The First Baptist Church of Homosassa had its beginnings in
October of 1945 when a tent revival was held for three weeks.
Following the revival, regular services were held each week until
December 2, 1945. We became a mission under the watch-care of
Hebron Baptist Church in Hernando County.
Many memorable first occurred on December 2, 1945. The first
baptismal service was held, a church clerk was elected, a committee
of five men was appointed to locate a lot on which to build a church,
and a financial committee was appointed to raise the money to start
the building process.
The first revival after being organized was held in June 1946. On May
18, 1947 the dedication of the church began by laying the
cornerstone and sealing the Holy Bible.
A first Vacation Bible School was held in 1960.
On October 10, 1962 eighteen lots were donated to First Baptist
Church. On May 9, 1963 the church exchanged this property for a
more desirable location across the road from the old church site.
A planning committee was elected in August of 1964 to construct a
new and larger church. Dedication of the new church was held on
October 17, 1965.
Nesbitt Newton, Honorary Lifetime Deacon, and his wife, Janet,
recalled some of their memories of our church history in an
interview conducted by Jack and June Ragan in 1999.
Mr. and Mrs. Newton described the condition of the old church
building (before the property swap) to the Ragan's. Mr. Newton said
.before the old building was torn down, it was about to fall down. The
cracks in the walls were large enough to stick your hand through
them. There were iron seats in the old building and a wood heater.
The Sunday School rooms were "curtains hung over a wire".
Once the new property was acquired, Mr. Newton recalled how
everyone in the church pitched in to clear the lot and dig the
foundation for the new building. Mr. Newton also said one of the
members brought a load of dirt to the property every time he came to
church to fill in the "big water hole" that was on the property where
the church office now sits. Mr. Newton graded the lot with his tractor
after it was filled in.
When asked how many people were in the congregation at this time,
Mrs. Newton replied that "It started out with maybe just a handful of
people and grew and grew and we had 125".
One of the saddest memories that Mr. Newton had of First Baptist
was when the church was making plans to move to a location on the
east side of U.S. 19. About six families, including the Newton's, met
and decided that the church should remain in its present location.
Mr. Newton said they called the Mission Board and a preacher came
the following Sunday. "And we had a service. And we started
growing. That's what saved it."
God continued to bless the First Baptist of Homosassa. We have
been instrumental in establishing two mission churches. One in
Ozello and the other on Hwy. 19, which later became Sun Coast
Baptist Church. We also supported the Citrus Hill Mission for four
years.
The church also has survived several severe storms with extensive
water damage, including the "No-Name Storm" of 1993. A
Community Life Care Center was opened for benevolence purposes
in March of 1994. The church continues to support the community
not only for spiritual needs, but also with physical assistance in time
of need.
As the church continues to grow, many renovations have been made
to buildings on the campus externally and internally, the grounds
have been meticulously manicured.
Just as there was a vision 65 years ago for FBC Homosassa, so
there is a vision today. Where in the future we will look back on the
year 2010 and be able to say that this was the year that a vision was
realized and change happened.
Each new day that happens, not only creates additional history but
each new day brings hope for the future. God has great things in
store for FBC Homosassa.