Spirit and Truth Fellowship of Knoxville (STFK), a.k.a. the "Nerd Church", is an independent Evangelical Christian Church with a unique mission to the part of our community that includes sincere skeptics, scientists, geeks, nerds, science educators, and their families. Incorporated in Tennessee in 2010, STFK has served faithfully in the city of Knoxville for fifteen (15) years. Now in 2024, with a sincere desire to follow God's leading, STFK is seeking to establish a new church campus somewhere along Florida's Space Coast.

Someone somewhere coined a phrase for what we are doing. It's called parachute church planting. Following God's lead, a pastor and his family move to a new location and work to establish a new church. They have no support system other than what they bring with them—it's like parachuting into a jungle with only the contents of your backpack to sustain yourself and to carry out your mission.

In this case, the pastor is David Spakes and his wife Sheila. The location is Brevard County, Florida, known as the "Space Coast" because it is the home of NASA and the many thousands of scientists who work in the government and private sectors of the space industry.

The goal for 2024 is to learn if the Space Coast of Florida needs the type of ministry that STFK brings to the table. Are the existing churches in this area making an effort to present the Gospel to scientists, geeks, nerds, and science educators in their community? Or are these members of the community ignored or outrightly judged for pursuing careers and social interests focused on science (or science fiction)?

A Proposal for the Operators of Venues

Pastor David Spakes is currently looking for potential places of meeting in Brevard County where he and Sheila can gather with a small group of local people who may be interested to attend a "Nerd Church" if one were to be established in the area. At this time, here are the characteristics of a suitable temporary meeting space:

•   • Can accommodate up to 24 persons (above this number, we would start looking for an actual church building)
•   • Has an available Wi‑Fi access point to high-speed Internet that STFK can use to connect with existing church members over Zoom (preferred, but not an absolute requirement)
•   • Restrooms nearby
•   • Allows (or can provide) a modest assortment of snacks and soft beverages for our guests
•   • Operating hours on Sunday: ideally, the venue would be open to the public for lunch time, but we would have access at about 9:30 A.M.
•   • Allows the playing of acoustic instruments (initially, a single guitar) with singing
•   • A raised platform with microphone would be an extra-special bonus

STFK is willing to pay a standard fee for the privilege of being able to use a suitable space as a private party for the 1-2 hours prior to the business opening to the public.

Restaurants that offer STFK a meeting space would have a group of hungry patrons already in their place of business at opening time. Some (if not all) of our group would likely order food while they are there.

Please note that restaurants that serve alcohol are not excluded from consideration.