About Us

Who We Are

Our Mission

Following Jesus and Living God’s Love Together

What We Believe

“First” reminds us that the first and most important thing about our identity is our faith in Jesus Christ as Savior and Lord. Romans 10:13 says that, “Whosoever calls upon the name of the Lord will be saved.” We believe that the basis for church membership is a personal profession of faith in Christ. That’s the first thing that is required of every member of First Baptist Church!

“Baptist” means that we hold to many of the historic teachings of the Baptist denomination, which is a part of the wider fellowship of the Christian church throughout the world. While baptism by immersion is certainly a distinctive part of who we are, we also believe in the authority of the Bible as God’s word to us, the right and responsibility of each person to respond freely to God, the power of each local church to follow the leadership of Christ as it sees fit, and the principle of free exercise of religion in a free state.

“Church” means that we do the things that we believe the Bible teaches all churches should do: we worship, we serve, we learn, we witness, and we grow in relationship to one another and to God. That’s what church is all about!

We worship which is the unique privilege of the church. God is praised in all we do.
We grow in faith which happens as we study the Bible, pray, and serve together.
We strengthen relationships among friends, within families, across generations.
We tell the good news about Jesus and his love–it is changing our lives!
We share God’s love in practical ways–in our community and our world (literally.)

OUR HERITAGE

First Baptist Church, Gainesville, was established in 1870 with 14 members. At the time, Florida’s population was only 188,000 and Gainesville was a frontier town. Not surprisingly, the church’s first years were challenging. Without a place to worship, services were held in “house worship” or at the First Presbyterian Church.

By 1875 the church had grown enough to afford to construct its first house of worship, a one-room, wooden framed building located near the town square. Later, a larger building was needed and the church built and moved to a brick building nearby. By the early 1920s additional space was needed and the church moved a few blocks west on University Avenue into a spacious brick building that would be its “home” for the next 86 years. Over time, the sanctuary was enlarged and additional Sunday school classrooms were built. Later still, another building was added.

In 2006, a development company offered a unexpectedly significant sum to purchase the church’s five acres, the largest plot of land in downtown Gainesville. Pastor Fairless immediately led the church through a time of discernment, and, after praying for God’s leadership and engaging in lengthy discussions, the church voted to sell its downtown property and move to a fast-growing area west of I-75. Income from the sale of the downtown property was enough to cover most of the cost of relocation to NW 39^th Avenue. The church is now debt free.

First Baptist Church has had 23 senior pastors, their tenures lasting from 10 days to over 26 years. Our ministers have had varied educational backgrounds. While none of our senior pastors have been female, the church has ordained female ministers since 1986.

Throughout most of our existence, music ministry has been an important and treasured component of church life. The church has enjoyed a music program that has included children, youth and adult choirs, bell choirs, and instrumental ensembles. The church’s world-class pipe organ survived the move to our current sanctuary.

While the way the church has elected deacons has changed over time, the church continues to look to the Board of Deacons for leadership in ministry and church business. Women have served as deacons since 1987. In 1998 the first female was vice-chair of the deacons and in the same year the first African American female deacon was elected.

First Baptist Church jointly supports the Southern Baptist Convention and the Cooperative Baptist Fellowship. We are a part of the Florida Baptist Convention, the Florida Cooperative Baptist Fellowship and the North Central Florida Baptist Association. Our history demonstrates the church’s desire to be ecumenical by working cooperatively with other churches and faith groups in Gainesville. 

In 1904, when the University of Florida was established in Gainesville, FBC began a student ministry. With the university’s growth, the GI Bill and coeducation in l947, our church provided a strong ministry to students that lasted into the 1990s. Many UF students attending FBC went on to become ministers and missionaries.

Other ministries have included a Hearing-Impaired Ministry, sponsorship of a Boy Scout troop, and hosting an Adult Learning Center for internationals.

Though some members resisted integration, FBC accepted black guests and, later, members relatively early during our country’s painful move toward racial equality. Because UF attracts students and faculty from all over the world, we currently enjoy members from many different nationalities.

Our church has always maintained a strong commitment to missions, as evidenced by the establishment of six mission Baptist churches. These include: Eastside, Southside, Parkview, Forest Park, Westside and Tower Road. Westside Baptist Church has become the largest Baptist church in Gainesville. A Chinese church worshiped in our building for several years. They later become independent and relocated to their own facility. Currently we are giving physical, spiritual and financial support to the strongly interracial Greater Faith Baptist Fellowship and Thrive Life Church. We have always been, and remain, committed to the support of national and international missions.