Editing First Baptist Church of Pensacola

{{for|other churches named First Baptist|First Baptist Church (disambiguation)}}
{{Infobox Church
|name=First Baptist Church of Pensacola
|image=FirstBaptistChurch.jpg
|imagesize=288px
|caption=The [[Palafox Street]] entrance of the First Baptist Church sanctuary
|type=
|denomination=Baptist
|organized=[[May 2]], [[1847]]
|pastortitle=Senior&nbsp;Pastor
|pastorname=Dr. [[Barry Howard]]
|location=500 North [[Palafox Street]]
|previous_locations=224 East [[Government Street]]
|website=[http://www.fbcp.org/ www.fbcp.org]
|mapcode=
}}
The '''First Baptist Church of Pensacola''' is the oldest [[Wikipedia:Baptist|Baptist]] congregation in the Pensacola area, dating back to [[1847]]. The main church building (the congregation's third) is located on [[Gage Hill]] at 500 North [[Palafox Street]], with several ancillary buildings and parking lots adjacent. The current senior pastor is Dr. [[Barry Howard]].

==History==
[[Image:FirstBaptistMarker.jpg|thumb|120px|left|A sign marks the original site of First Baptist Church on [[Government Street]].]]
First Baptist Church was organized as the '''Pensacola Baptist Church of Christ''' on [[May 2]], [[1847]] by [[Alexander Travis]] and [[Joseph Mitchell]].  The first congregation included "fifty white men and seventy-three white women as well as one hundred and twenty-four Negro men and ninety-eight Negro women."<ref>Abercrombie, Lelia (January 1959). [http://fulltext10.fcla.edu/DLData/SN/SN00154113/0037_003/37no3.pdf "Early Churches of Pensacola"].  ''Florida Historical Quarterly'', p. 458.</ref> Early church leaders had difficulty establishing a foothold in the area — records from the time repeatedly say the "Lord's Day service was a disappointment"<ref name="history">[http://www.fbcp.org/Uploaded/History.pdf A Brief History]</ref> — but in [[1852]] the congregation built its first building on [[Government Street]], just west of [[Seville Square]].

A branch was established at the [[Pensacola Navy Yard|Navy Yard]] in [[1850]].

[[Image:FirstBaptistOld.jpg|thumb|200px|left|The previous First Baptist Church building at [[Palafox Street]] and [[La Rua Street|La Rua]].]]
The church relocated to its current location on [[Palafox Street]] atop [[Gage Hill]] in [[1894]], where a new building was completed in [[1895]]. The church was remodeled in [[1922]] and [[1956]].

==Leadership==
The current senior pastor of First Baptist Church is Dr. Dave Snyder who gave his first sermon on [[July 8]], [[2018]].  

===Past leaders===
*Rev. [[Alexander Travis]] 
*Joseph Mitchell 
*W.C. Morrow (1849-1850)
*Z.G. Henderson (1858-1860)
*Irvin Lafayette Taylor (1879-1881)
*Z. A. Owens (1882-1883)
*W. L. Anthony (1883-1884)
*T. L. Talbert (1885-)
*J. Allen O'Hara (1886-) 
*Rev. John D. Beck (1865–1871)
*W.H. Owen 
*Rev. [[J. H. Curry]] (1890-1892)
*Rev. [[A. P. Pugh]] (1892–1897)
*Frederick Jones (1898-)
*Thomas M. Calloway (1906–1910) 
*Rev. Eugene R. Pendleton (1910–1916)
*Dr. Adiel Jarrett Moncrief, Sr. (1920–1924)
*Wallace R. Rogers (1939–1947)
*James Leo Green (1948-1949)
*Elwin L. Skiles (1949–1953)
*Nathan C. Brooks (1954–1958)
*James L. Pleitz (1959–1977 & 199?, interim pastor)
*Dr. Brian L. Harbour (1978–1985)
*Cecil W. Seagle (1986–1991)
*Dr. James Hackney 
*Dr. Randel Everett (1992–1996)
*Dr. Robert Mills (1998–)
*Dr. Barry Howard (2005–2018)

==Other images==
<gallery>
Image:FirstBaptist1897.PNG|[[1897]]
Image:FirstBaptistRendering1899.jpg|Construction rendering, eventually constructed under different plans
</gallery>

==References==
<small>{{reflist}}</small>

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[[Category:Baptist churches]]
[[Category:Downtown churches]]