"Little Church" has Big History

Marco Island’s oldest church, known by pioneer-era Marco Islanders as the Little Church, currently resides next to the Marco Cemetery. The church was built in 1939.

Thomas McCulley, longtime pastor of New Life Community Church, has strong feelings for the modest church.

"Having survived every storm since construction,” said Thomas McCulley, "its most stressful time must have been the ride down Bald Eagle Drive on a trailer in the 1980s.”

McCulley recalls the Little Church from nearly 50 years ago.

"I remember worshiping there in September 1974,” McCulley said. "I believe the location was next to where Marek’s Restaurant was on Bald Eagle Drive.”

The Little Church has taken on a new role in recent years. 

“It’s now only used for weddings, funerals, and prayer meetings,” McCulley said. "It continues to bring glory to God in its simplicity and function.”

McCulley can still visualize how the Little Church looked back in the 1970s.  

"As I remember it in the ’70s,” he said, "the chairs were metal folding instead of the antique wooden pews now providing elegance if not comfort. We keep a stack of cushions available for comfort during long meetings."

McCulley said the Little Church is a survivor.

“It was most recently restored after Hurricane Irma with a new roof and fresh paint,” McCulley said. "The old building is a testimony to solid workmanship, good construction materials, and decades of loving care. Frequent termite inspections and treatments, as needed, are also helpful for the wooden walls, ceilings, floors and trusses. 

McCulley is thankful for the generosity of volunteers.

"One volunteer stands out,” McCulley said. "Les Bowen, formerly of Marco and now moved to Ocala, restored the building 20 years ago and again after Irma when he brought a crew of a dozen men. The stained-glass windows, except for those on the back wall at the platform, are by volunteer Andre Hendriks."