A Sanctuary for Every Season

How One Lakeland Family Has Kept the Spirit of an Old Church Alive in Its South Lakeland Home

PHOTOS BY TONY MERINO AND PROVIDED BY THE BATTS FAMILY

When you walk into the Batts residence you might be struck by the restored brick fireplace or fall in love with modern touches like the large island and butcher block countertops in a kitchen that pays homage to its many chapters, but the most important space to Joel and Jenn is directly to the right of the main living room when you walk in—a long wooden table with chairs inviting people to come and stay a while.

The couple smiles as they recollect numerous gatherings from over the years. It is stories of Christmas’ past, it is reflecting on when their daughter, Lily Naughton, and her bridesmaids got ready for her wedding in that space, and it’s talking about future opportunities, planned and unplanned, to build community one conversation and meal at a time.

“I just love a full table,” Jenn says. This is not just a preference for entertaining; it is a spiritual practice. For the Batts, who are faithful members of Covenant Presbyterian Church, the table is, in essence, a part of their mission field. 

Any family can make that their aim—to be hospitable and create a space to share truth and grace with whomever comes in the doors of their home—but few can say they are doing that in a space that was actually used for worship and Sunday gatherings more than a century ago.

A BARTOW ORIGINAL
The “English” style home with a deep turquoise exterior outlined with rich cream trim located at 3450 Crews Lake Drive in South Lakeland is not within one of Lakeland’s designated historic districts, yet it is one of the most storied structures in Polk County. Its soul is rooted in 1883, when it was built not as a residence, but as the First Baptist Church in Bartow.

After more than a decade congregating in the church, in 1894 First Baptist Church hired a “famous house mover” named Mr. Arnout to relocate the structure to accommodate a new building on the property. By 1900, the church was purchased by the Church of Christ, and in 1903, the building was bought by the congregation of the Seventh Day Adventist Church in Bartow. 

Newspapers at the time captured the spectacle, noting: 

It is a [novel] sight to see a church on a journey from one location to another, slowly and with dignity, moving along the street, its steeple peering above the tree tops, here today and yonder tomorrow. 

Finally, in 1947, the structure made its way to Lakeland. As a local newspaper headlined it, “63-year-old Church Goes Joy-riding to Crews Lake.” Public records indicate the church was sold to Mrs. T.H. Crutchfield. After being wheeled roughly seven miles, it was placed on its current property where it was converted into the centerpiece of the home that the Batts family now loves dearly.

Today, that old church structure makes up the home’s primary living and dining rooms. Walking through these spaces, one is struck by the high ceilings, the luminous natural light and the wood floors that seem to echo with the hymns and history of the past. As you enter, the stained glass adorning the meticulously restored windows serves as a beautiful nod to the building’s former life.

It is a place where friends and family—including their three children, Grace, Lily, and Jack—have gathered to pray before meals and intentionally slow down to appreciate moments often lost in the chaotic shuffle of modern life. It’s more important than ever for them as all three of their children are out of the house, and Grace and her husband, Peyton, recently welcomed the couple’s first grandchild, Shepherd.

It’s tongue in cheek, but Jenn joyfully calls the home “Honey’s Country Club,” an ode to her role as chief hospitality officer of the homefront. 

“We have full food and beverage service, pool, billiards room and a tennis court that doubles as event parking,” she texts, with a smile emoji to follow. “My kids really enjoy their full privileges and ‘guest passes’ for all of their friends.”

“After being wheeled roughly seven miles, it was placed on its current property where it was converted into the centerpiece of the home that the Batts family now loves dearly.”

A RETRO SPACE TO PUT THE FURNITURE IN PLACE
For the Batts, purchasing this home wasn’t just about residing in a grand old home on two acres across from a lake; it was about stewardship. Joel and Jenn, both Lakeland natives—he a graduate of Lakeland Christian School (LCS) and she of Kathleen High School—had moved frequently for Joel’s work, living in Memphis, Atlanta, and Colorado over the course of more than a decade. They returned to Lakeland in 2018. After living in several other homes, they were looking for a place to put down roots and, crucially, a place to care for Jenn’s aging parents.

When a friend shared the listing for the Crews Lake property on Facebook in 2023, Jenn didn’t hesitate. 

“I need to see this,” she told her realtor, Alicia Golotko, a high school friend whose parents went to school with Jenn’s. When they walked through the property, the couple knew they had found the right vessel for their family’s next season. 

In 2023, Lakelanders Jenn and Joel Batts decided this home was the perfect spot for the next season of their lives.

Set on two acres, it includes a nearly 900 square foot guest house, perfect for Jenn’s parents, as well as an old boat house toward the front of the property.

Joel said the home accomplishes the family’s primary goals in this season of life, and he especially loves the bespoke library that is just off of the main living room.

The home features quintessential details that bring the past to life: an eclectic weather vane featuring a flying pig atop the roof, garden statues that appear frozen in time and an old doorbell that, remarkably, still works.

There is a sense of legacy woven into the property. Outside, a 160-plus-year-old oak tree stands as a silent sentinel in the backyard, a witness to the changing landscape of Lakeland. The property includes a 40x20 pool and tennis court, and many decades ago the home was actually on the shoreline of Crews Lake, before land and water management changes put the lakefront on the other side of a modern road.  

The Batts’ approach to the home—which they describe as “eclectic traditional”—has been one of careful curation. Working with locally owned Strawbridge Renovations, they completed a sympathetic remodel of the kitchen and the main living and dining spaces shortly after moving in. It took the rooms void of distinct personality and gave them definition that brought out the history but also worked perfectly in the 21st century.  

Jenn, who loves antiques, has filled the rooms with pieces from local favorites like June Taylor’s shop, and treasures from the recently-closed Thom Downs, creating an environment that feels collected rather than built. 

Joel jokes that he “stays out of the way and wields a hammer when necessary,” but it’s clear the couple enjoys owning a home where the process of curation and care is perpetual. 

“You just have to listen to what the house tells you,” Jenn says, about the process of making this property home for the long haul. “I don’t think your home’s ever finished.”

“You just have to listen to what the house tells you,” Jenn says, about the process of making this property home for the long haul. “I don’t think your home’s ever finished.”