Radius Church: Leading the Way in Love

St. Petersburg’s Radius Church celebrated its third birthday this month, and they are the ones giving gifts to the community. This year, the 150-member church is helping to paint the St. Petersburg Free Clinic’s family center, which houses homeless families, as well as collecting 300 twin bed sheets for the shelter at CASA (Community Action Stops Abuse).

“There are always presents at birthdays, sure, but it’s always better to give than to receive,” said Blake Clark, Radius’ lead pastor.

Love Lunches

One of the earliest ways Radius began giving back to the St. Pete community was pretty simple: they started making “Love Lunches” for the homeless. Each lunch includes a peanut butter and jelly sandwich, a bag of chips and bottled water. Church members stay after their Sunday gatherings to assemble these lunches for the week.

One of the recipients of these Love Lunches in the church’s first year was Richard. At the time, Richard was living on the street with his beloved canine companion.

Radius and, in particular, one of its families invited Richard into the fold, helping to get him back on his feet and get clean. He was able to then find a job and housing or himself and his dog. Richard now is an active member of Radius Church, who leads their weekly Sunday morning outreach to the homeless.

“We may not be able to end homelessness, but we can make a difference by helping someone feel loved and valued,” Pastor Blake said.

Building on the foundation of its Love Lunches, Radius launched the PB & Jelly Deli food truck in February of this year. The mission of the food truck is to spread love; for every sandwich they sell to the general public, they are able to donate a meal back to people in need within the community. You can find the food truck at events around town, and follow PB & Jelly Deli on social media to learn where they will be.

The Heart of Radius

Pastor Blake explains the church’s founding philosophy like this: “The heart of Radius is to share that God, through Jesus, loves us, and if we’re going to follow him, we should lead in love. Love is more than a word; it needs to be an action.”

He first moved to St. Pete in 2007 to be the youth pastor at a local church. After five years, Pastor Blake and his family took a sabbatical. As they sought for what was next, they felt their hearts drawn back to St. Pete. On their return, they began looking downtown for a space to meet.

“We knew we wanted to be centrally located so that we could be a radius of love and hope in the city that we love,” Pastor Blake said.

Radius’ passion to act in love propels them outward into the city. Blake said, “We can’t do all that needs done, but we can support those who are already doing good in our community.” The church works closely with hyper-local organizations, such as the St. Petersburg Free Clinic and CASA, to achieve shared goals.

For example, Radius partners with Infused Tea Company and Dixie Hollins High School to collect and deliver full Thanksgiving meals to as many as 175 families. Each year they look to increase the number of families they can reach with a meal.

“We feel that the church should lead the way in love,” Blake said, “and that if a church closes its doors, the community should notice.”

Infused Tea, based in downtown St. Pete, is a regular partner with Radius. Not only do they support the Thanksgiving food drive, but they also offer a tea that gives 10% back to CASA for each sale.

“Right out of the gate, we wanted to partner with an organization benefiting the community,” said the owner of Infused Tea, Ray Ritola.

Radius’ Mission

Radius Church are a people on mission, moving out in ever- widening circles to spread love (and peanut butter!). The church seeks to inspire all who attend to be a radius of Jesus in their family, community and world.

Pastor Blake said: “We want people to come as they are, but leave inspired to be more! We love St. Pete and are so honored to be serving this city, seeking to make a difference, one person at a time.”

Radius Church gathers on Sundays at 11am at the St. Petersburg Shuffleboard Club (559 Mirror Lake Drive North). All are welcome to attend. Learn more at www.radchurch.com or email Pastor Blake at [email protected].