirsty for more of God and His Kingdom.

The people of Deer Lake made the decision to transition out of the UMC as of June 1st, 2023 and reimagine ourselves as a new church, simply named, Deer Lake Church.   We currently hold no denominational affiliation, but plan to take the summer and fall of 2023 to pray, seek God's heart for our community, and together discern the next steps God has for us as a church family.  In the meantime we will do what we've always done: follow Jesus and do our best to be a church in the community, for the community.  If you have questions about who we are and where we're headed, feel free to reach out to Pastor Bobby.