Khalil has been the senior pastor at Beachside since 2020. After spending six years in Charlotte as a college/young adult’s pastor at a megachurch in the city, Khalil began sensing God’s call to plant a church. With the Great Commission and the Great Commandment as his motivation, he began searching for a place where there was a need for the gospel. His research led him back to Florida, specifically the New Smyrna Beach area, considered to be the ninth most unchurched and sixth most “dechurched” area in the United States, according to a 2017 Barna report. 

While a church revitalization is not what Khalil envisioned, it’s what the Lord led him and his family to. He learned of a small church in New Smyrna Beach with a congregation that was the perfect definition of a revitalization, as it was older and dwindling in attendance quickly. He preached for a call in January 2020 and was set to transition down to Florida the same week the pandemic made the world stand still. After a couple months of challenges, delay, and uncertainty, the Ayoub family finally made it to Florida! Though the two years following the pandemic would prove difficult, God in His grace has grown the church into a vibrant, multi-generational congregation that has now moved to multiple services in order to sustain the growth. 

No stranger to Florida, Khalil grew up in Tallahassee, and attended Clearwater Christian where he completed his undergraduate studies, followed by his masters’ degrees from Virginia Beach and his MDIV from Southern Baptist Theological Seminaries.

Khalil and his wife, Alyssa, have four sons: Judah, Justus, Jayden, and Kyon. When they aren’t at church, they love spending time at the beach, chasing after their boys, and trying every pizza and ice cream place in town. The Ayoub’s love Beachside and their church family, and they are grateful the Lord led them to New Smyrna Beach!