“A church’s headlights ought to always shine brighter than its taillights.”

That’s what Pastor Emeritus Ed Johnson reminded members of First Baptist Church of Ocala during its recent two-day 175^th anniversary celebration.

“We’re celebrating 175 years of taillights of what God has done in the past,” Johnson said. “I want to tell you something. I believe with all my heart that the best days of First Baptist Church are in the headlights.”

First Baptist Church of Ocala was organized on July 3, 1850, with five charter members. It was one of only two church buildings in the city prior to the Civil War. The taillights of the past include significant obstacles such as membership dwindling down to 1 person in the 1860s and an arsonist fire that destroyed its building in 1991.

Overcoming those obstacles and others are great reminders of the goodness and faithfulness of God through the years, said Pastor Darren Gaddis, the church’s 39^th senior pastor. “We need to be reminded that every generation of a church has challenges. Sometimes we go through difficult times, and we feel this only happens to us, but it isn’t just us, and it’s not just this time.”

Fire ignites persevering faith

A fire set by an arsonist in 1991 destroyed the church building, which was built in 1927 on Southeast Third Street. Terry Williams, worship pastor at the time and now director of the Florida Worship Choir and Orchestra, recalled Johnson’s strong faith and leadership and his words of encouragement to members on the Sunday after the fire.

“He said ‘What the devil meant for evil, God meant for good.’ We adopted that as a church.  I watched the faith of God’s people as we went from place to place to place to worship, to do ministry, to do preparation, to do whatever it took. We had no place to go. We were like nomads, and we were all over the city trying to do First Baptist Church. The people of God at First Baptist Church showed their faith at a high level during a very difficult time. But what the enemy meant for evil, God meant for good, and some amazing things have occurred.”

Amazing indeed, when you consider the church experienced its most expansive growth after the fire when it relocated to its current location on Southeast Maricamp Road, the church’s fourth building. During that time, under Johnson’s pastorship, the church increased membership by 5,000 people, 2,500 by baptism.

“Without question I believe he will go down as the greatest pastor in the history of our church,” Gaddis said, noting Johnson is the longest tenured senior pastor with 23 years. “So much of our modern history and advancements have been tied to him.”

A church with one member

No history of the church could be discussed without mentioning Mrs. Frances Rosa Gary, known affectionately as Mrs. Fannie. Following the Civil War, the entire black membership of the church – about 90 people – withdrew to form Mount Moriah Baptist Church under the leadership of former slave turned pastor Samuel Small. Worship at First Baptist was suspended, and membership dwindled to just Mrs. Fannie in 1873.

“Whether the other members had moved away, joined other churches or died is unknown,” noted the church history pamphlet distributed during the celebration. “What is known is that Mrs. Fannie remained committed to her church during a difficult season and saw it return to growth.”

In doing research for church history, Gaddis said he had discovered and visited the grave of Mrs. Fannie and her husband S.M.G. Gary in an Ocala cemetery.

“She’s a little bit of a legend for us, almost a mythological figure for us now since we’ve told her story so much. It was nice to see that she was part of our community until she died. Both she and her husband were influential citizens in the early days of this city.”

Earl Stallings, who was a significant pastor at First Baptist Church of Ocala from 1951 to 1961, went on to gain national and worldwide historical recognition as pastor of First Baptist of Birmingham when he was the sole pastor mentioned in Martin Luther King Jr.’s famous “Letter from Birmingham Jail.” King commended him for allowing African-American worshipers to be seated at Easter services in 1963.

“Earl was the only one who was affirmed for having stuck his neck out to do that,” Gaddis said. “It was a hard journey for him. His church did not receive his overtures to the Civil Rights Movement very well. But he did it because he felt it was the right thing to do.”

Celebrating past/looking toward future

The church’s two-day celebration started with one of the largest dinner gatherings on a Saturday evening in the fellowship hall, the modern-day equivalent of the old-fashioned dinner on the grounds. The church provided the main course of barbecued meat and baked beans, and church members brought all the side dishes.

This dinner celebration included the singing of songs and featured speakers, including former pastors like Philip Hanes, Jerry Easley and Bryan Bair, and longtime members Vicki Prendergast, Vickie King and Barbara Floyd, who began attending the church as a high school student in 1953.

Gaddis, who has been pastor since 2010, said the church began talking about and planning the celebration two years ago.

“This is a really big deal and so we wanted to celebrate it in a way that is appropriate for this occasion,” he said. “What we settled on was telling our story to this generation of what First Baptist Church is all about and what it’s been through. More than anything else we just wanted to celebrate together and get people together. That’s what church is about anyway – it’s about people and relationships.”

On day two of the celebration, Gaddis and Johnson team-preached during the Sunday morning service. Preaching from Hebrews 11, Johnson celebrated accomplishments from the past, while Gaddis offered a challenge for the future.

“If the Lord tarries and we’re still here in 25 years, we’ll have a bicentennial celebration,” he said. “I want us to live faithful today knowing that they may write about this generation of our church. Will they describe us, 25 years from now, as being part of that great cloud of witnesses who were faithful?”