First Baptist Church of Jacksonville celebrates a long history of Reaching the Lost and Discipling the Saved. Although the journey has not always been easy, the years of hard work and dedication from God's people have seen the building of an institution dedicated to ministering the Good News of Jesus Christ to a lost world.

First Baptist Church was established in July, 1838, as the third church in Jacksonville. In 1892, the church settled at its present location between Hogan and Church Streets in the heart of the downtown district. The Great Jacksonville Fire of 1901 totally destroyed the church building, but in February of 1903, the cornerstone was laid for a new building. Within one year, the new Hobson Auditorium was completed. The building served as the church's primary worship center until 1976.

In 1940, Dr. Homer G. Lindsay, Sr. became the First Baptist's twentieth pastor. At that time, the church was in serious financial debt and morale was low. With contributions dwindling, the loss of a seven-story educational building, a debt of $125,000, and no facilities for growth, the situation looked bleak.

However, under the leadership of this young and dedicated minister of the Gospel, a new era began. Tremendous spiritual, physical and numerical growth was experienced. By 1943, the church was free from its financial bondage, and in 1948, the first new educational building was constructed, debt free.

Another major turning point for First Baptist came in 1969 when the Pastor's son, Dr. Homer G. Lindsay, Jr. was called to the church as Co-Pastor. He would serve alongside his father until Dr. Lindsay Sr.'s retirement in 1975. From 1969 to 1988, Sunday School enrollment skyrocketed from 2,385 to 14,172. During this time nine buildings were either purchased or constructed, including the 3,500-seat Ruth Lindsay Auditorium (1976) and the Preschool Building (1986).

In 1982, Dr. Jerry Vines joined Dr. Lindsay, Jr. as Co-Pastor and the miracles continued. In 1993, the congregation moved into its present auditorium which seats nearly 10,000. This magnificent worship center is a part of a church campus that covers more than 9 city blocks. The most exciting part of this miraculous growth is that an average of 900 souls are saved and baptized into the First Baptist fellowship annually.

In 2000, Dr. Homer G. Lindsay, Jr. went home to be with the Lord. The church's ministry and growth continued under Dr. Vines' dedicated leadership; and in 2002, a beautiful new Children's Building and Welcome Center opened. This building brings all our ministries for children together for the first time, and additionally, provides space for our growing Center for Family Ministry and New Member Classes.

In 2002, plans for a state-of-the-art Senior Adult Building were announced. God willing, this building will be the next step in a Campus Master Plan that provides even more facilities to accomplish our mission of reaching Jacksonville for Christ. As one of the largest churches in America, one can easily see why First Baptist Church is referred to as "The Miracle of Downtown Jacksonville!

On Sunday, February 19, 2006 Dr. Mac Brunson was brought to us by our pulpit committee and unanimously voted in as our pastor .

First-time visitors are encouraged to attend the Pastor's Guest Reception immediately following the Sunday morning worship service. In addition to meeting our Pastor and his wife, visitors can obtain information about our church campus and its history.