James 'The Giant' Croft preaches from two pulpits

The 3-foot-10 Baker County commissioner is also a Southern Baptist evangelist

Posted: April 27, 2013 - 7:47pm  |  Updated: April 28, 2013 - 5:58pm

By Jim Schoettler

  

James 'The Giant' Croft preaches from two pulpits

The Florida Times-Union

Jim Schoettler

April 28, 2013 5:58 PM EDT

Copyright 2013 The Florida Times-Union. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

MACCLENNY | The budget brainstorming session started with few ideas and periods of silence before a man known as The Giant joined his fellow Baker County commissioners.

James Croft balanced himself on two canes as he slowly made his way to his chair. Croft apologized for being late to a meeting he called, pulled out a list and started rattling off ideas including, privatizing county workers’ jobs.

“We can’t be afraid to step outside of the box … to do things different than before,” Croft, 54, said during the mid-April session.

It’s the same passion the 3-foot-10 Croft speaks with from another pulpit: the church. The Southern Baptist evangelist has spread the gospel for 20 years in churches across the Southeast and on mission trips as far as Africa.

“This is the most important thing that I do because it will carry into eternity,” Croft said of his preaching. “What I do for the Lord Jesus Christ may get someone to heaven.”

He packs his sermons with folksy stories and a powerful oratory that captivates people, said Vernon Bennett, a deacon at the First Baptist Church of Glen St. Mary.

“It seems like when he gets before the church, the Lord just gives him the words to say and it just rolls out,” Bennett said.

Croft, given his Giant nickname as a radio disc jockey, served as a commissioner in the 1980s and won his seat again last year. While he saves most of his preaching for the pulpit, Croft believes in applying Christian principles to government and occasionally quotes scripture during meetings.

Read more at Jacksonville.com: http://jacksonville.com/news/florida/2013-04-27/story/james-giant-croft-preaches-two-pulpits#ixzz2RoZVhEcx

View additional photos for this story by Bruce Lipsky.

Florida Baptist Witness Article About Evangelist's Recent Election

3-foot-10 evangelist returns to county office returns after 24-year hiatus

 

‘Miraculous’ election seen in overcoming health scare, well-funded incumbent

Dec 6, 2012
By JAMES A. SMITH SR.

OLUSTEE (FBW)—Evangelist James Croft stands only 3-feet, 10-inches tall, but he has big plans for the Baker County Commission, returning to office seeking to fix the county’s budget problems after a more than two-decade hiatus.

Croft, a vocational evangelist widely known in north Florida and south Georgia for his unique ministry, was elected during the August primary, edging out the Republican incumbent with 53 percent of the vote. With no general election opposition, Croft was officially elected in November, taking the oath of office in a Nov. 20 ceremony.

After regularly attending the County Commission meetings in the last two years and concerned about deficit spending, Croft said citizens began to urge him to seek reelection to the body that he first served 1984-1988 before losing a reelection bid. In 1992, he failed in an attempt to return to office.

Although initially resisting the idea of returning to politics, Croft, 54, prayed about the matter and in April decided to seek election, for which he quickly qualified. In May, however, he almost died during gall bladder surgery.

NOTE: Read the entire article at GoFBW.com.

The Joy FM Radio Interview

Andy Haynes

If you missed last Sunday's interview of Evangelist James Croft by Andy Haynes of The Joy FM Radio Network it is included in this video with some photos you may not have seen.

Interview Recorded with The Joy FM Radio

Andy Haynes of The Joy FM

I just completed recording a radio interview with Andy Haynes for The Joy FM network.  I met him during this week's revival meeting at Rock Sink Baptist Church in Old Town, Florida, his home church.  Andy is the Operations Director for the Gainesville/Ocala/Crystal River area of the network.  The interview will air this Sunday, May 22nd, at 2pm and will be repeated at 5pm.  The graphic below contains the entire Joy FM network of stations or you can view a detailed list at this link.

Joy FM network

Tonight is the final night of revival services at Rock Sink Baptist Church.  The service will begin at 7pm.  The church is located at 471 NE 816th Ave. in Old Town, Florida.  For more information or directions call Pastor Terry Cranford at (352) 542-9488.

NOTE: For up-to-date information on my preaching schedule visit the schedule page of the JCEA ministry website. If you would like to receive schedule information via e-mail follow this link: Subscribe to James Croft Ministry Opportunities by Email.

Moody Radio Florida Interview

Evangelist James Croft was interviewed Tuesday by Steve Krumlauf of Moody Radio Florida.  The interview aired this morning during New Day Florida with Ron and Kate.  The subject of the discussion included the upcoming revival meeting at First Baptist Church of Lacoochee and James The Giant's road to becoming an evangelist.  The interview is available online at this link.  Moody Radio Florida has a large coverage area broadcasting with four stations in central and south Florida.

High Springs Herald Article About Evangelist

NOTE: The April 30, 2009 edition of the High Springs Herald (Florida) has a front-page article titled "A Giant Nonetheless" about my preaching at Hague Baptist Church this week. The article is written by Tara Massagee and includes four photos by Sarah Hsu. The newspaper's online version only shows three of the photos, but allows you to make comments about the article on their website.

Croft uses his height to make big points at church
By Tara Massagee, Photos by Sarah Hsu For The Herald

ALACHUA – Those sitting in the rear pews of the church could barely see evangelist James Croft at the altar above the heads of other church members.

Croft is only 3 feet 10 inches tall, but that does not bother him.

“I would not know how to live as a taller person, he said. “This is all I know. This is how I am. This is how God made me.”

Monday night was the first of a 5-part series of lessons that Croft will be preaching at Hague Baptist Church. There will be a lesson today, Thursday, April 30 at 7:30 p.m. and the last lesson will be Friday, May 1 at 7:30 p.m.

“He’s a little man, but when he preaches, he sounds like a giant,” Church Pastor Sam Brown said. “Brother James is going to revive us some more.”

Croft insists on spreading his message of the Word of the Lord.

Standing at his custom-made pulpit that was half the size of Brown’s, Croft began the revival by telling the congregation to hold their Bibles up in the air.

“Shake them at the devil, because he can’t stand the Word of God,” Croft said.

Read this story, view photos and make comments on The High Springs Herald.

Florida Baptist Witness Article About Home Rehab

NOTE: This article is on the front page of the March 26, 2009 edition of the Florida Baptist Witness, the state newspaper of the Florida Baptist Convention.

Churches come together to redo evangelist's home
By JON M. FLETCHER
Special to the Florida Baptist Witness

OLUSTEE (FBW)—Coming together to help a brother in need, folks from several local churches joined forces to make repairs and improvements on the home of Olustee-resident and Southern Baptist evangelist James Croft.

Around 50 men from Raiford Road Church, First Baptist Church in Lake Butler (Croft’s home church), New Oak Grove Baptist Church, First Baptist Church in Cuyler and Cedar Creek Church labored together for five days, using about $4,000 in material donated by churches.

Read the entire story and view photos at the Florida Baptist Witness.

Additional info about this story:

• Churches Lend Helping Hands
• "Working On A Building" video
• Photo Galleries: "Home Improvement"
  
• "Volunteers rehab evangelist's home" Baker County Press
  

Volunteers rehab evangelist’s home

Coming together to help a brother in need, several local churches joined forces recently to make repairs and improvements on the home of Olustee resident and evangelist James Croft.

Around 50 men from Raiford Road Church, First Baptist Church of Lake Butler (Mr. Croft’s home church), New Oak Grove Baptist Church, First Baptist of Cuyler and Cedar Creek Church worked over a period of five days.

They cleared overgrown trees from the property, painted and repaired a utility building, pressure-washed and painted the home, repaired the front and rear porch, installed a shower, and sealed an unused chimney among various other repairs on the 1920s-era home.

Read more of this story on the Baker County Press.

View a video about the project: Working On A Building.

Read a related post: Churches Lend Helping Hands

Florida Baptist Witness Article About JOY Box Ministry

The Florida Baptist Witness, the statewide newspaper of the Florida Baptist Convention, has a half-page article about the JCEA JOY Box Ministry in this week's edition. The article and six photos are also on the newspaper's website.

To view previous video, photos and info about the JOY Box Ministry click here.

Bringing Christmas JOY to the nursing homes

After most gifts had been unwrapped and Christmas celebrations had ended, residents of Frank Wells Nursing Home in Macclenny got an extra dose of holiday cheer with an evening of song, scripture and gift-giving on December 27.

As part of the James Croft Evangelistic Association’s new JOY Box ministry, all the residents of the home received a shoe box-sized gift filled with bedroom slippers, personal hygiene items, blankets, sweets and more.

JCEA president, 3’ 10” tall Southern Baptist evangelist James Croft of Olustee, said he decided to start the ministry while visiting with his great aunt at Baya Pointe Nursing Home in Lake City.

Read more of this story on the Baker County Press.

Good times were had at Olustee Baptist Church

NOTE: This is an article from the September 9, 2007 edition of the Lake City Reporter newspaper in Lake City, Florida.

The First Baptist Church of Olustee celebrated its 67th anniversary on Aug. 5, and every one there had a Hallelujah good time. Pastor Mike Williams, Evangelist James Croft and featured guest speaker Rev. Herman Rios all contributed to the serious religious message and also to the good humor.

Evangelist Croft, a 3-foot-10 preacher known as “James the Giant,” has a special pulpit designed to fit his size. He takes his own pulpit with him when he travels as a guest speaker and his slogan is, “Have Pulpit, Will Travel.”

Read more of this story on the Lake City Reporter.

Two Worlds One Mission

The video titled "Two Worlds One Mission" is now available for viewing online. This is a video chronicling our mission trip to Ghana, West Africa in 2003.

Here are links to the media coverage of the 2003 trip:

• Florida Times-Union
  
• Multi-media presentation
• Florida Baptist Witness
• Baker County Standard
• Bradford County Telegraph/Union County Times

For more videos from this ministry follow this link.

Benefit raises thousands to fulfill dreams

Those who strive to help sick kids realize their dreams once again raised more than $20,000 through the Shands Starke Dreams Come True banquet last Friday night (April 27, 2007).

Every penny of that money will go toward funding kids' dreams, as do all donations, according to Suzanne Crittenden, executive director of Dreams Come True.

In addition to the money raised through ticket sales, organizers raked in donations through a silent auction and the live auction of some pretty delectable deserts and coveted sports memorabilia. The Gator championship football signed by University of Florida coach Urban Meyer alone brought in an impressive $1,300.

James Croft, who can't help but inject humor into everything he does, was instrumental in bringing in thousands of dollars as he egged competing bidders to dig deep for a worthy cause.

Read more of this story on The Bradford County Telegraph.

Previous post related to this story.

Dreams Come True Auction Friday

I will be, once again, serving as auctioneer for the Dreams Come True banquet and auction this Friday, April 27, 2007. The event is a fundraiser for the non-profit wish-granting organization and will be held in the atrium at Shands of Starke beginning at 7pm. For more information call Dan Bowen at (904) 772-9799.

An article about the success of last year's event can be read on the Bradford County Telegraph.

Award of Excellence

The Gainesville Sun, a daily newspaper in Gainesville, Florida, has received an Award of Excellence from Pictures of the Year International. The award is for the series entitled Sense of Place. One of the articles in the series is called "He helps 'light the fire'", which is about my evangelistic ministry. The photos and article were by Jarrett Baker.

An extended photo essay of the story can be viewed on Jarrett's website.

Video Added To YouTube

A second video has been added to the JCEA ministry YouTube channel. This news report originally aired in Jacksonville, Florida in 2006.

Related links:

Television Interview

News Crew Was Professional

Dreams Come True Auction

I will be, once again, serving as auctioneer for the Dreams Come True banquet and auction on Friday, April 27, 2007. The event, a fundraiser for the non-profit wish-granting organization, will be held at Shands of Starke in the atrium beginning at 7pm. For more information call Dan Bowen at (904) 772-9799.

An article about the success of last year's event can be read on the Bradford County Telegraph.

Ministry Now on YouTube

The Flash presentation titled "Walking with the Giant" created by Jon M. Fletcher has now been posted on YouTube. The presentation can also be viewed below. This particular presentation was part of an article by Jon that appeared in the April 20, 2003 issue of the Florida Times-Union newspaper in Jacksonville, Florida. The presentation also received an "Honorable Mention" in The Best of Photojournalism 2004 awards by the National Press Photographers Association.

Other videos will be added to our channel on YouTube in the future.

Photojournalist Has Online Essay

Photojournalist Jarrett Baker has added an online photo essay about my ministry to his website. Some of the photos were featured in a photo essay for the Gainesville Sun on Sunday, August 27, 2006.

History behind the photo essay.

Trash-talking Days Are Over

An article headlined: "James Croft's trash-talking days are over" appeared in last week's edition of two Florida newspapers, the Bradford County Telegraph and Union County Times. The article is about my entering full-time ministry and leaving my job with New River Solid Waste Association.