Local Churches Join Forces to Evangelize at Space Coast Pride

MELBOURNE – A coalition of local pastors and ministry leaders organized a coordinated outreach at the Space Coast Pride Parade and Festival last weekend in downtown Melbourne. The effort reflected a growing multi-church response to the four-year-old festival and marked the third year of participation for Fire Starter Ministries’ Adam Cronan.

More than 50 local Christians participated in this year’s outreach following a pre-event training session organized by ministry leaders. Participants engaged attendees in conversation, shared gospel messages, and prayed with festival-goers throughout the day. Organizers reported at least ten salvations as a result of the effort.

“That first year, there was maybe only like 10 of us,” Cronan recalled of his first time witnessing at Pride in 2023 alongside Pastor Rusty Thomas of American Reformation Church in Melbourne and now–TPUSA Faith Florida Director Seth Tweeddale. “Our original plan was just to hand out tracts and hand out waters to people. Rusty Thomas grabbed the mic and started preaching during the parade and somebody struck the mic out of his hand and broke the microphone off the bat. That was what started my journey with Pride Fest preaching.”

The outreach during the first two years was short-staffed and dangerous. In 2024, Pastor Brandon Gish of Reformation Bible Church in Melbourne joined the effort, but the group still faced heavy opposition. “Last year, we got bombarded. We weren’t nearly as organized as we were this year,” Cronan said.

To avoid a repeat of that experience, Cronan and other leaders planned a more structured approach. “We just started brainstorming and I said, hey, how about we do a training beforehand… so that everyone’s prepared that’s coming out.” Cronan noted that the first planning meeting happened to take place the day Charlie Kirk was shot. “That was a tragic day,” Cronan said. “In light of that, what I believe happened was that the church at large just started to wake up. They started to look at Charlie’s life, the way he lived, the way he was bold. And I think that emboldened the church to get the turnout that we had this past weekend at the training and at the event.”

The result was a much larger and better-coordinated presence. More than 50 local Christians attended the training, and multiple witnessing teams took to the streets during the parade. Team leaders included Jason Storms, a pastor at American Reformation Church and National Director of the pro-life advocacy group Operation Save America, along with Cronan and Gish. Each was supported by now-trained evangelists and intercessors who engaged festival participants in personal conversations and prayer.

This year’s atmosphere was calmer compared to previous years. “We actually had a lot of favor with the police. They were giving us thumbs up. They allowed us to preach continually on the sidewalk, and even when we were in the street they rarely gave us a hard time,” Cronan said. “With the Pride Fest, they said there was 23,000 people there last year, but I don’t think it grew at all. Maybe throughout the whole day, maybe 10,000.”

Looking ahead, Cronan emphasized the importance of ongoing mobilization. “I think they [the Church] need to continue to mobilize, and I believe Seth’s doing a great job at helping pastors and leaders get in the public square,” he said. “Turning Point and Fire Starters Ministries—their mission really aligns in that we’re trying to get the church mobilized out of the four walls, into these events, into the public square, to be a voice at city council meetings. I believe if we can strengthen in numbers, that’ll just make a big difference.”

— Adam Cronan is the founder of Fire Starter Ministries, a Brevard-based ministry dedicated to seeing the Great Commission come to pass in evangelism and discipleship. Find more information at firestarterministries.org or on Facebook at @firestarterministries.org

— 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