The Francis community was first settled in 1882. It straddled the Florida Southern Railway, now called the Pea-Vine by the folks who grew up and lived here. The book, The River Flows North, listed nine individuals and families who made Francis their home and place of work. They were listed by the Florida State Gazeteer in 1886-1887. An interesting note was that Noah J. Tilghman was pastor of the Methodist Episcopal Church in Francis, a fact that would have great meaning for the Baptist people who later lived in Francis.
An unlikely birth...
From 1882 until 1932, there was not a Baptist church in Francis, a period of 50 years. But that all changed in 1932. Even though our country was in the throes of the Great Depression, begun in 1929, God moved upon some Baptist people to start a Baptist church.
On January 26, 1932, Mr. and Mrs. George Ferree, Mr. L.L. Wilkinson, and Mrs. Coy (Ila) McCraney met in the Ferree home to pray about organizing a Baptist church in the Francis community. They did not have a church building in which to meet, so Mr. and Mrs. Ferree offered their home for a meeting place. They enlisted the help of Bro. Tucker, the pastor of Lemon Heights Baptist Church in Palatka, where Mr. and Mrs. Ferree were members, and Bro. R.V. Hogarth, and these two men led in Bible study on Sunday afternoons. They met this way for about three years. In the latter part of 1935 or early 1936, Bro. W.S. Matheny and Bro. Hogarth set up a tent on the east corner of the present church property, and held a revival meeting for six weeks. Strong winds came up during that time and made the tent unsafe in which to meet, and they asked for and received permission from the Methodist church to meet in their building which was no longer in use.
The building and property was later sold to Francis Baptist Church for 300 dollars, so now they had a building in which to meet that would provide stability for future growth. In 1936, the church called Bro. R.V. (Buddy) Hogarth as its first pastor. In 1937 the church ordained three men as Deacons: Kirby Cannon, Clarence Wilkinson, and Coy McCraney. By 1938 the church membership had grown to 42, with 65 enrolled in Sunday School.
A built-in hindrance...
Somehow the church adopted the custom of calling their pastor for only one year; an annual call took place every year. For the first 13 years of its life the church had five different pastors, and this created a tension when it came to pastor-calling time. In 1949 after two annual calls, Bro. Henry Brown was called as pastor with an indefinite call. Each pastor since that time has been called with an indefinite call.
In 1938 the church borrowed one hundred and fifty dollars from the Florida Baptist Convention to help pay for the building that the church had bought from the Methodist Church. In 1944 the church voted to build four Sunday School rooms onto the auditorium, two on each side.
In October, 1949, the church took another step forward, voting to build a pastorium, 28 X 32 feet.
All of these things were accomplished while our country was still going through the Great Depression. It all happened because the people had a will to work together, and God blessed their efforts in a great way.
A new direction.
In October, 1954, the church invited a pastor from South Carolina to preach a revival meeting. His name was Curtis Waters. He came and preached, and the church felt led to call him as their pastor. He accepted the call, and Bro. Armando Silverio served as interim pastor until Bro. Waters could move on the field in January, 1955.
In Curtis Waters first year of ministry at Francis, 30 people were saved and baptized, and under his ministry the membership grew to 254. In 1959 the church built a red-brick sanctuary, which is still in use today as our Childrens Building and has been named the Waters Building.
During the five-year ministry of Bro. Waters, the church baptized 126 people and the membership grew to 340. In 1959 two young men who had been saved through Bro. Waters ministry were ordained to the gospel ministry: Harry Douglas and Harry Varnadoe.
In 1960 Bro. Waters resigned, and the church called Bro. Clyde Billingsley, a pastor from Knoxville, Tennessee, as pastor. During his ministry, the church licensed Jimmy Smith to the gospel ministry and ordained Robert Pringle and Charles Root to the ministry.
For the first time, the church gave ten percent of its undesignated gifts to the Cooperative Program through he Southern Baptist Convention. In 1961 the church voted to buy the old elementary school building across the road from the church from Mr. G.R. Stallings. Many of the teenagers and young adults had attended that school from grades 1-6.
In 1965 Bro. Billingsley resigned as pastor, but before moving away, he led the church in a note-burning ceremony to celebrate the paying off of the mortgage on the auditorium which was built in 1959.
In 1965 Bro. James Morgan was invited to preach a revival meeting, and the church felt led to call him as its pastor. In March 1966, the church voted to put aside all monies left over at the end of the month above $500, and the money to be set aside for the building of a new auditorium. The church made plans to build a carport for its pastorium, and voted to sell the old elementary school building. Bro. Morgan resigned as pastor in 1967 and the church called Bro. Nels Falk as pastor.
A new Sanctuary!.
In March, 1968, while Bro. Nels Falk was pastor, the church held a ground-breaking ceremony for a new sanctuary. The new sanctuary was finished in 188 days. The first service was held on October 6, 1968. (Bro. Falk even baptized several people in the baptistry before the sanctuary was completed!) In 1969 Bro. Falk resigned as pastor to further his education at Southeastern Seminary in North Carolina. Bro. J.D. Kesterson was called as interim pastor.
A native son comes home.
In February, 1970, the church called Bro. Harry Varnadoe, who at that time was serving as pastor of the First Baptist Church of Nocatee, in DeSoto County, Florida, as pastor. Because of his training at Southwestern Seminary and meeting personally Ms. Bertha Smith and other missionaries, Bro. Varnadoe was greatly interested in praying for and supporting missions financially through the Cooperative Program, and the special mission offerings throughout the year. That year the church voted to buy the property across the road as future site for a new pastorium.
In 1971 the church voted to sell the old frame Sunday School building built in 1955 to anyone who would move the building off the property. A man offered to tear it down and move it off the property for the lumber in it, and he did. Delores McCraney dragged a large magnet over the ground where the building had stood to gather all of the left-over nails.
In January, 1972, the church observed its first Victory Day for the Lottie Moon Christmas Offering for Foreign Missions, and missionary Doug Knapp was our guest. We set a goal of $750, and the offering was $1500.03.
In March 1972, the church voted to buy a bus. It made several trips to Camp Zion in Myrtle, Mississippi. We began a bus ministry to children, picking them up all over the community for Sunday School.
The bus was also used to transport the mission volunteers to the airport in Miami for the mission trips to Jamaica, 1978-82.
In December, 1972, the church approved the floor plans for the new pastorium. It would have a back bedroom for missionaries and evangelists to stay in which would be called the Prophets Room.
In 1973 the church held ground-breaking for the new pastorium; a new organ was purchased, and the church voted to buy the lake property from Sam and Marie Hancock.
In 1974, the pastorium was built under the direction of Gerald Howard and Jerry Bedenbaugh, built with all-volunteer labor except for the brick and concrete pouring. Harry and Merle Varnadoe moved into their new home in December, just before Christmas.
In 1976, Ormand Stallings and Eddie Cremer gave the money with which to clean out the lake and landscape around it. Harry McCraney and Morris Reed drove tractors that pulled old bed-springs around and around the lake property smoothing it down for the planting of Argentina Bahia grass seed.
In January 1977, the church took a step of faith and called its first full-time music director, J.R. Blakeney from Monroeville, Alabama. He served with us three years and the church and the choir grew under his leadership. He and his wife, Ruth, added greatly to our fellowship. They retired back to Alabama, and stayed there until they both went to be with the Lord. Our fellowship hall is named the Blakeney Building in memory of their ministry to our church.
During the years 1978-82, our church sponsored five mission trips to Jamaica during the month of July. We held Vacation Bible School in the mornings and revival meetings at night. We saw many people get saved, and all of the churches were blessed with the Bible Schools held.
We went to Jamaica to be a blessing, and were blessed greatly ourselves. Never have we known a people who had so little materially, but yet they loved the Lord so greatly. We learned to love the people of the Jamaican churches: Grace Baptist, Jacks River, Hopewell Duncans, and Falmouth.
At Falmouth we heard a three year old girl recite the 23rd Psalm with such great feelingmuch like the actor who recited that Psalm and the audience burst into applause. But then a retired pastor recited it and the audience burst into tearsthe actor knew the Psalm, but the preacher knew the Shepherd!
In 1979, the church began the construction of an all-purpose building, now named after J.R. and Ruth Blakeney.
The Blakeney Building was also built with all-volunteer labor, under the direction of Jerry Bedenbaugh. It was dedicated, debt-free, in June, 1984, just in time for the wedding reception of Pam Griffis and Jeff Bedenbaugh, the son of our Building Committee Chairman.
We named the lake behind our church Victory Lake. The Blakeney Building sits on part of the property we bought from the Hancocks. Little did any of us realize how much expansion we have already lived to see, and how the Lord has made it possible for us to purchase the property needed for expansion and growth. All of the property purchased, and the buildings built, have not taken us away from our commitment to mission support; we have given faithfully to associational missions, to state missions, to home missions, and to foreign missions.
Every year the Lottie Moon Christmas offering has grown. And a high day came for us in January, 1979, when Baker James Cauthen, the Executive-Secretary Treasurer of the Foreign Mission Board, flew down from Richmond, Virginia, to be our special guest for the day. He had had a heart attack earlier in the year, but promised to come, health permitting, and he did. Our offering goal was $15,000, and our people gladly and joyfully gave $16,543. David Lockard, the Director of the Missionary Orientation Center at Pine Mountain, Georgia agreed to be a stand-in for Bro. Cauthen if he could not come. He came on anyway, and that night he gave a moving testimony to our church that he called A Report to the Stock-holders. Our church was the stockholders. He told us what our church meant to all of the missionaries that we supported with our prayers and our gifts.
In 1981 we paid off the mortgage on the lake property; we bought a tractor with which to mow that property, and ordained another Deacon in our fellowship. In 1982, we began our missions program with R.A.s, G.A.s and Acteens, teaching them about missions at home and around the world. We began supporting a pastor in the pioneer missions area in Onida, South Dakota. The pastor was David Berryhill, his wifes name was Betty. We had met them in the Peace River Association in South Florida.
In 1984 the church called Bro. Randy Speight as Minister of Music and Youth, and he served effectively for four years before accepting the call of a church in Brooksville, Florida.
In 1988 the church called Kelvin Reed, the grandson of Morris and Clara Reed, to be our Minister of Music and Youth. Kelvin gave effective leadership to not only our youth, but also the children of our church because he was a young man himself, and our children & youth identified with him. He used drama as an effective tool in promoting growth in our youth group, and he was an accomplished pianist and musician as well. He was what is called an all-around leader, and he is still doing it today as he serves in Lewisville, Texas.
In 1989, the church voted to sell the old pastorium in front of the Blakeney Building, and it was sold to a Mr. Donahoo, who moved it to the Hoot Owl Ridge area south of Dunns Creek for his residence. S.J. Mills provided the bull dozer to remove a cedar tree and push up and break up the necessary concrete to be removed to make the area a parking lot.
In 1990, Bro. Varnadoe left as pastor, and the church called Bro. Fred Williams as interim pastor. He did a very effective job, even though he had to commute from Lake City; he is a great Bible teacher and preacher, and he was a great blessing to the church.
In 1991 the church called Bro. Gerald Murphy as pastor. During his ministry the church began the Deacon Family Ministry Plan, and the church also purchased a grand piano.
In 1992, after the resignation of Bro. Murphy, the pulpit was vacant until 1993, when the church called Bro. Jeffrey Cordero, Sr., as pastor. He stayed for two years, then he resigned, and the church then called Bro. Bill Williams as pastor.
In 1997 Uncle Dave Cannons family gave his property to the church for ten dollars, a token amount. That property became the site of the church offices in 2002 when the church purchased a modular building and it was situated on that property.
In 1998 the church purchased 1.75 acres of land from Jack Gates on which the Family Life Center will be built. In 1999, Bob and Rae McClure donated 90 acres of land to the church, and it was sold in 2003 for $97,650.
In 2006, Bro. Williams resigned, and the church used supply preachers to fill the pulpit until June 2007, when Dr. Buddy Lynch was called as interim pastor. The pastor search committee searched diligently for over a year, but did not feel led to recommend any man to the church. The committee went back to Bro. Buddy, and after much prayer and soul-searching, the committee recommended him to the church.
A new pastor, Bro. Buddy comes to Francis
On Sunday night, November 23, 2008, the church voted to call Dr. Otis Buddy Lynch as our pastor, and with every passing day, the Lord confirms to us that we made the right choice. He
is a pastor, a counselor, an administrator, a strong Bible teacher and preacher, a man who knows how to get things done, a man who knows how to relate to people of every age on every level. The church has grown numerically and spiritually under his leadership. He is a leader, not a boss. He has a strong right hand (woman) in his life, his wife, Helen, and they make a strong and effective team in our church.
We have called Rev. Tony Arango as our Minister of Music/Associate Pastor, and his wife, Alexis, and their two children, Aleny and T.J., are very involved in the life and ministry of our church.
We now have two worship services on Sunday morning, our Sunday School attendanceand Wednesday night attendanceare both consistently above 200, and we our Sunday School space, and provide activities for children, youth, and adults. Francis Baptist Church has become and is, a church Where Everybody is Somebody, and Jesus is Lord!
A new building
On January 1, 2012, we opened the New Family Life Center providing 24 new Sunday School rooms, a Youth Sanctuary, and a full-size Basketball and Volleyball court!
Thank you to former pastor and current member Bro. Harry Varnadoe and LeighAnne Nunamaker at the St. Johns River Baptist Association for your work on compiling the church history.
