Our Ministerial Staff

Pastor Ray retired on June 30, 2022, after fifteen years as the Coordinator of the Cooperative Baptist Fellowship of Florida and the Caribbean Islands (CBF FL/CI). (By the way, you can call him “Ray”; you can call him “Pastor Ray,” or you can call him “Dr. Jay,” but you don’t have to call him Johnson. If you get that reference, you may discover that you will fit right in here at First Baptist.) Ten days after retiring, he began serving…

Marshall Haning is Assistant Professor of Music Education at the University of Florida, where he teaches undergraduate and graduate courses in choral music education, research methods, and other related topics.  Before beginning his collegiate teaching career, Dr. Haning taught high school choir and music theory courses in the public schools of North Carolina.  He holds degrees from Case Western Reserve University, the University of Cincinnati’s College-Conservatory of Music, and Kent State University. Dr. Haning’s research interests include music education and…

Doctor Gregory Magruder began serving as the Administrator of First Baptist Church,Gainesville in January of 2024. He had retired in August 2020 after serving as pastor of Parkview Baptist Church in Gainesville, FL for twenty years. He is married to Karen and has three grown children and four grandchildren. He has been the pastor of churches in Oklahoma, Ohio, and Florida. He received his BA from Georgetown College, KY, his MDiv from Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary, Ft. Worth, TX and…

Seven years ago, Dick and Brenda Cohen became sacred partners with First Baptist Church by joining our membership. They were married in May 1999 and together have 5 children and 8 grandchildren. From the beginning, Brenda has had a heart for missions, volunteering in Haiti, Dominican Republic and other countries. Brenda is currently working toward her Master of Art in Christian Ministry from McAfee School of Theology. Brenda became serving as our Missions Pastor on January 1, 2020. Her dream…

Pastor Lynn began serving at First Baptist in the fall of 2006 as the Associate Pastor for Families.  She retired as our full time Executive Pastor in 2021.  She then returned to serve as Church Administrator during our time of transition.  God brought her back to serves as our Senior Adult Pastor.  Lynn has served in several area churches including Parkview Baptist Church, Waldo Baptist Church, and Grace Baptist Church.  She served on the State level as the President of…