Almost 3 years ago, my wife and I felt God calling us to plant a church near a major city on the East Coast. Around that time, the lead pastor of Hibernia Baptist Church in Fleming Island, FL called us asking if we would be interested in planting a church. After prayer and counsel, Erin and I believed God was calling us to start a life-giving church somewhere in the Jacksonville area.

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God stirred our hearts for the St. Johns County community. Thousands of families are moving to this area from all over the country. We believe God wants us to plant Mission City for His glory in reaching people with the gospel and helping them become followers of Jesus.

Founding Pastor | Phillip Scarnecchia

Phillip was born near Youngstown, Ohio and moved to Jacksonville at age 11. Erin grew up near Asheville, North Carolina. Phillip moved to Asheville, North Carolina at age 25 for a corporate sales job before God called him to ministry. Erin and Phillip met at Biltmore Church in Arden, North Carolina, while serving in the student ministry. They have been married for five years and have two beautiful children, Lucca and Emiliana. They love doing things together as a family, enjoy good restaurants, and travel. They desire to build an authentic community and make people feel welcome.  

Over the past six years, Phillip has served as the High School Pastor at Biltmore Church in Arden, North Carolina, the Lead Student Pastor at Crossroads Church in Odessa, Texas, and the Next Generation Pastor at Hibernia Baptist Church in Fleming Island, Florida. Phillip has a Master of Divinity from Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary. He loves working out, reading, and playing basketball. 

Erin Scarnecchia

Erin Scarnecchia graduated from Appalachian State University in Boone, North Carolina,  with a degree in elementary education. She taught for a year and a half before being called into ministry. She is currently a stay at home mom with Lucca and Emiliana. In her free time she loves baking, writing, and traveling to new places. 

The Scarnecchias look forward to seeing God move in St. Johns, Florida. This area is one of the fastest-growing areas in Florida and the country. We are eager to see the gospel grow in St. Johns and pray this church helps people find their purpose in His mission.

Gatherings

Our core team has been gathering on Sunday nights and it’s getting us SO excited for what’s to come!

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• We have talked a lot about the CULTURE that we want to have at Mission City. A place where everyone is welcome, no matter who they are.
   

• We talked about serving selflessly, being generous, valuing the unchurched, being loving, doing anything short of sin to make things happen.
   

•  And HOW we want to live out our mission and vision to reach our surrounding community for Jesus. 

to develop people to be followers of Jesus.

Teach and apply the Bible. ​

We are committed to teaching the Bible because we believe it is the absolute truth and God's final authority. The more we know His Word the more we can experience the new life we have in Christ. (1 Tim. 3:16-17; 2 Peter 1:3) 

Love God and love people. 

Jesus said the greatest commandment is to love God and love people (Matt. 22:37-40). We gather together to demonstrate love to one another and to those who are far from God. We want people to see the love of God on display in us and the good news of Jesus lived out through us. 

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Develop Leaders. 

We strive to develop leaders who follow Jesus and know how to inspire and develop others to follow Him. We want to be a church that equips people to live out their calling to influence and impact people for God's Kingdom.  (Matt. 4:19; 2 Tim. 2:2)

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Live on mission. 

We are passionate about seeing people live on mission for the gospel in every area of their life. We want to mobilize believers in Jesus to take the gospel to every person around us.