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Thus, a building originally constructed and used as a radio station to dispense news and music to the listening public became the home base for a group of people determined to do a work for God in this area of Tallahassee. During the time when the church was a mission, many served in leadership capacities, helping to establish a firm foundation for this new work. Among those individuals were B.D. Eskew, W.F. Cox, Sr., Robert Massey, Alphonse Richard, Ray Marston, Mrs. George Cannon, Al Henderson, and the pastor of First Baptist at the time, Dr. Harold Sanders. Mission pastors during this time included Rev. T.J. Larkin, Rev. Joe Alewine, and Dr. C.B. Althoff. The process of this new work becoming a fully constituted church on its own was begun in July 1951. On the 8th day of July, the mission voted to ask for independence from First Baptist. In the providence of God and the flow of time, the church was granted her independence, to be effective on March 16, 1952. Meanwhile, Rev. Jack Bridges had been called as pastor and was serving in that capacity when the church was constituted. The constitutional service took place at 2 p.m. on March 16, 1952. Soon after the church was chartered, a building program was begun. The church constructed a basement, which served as a temporary sanctuary. It cost $13,250, and the first service was held there October 10, 1954. The old radio station was remodeled into Sunday School space. Soon Thomasville Road began looking for a new pastor after Jack Bridges' resignation. Dr. William G. Mitchell was called as pastor and served until June 1958. Dan Padgett became the pastor in June 1958 and served until January 1965. During his ministry a new worship center was completed, in July 1959, at a cost of $50,000. Four years later, an educational building was dedicated. On March 13, 1964, the church experienced a
tragic loss. The headlines of the Tallahassee Democrat read, "Blaze Damages
Baptist Church." The fire started in the early morning hours and did extensive
damage to the building. The estimated loss was about $50,000. During the time of
reconstruction, church services were conducted under a large tent set up in the
church parking lot. H. Kenneth Holland became the pastor of TRBC in September 1968, following the ministry of DeWitt T. Cox. Under the ministry of Pastor Holland, the church continued to experience steady growth. During this time, the church made a significant decision concerning her future. TRBC was once located on the property that is now called Betton Place (formerly known as The Haystack), about two miles south of the church's present location. Because of growth, the church came to the decision that relocation was necessary. Otherwise the church would stagnate as far as growth was concerned. Both parking and additional space were needed, but there was no available land for further development. For the five years preceding relocation, the Sunday school averaged 321 per Sunday. For those five years, an almost straight line could be drawn across the graph. The last year at The Haystack site (1978), the average Sunday school attendance was 328, the same as in 1974.
In the latter part of 1982, Pastor Holland presented his resignation as pastor, stating that God had called him to a new ministry. In the course of time, Billy Cruce became pastor in November 1983. It is interesting to note what happened the first year our church moved to its current location: Sunday school attendance jumped 78 per Sunday and then remained basically the same for several years. The reason? - The new facilities were filled, and so the church remained in a static position. Seeing the need for additional building space, the Long Range Committee recommended in 1984 that the church engage Equitable Church Builders in Nashville, Tennessee, to provide a master plan for future buildings. The first projected building was our current worship center. Through the faithfulness of God's people, the "Step of Faith" became a reality and on April 30, 1989, services were held for the first time in the new worship center. In subsequent years, the old worship center was renovated into a fellowship hall and educational space. In late 1996, the old fellowship hall was also renovated into additional preschool and children's space. In 1998, part of the upstairs portico of the worship center was closed off to provide further educational space. In 1998, the church began efforts to complete a master plan to encompass all of the church property - in an effort to provide additional space for future growth. In February 2002, Pastor Cruce formally
resigned as pastor of TRBC and was named Pastor Emeritus. In July 2002,
Curtis Clark became Senior Pastor of TRBC. Pastor
Clark conducted his first service at TRBC on July 14, 2002. In 2003, this history was recorded, along with more than 90 past and present members sharing their pictures, memories and testimonies in a book entitled Celebrate The Heritage: 50 Years and Growing. Copies of the book are available at the Welcome Desk for $15 per copy. |
In
March 1948, God planted the idea in the hearts of some people in First Baptist
Church to start a mission in what was then the northern edge of Tallahassee. On
March 17, 1948, the chairman of the Missions Committee at First Baptist proposed
that the church rent the old WTAL Radio property located at 1950 Thomasville
Road for $125 per month and start a Sunday school. The motion carried, and the
work that was to become Thomasville Road Baptist Church was underway. Later that
year the property was purchased for $20,000.
Under
the leadership of Pastor Holland, the church made a significant decision to
relocate to a nine-acre site near the I-10 intersection. The current site was
purchased for $120,000. Work on the new building began in February 1977. The
church moved to the site on September 10, 1978.