Brevard Christians Represent at 2026 Space Congress

“This is what we do it for. His generation is expecting us to prepare for them what was prepared for us, and beyond.”

Those words, spoken by Clayton Turner during a keynote at Space Congress in Orlando this past week while he held up an image of his grandson to the conference cameras, highlight the deeply human purpose that has driven generations of explorers on Florida’s Space Coast—a spirit that still animates those who call its beaches home today.

Space Congress has been held, with periods of dormancy, since the early days of the Space Race. The first official gathering of space-focused researchers and technologists met in Cocoa Beach in 1964. Commercial Space Week was branded in 2023 as Houston-based SpaceCom expanded its commercial space expo, launched in 2015, to include Space Congress and several partner conferences in a single coordinated gathering. The development of SpaceCom is an outgrowth of the explosion of commercial growth in the space industry following the end of the Space Shuttle program in 2011, which opened the door to expanded commercial use of Kennedy Space Center (KSC) facilities. Since that time, the KSC landscape has grown from a small number of single-digit government entities and contractors to roughly 150 separate partner organizations, many of them private and commercial. Turner, a more than 30-year NASA veteran, was also introducing his own commercial-sector project, Andromeda Ventures, a venture capital firm aimed at turning government technology into commercial innovation.

While SpaceCom now meets at the Orange County Convention Center in Orlando to accommodate the scale and travel demands of a growing commercial and international audience, the beating heart of the industry has always been the Space Coast. From the Greater Palm Bay Chamber of Commerce, to Florida Tech, to the Patrick Space Force Base chaplain team—present to invite religious discussion on the exhibit floor—Brevard’s culture and identity were clearly felt in conversations both on panels and across the floor.

A particular highlight of discussion at the conference was Space Grove, a newly formed Brevard County–based innovation hub designed to align government, academia, workforce, and industry in managing the scarce resource that is the Cape’s real estate. Led by longtime educator and organizational strategist Melissa Patton, the Florida-focused platform seeks to accelerate innovation, commercialization, and scalable growth on the Space Coast and across the state.

Patton and her husband, Stanley Patton, are longtime community stakeholders in Brevard. Stanley served as Senior Pastor of Metropolitan Baptist Church in Cocoa before moving on to found Victory Church, first in Melbourne and now in Merritt Island, in 2016. In conjunction with the church’s efforts, the Pattons operate Victory Kids Sports as an intentional community engagement strategy. Victory Kids Sports was recognized as the 2017 Non-Profit of the Year on Florida’s Space Coast and can be found in many of Brevard’s public schools.

Workforce development is at the center of growing conversations in Brevard and across Florida as housing prices rise amid pressure on infrastructure driven by rapid population growth. Many longtime residents face an uncertain future as industries that once provided a comfortable standard of living can no longer compete with higher-wage sectors in a market where infrastructure is increasingly strained. At the same time, many new arrivals are coming to fill high-wage opportunities created by space industry investment—roles for which Florida’s existing talent pipelines are underprepared.

It is in this environment that the Pattons are thinking about the future. Workforce development is a key priority of Space Grove, which seeks to align education pipelines with advanced workforce needs, including welding and simulation, cybersecurity, quantum technologies, and other STEM pathways that will ensure Florida both builds and retains next-generation talent.

Alongside Melissa’s work with the Grove, Stanley has created an innovative program to prepare middle and high school students for the future of the space industry. Cosmos Commander is the first of Space Career Labs’ educational products and invites young students to participate in an interactive STEM training program that blends space-themed missions with real-world career skills. Students take on the role of cadets solving high-stakes scenarios while learning concepts in science, technology, engineering, math, and career readiness.

The future of Brevard is the future of Brevard’s most precious resource: its human capital. From the earliest pioneers, when Ponce de León first placed a cross in the sand at Melbourne Beach and the great continent of North America came into view, to the dawn of the space age, we have never shied away from challenge. Time and again, we have overcome immense odds as a beacon of humanity’s pioneer spirit. But in a growing global economy where talent can be acquired and moved with an ease never before possible, it is more important than ever to remember who we are doing this for and to invest in a future that holds promise for our children.

The Church is a steward and guide for humanity. Prefigured in the Ark that preserved the future of mankind in Noah’s family, carrying them through the raging waters of the flood, the Church is uniquely fitted to speak to this task. Indeed, through the inspiration of Christ and His Holy Spirit, who guides us and works all things together for the good of those who believe, it would seem the path is already being prepared.

“You are the light of the world. A city set on a hill cannot be hidden. Nor do they light a lamp and put it under a basket, but on a lampstand, and it gives light to all who are in the house…”

— Connor Mahoney is a Brevard County native and graduate of Florida Institute of Technology. He attends Holy Trinity Episcopal Church in Melbourne.

— Christians of Brevard is a multi-church initiative that seeks to amplify the voices of local churches and ministries for the purpose of encouraging the local body of Christ and advancing the Kingdom of God. Join our Facebook community @ChristiansOfBrevard