I'm not a Christian. Am I still welcome?

Yes. Come and listen. You won't be cornered or pressured, and you can leave with your questions still open. If you disagree with something you hear, say so and we'll open the Bible together.

Can I watch something before I come?

Yes. The Sunday assembly and all four adult Bible classes are livestreamed, and every past sermon is in the archive. Watch from your dorm for a month if you want to.

What if I work Sunday mornings?

Sunday evening at 5pm and Wednesday at 7pm are both options, and some people build their whole week around one of them instead.

What happens over breaks, when the dorms close?

Tell somebody before you leave and tell somebody when you get back. Thanksgiving and the weeks around finals are exactly when a student is most likely to slip out of sight, and we'd rather notice.

Where do people actually eat after services?

In each other's houses. We don't have a fellowship hall or a kitchen, because that's the home's work rather than the church's. So it happens around dinner tables, and students get invited to a lot of them.

Can I get involved, or do I just show up?

Show up first. After that there's work to do, and students do a lot of it here.

Members and college students singing together in worship at Temple Terrace Church of Christ

A Church Home for College Students Near USF and Florida College

Moving to Tampa for school changes almost everything at once. New apartment, new schedule, new roommates, nobody who knows you yet. Sunday doesn't have to be one more thing you start from scratch.

8001 Temple Terrace Highway, Temple Terrace, FL 33637

Sun 9am Worship | 5pm Bible Class | Wed 7pm Bible Class

Plan Your Visit

Temple Terrace Church of Christ sits about a mile and a half from Florida College and ten minutes from the University of South Florida. Some of the students who worship with us grew up in the church and have been coming to services since before they could read. Others walk in for the first time knowing almost nothing about the Bible. Both are welcome, and neither gets treated like a project. If you're looking for a place to worship while you're in school, start with this Sunday at 9am.

Sunday worship in the auditorium at Temple Terrace Church of Christ

When We Meet and How to Find Us

Sunday 9am — Worship. About 75 minutes: singing, prayer, Scripture, the Lord's Supper, and a sermon.
Sunday 5pm — Bible class, an hour, every age from infants through adults.
Wednesday 7pm — Bible class.

Pick whichever class fits your week. Four adult classes run at a time on a quarterly cycle. If you want to see one before you sit in one, the Sunday assembly and all four adult classes are livestreamed, and a good number of people watch for a few weeks before they ever walk in.

We meet at 8001 Temple Terrace Highway, Temple Terrace, FL 33637. Pull in, take the immediate right, and guest parking is on your left. Come through the front doors and a greeter will hand you a bulletin.

Members greeting one another after worship at Temple Terrace Church of Christ

If You Grew Up in the Church

You already know what you're looking for, and somebody has probably told you to find a congregation before the semester gets away from you. That advice is right. It is also the kind of thing that gets put off until Christmas.

Our shepherds want to know you by name. With four adult classes each quarter you can pick the one that fits what you need this semester. Our evangelists, Don Truex and Kerry Keenan, will sit down with you if you want to talk something through.

People here connect by life stage, college students through retirees, and there are Bible studies running in homes across the area. That is usually where a student stops being a visitor.

If your home congregation wants a word from us about how you're doing, we're glad to give it. And if you'd rather visit a few places before you settle, that's reasonable. Come see us at least once.

If You Have Never Visited a Church of Christ Before

A few things here will be different from what you've seen elsewhere.

We sing without instruments

Voices only, no band and no choir. If you're used to one, the first minute will sound bare. Then you start hearing the words.

We observe the Lord's Supper every Sunday

Prepackaged emblems are set out where the foyer opens into the auditorium, so you pick up a packet on your way in if you're going to take it. It's for baptized believers in Christ. If that isn't you, don't pick one up. Nobody is watching.

The contribution is passed in trays during worship

Guests aren't expected to give, we won't ask you to, and nobody will follow up with you about it afterward.

You don't need to bring a Bible

There are Bibles in the pews, most of the verses go up on screen, and the preacher will tell you where he's reading from.

Everything else you're wondering about, from what to wear to whether anyone will single you out, is answered on our questions page. Short version: come as you are, and no.

The Campuses Our Students Come From

Florida College — about a mile and a half, 5 minutes

Our closest neighbor, about a mile and a half up the road. Five minutes by car, a short ride on a bike. Florida College holds chapel on weekday mornings and doesn't hold Sunday services, and the college's own handbook encourages students to take part in local congregations. Finding a place to worship on Sunday is on you. We're about as close as it gets.

The University of South Florida — ten minutes

Ten minutes away, a little more depending on Fowler Avenue. If you live in the apartment corridor along Fowler, Fletcher, or 56th Street, you're closer to us than most students realize. You may already drive past us on your way somewhere else.

We also have students who drive in from other schools. Hillsborough College, which most people still call HCC, has campuses in Brandon and Ybor City about fifteen to twenty minutes away, and Dale Mabry about half an hour out. The University of Tampa is roughly 25 minutes downtown. AdventHealth University in Tampa is about twelve minutes east of us. Saint Leo University and Pasco-Hernando State College at Wiregrass Ranch are further, 30 to 40 minutes, and we know that is a real commitment on a Sunday morning. If you're out that way and want to worship closer to campus, call us and we'll help you find brethren near you. We would rather you be in a good congregation than in ours.

Getting Here Without a Car

By bike

From Florida College it's a 1.4 mile trip. Some students bike it in under ten minutes.

By bus

From the USF area, HART Route 48 runs between the University Area Transit Center and Netpark, and it stops on Temple Terrace Highway at 78th Street, which is our corner. Check the current schedule before you plan around it.

Ask for a ride

Members drive past both campuses every Sunday and would rather have the company. Call the building at (813) 988-4350 or send us a message and we'll get you a ride.

Questions Students Ask Us

Straight answers to what students wonder before a first visit.

Nobody Has to Walk In Cold

You don't need to email ahead or know anyone here. Pick a service and walk in — students do exactly that on Sunday mornings. But the first ten minutes are the hardest part of visiting anywhere, and there's an easy way around them: fill out the Plan Your Visit form before you come and someone will be looking for you at the front door, save you a seat, and introduce you around.