Faith Baptist Church sits on Fruitville Road about three miles east of I-75 in Sarasota, Florida, on a campus built in 2005 with a large open sanctuary, a gym, classrooms, and a children's playground set on green space. Members of the body describe the church the same way on Sunday mornings: an Independent Baptist family drawn from many backgrounds and stories, joined together by the gospel of Christ, with the stated purpose of doing all for the glory of God. The motto of the church, drawn from 1 Corinthians 10:31, hangs over the congregation's life together.
A 1969 Church Plant That Has Only Had Three Senior Pastors
Faith Baptist was started in 1969 by Marc Blackwell, who gathered a small group of believers on Bee Ridge Road in what was then a quieter stretch of Sarasota. The Blackwells are among the missionaries FBC supports today. In more than fifty years, the church has had only three senior pastors: the founder, John McCall, and the current senior pastor, Dave Anderson. Anderson and his wife Colleen came to FBC in 1991 from Faith Fellowship Church in Clarence, New York, and he has served as senior pastor since 1999. The anniversary sermon in September 2026 marked thirty-five years of pastoral ministry for the Andersons at FBC.
The current Fruitville Road property replaced the original Bee Ridge Road building and was constructed in 2005. Members describe a warm, welcoming interior, a sanctuary large enough for the whole body, a gym where the children's program meets, and outdoor space for younger kids. The campus has been newly renovated.
Sundays at Faith Baptist
Sunday is the rhythm of the week at FBC. The 10:00 a.m. Worship Service fills the auditorium with Christ-centered music, prayer, Scripture reading, and a sermon that is usually expository but is sometimes topical. Both pastors preach on Sunday mornings, and the service is live-streamed for those who cannot attend in person. A typical service runs about an hour.
At 11:15 a.m., the Sunday Pastor's Class gathers in the main auditorium for a deeper look into the Word. Pastor Joe Hamlin leads the class on a monthly basis, walking through multi-week series on a book of the Bible, church history, theology, or a practical topic related to living a biblical worldview. The class is also live-streamed and usually runs 30 to 45 minutes.
Children are not just accommodated; they are part of the same Sunday morning. A greeter directs parents to age-appropriate care from infants through fifth grade, with teachers and helpers who are trained and background checked. The Lil' Buds Nursery, for children from birth to age two, is in the rear of the auditorium building. The Children's Sunday School program runs at the same 10:00 hour with two classes, ages three to five and ages six to eleven, working through the Generations of Grace curriculum, an approach that walks children through the narrative of Scripture with songs, memory verses, prayer, object lessons, and games.
Wednesday Nights: Adventure Club, Teens, and the Adult Bible Study
Wednesday is the second pillar of the week. Three programs run side by side during the school year, and parents can bring every member of the family.
Adventure Club meets in the gym from 6:00 to 7:30 p.m. for children from age three (by September 1) through sixth grade. The program is built around a three-year rotation of systematic theology. Year one covers the Bible and the Trinity; year two covers man, sin, and salvation; year three covers angels, the church, and the end times. Each Wednesday includes singing, games, lesson review, Scripture recitation, and small-group teaching by age. Children progress through the levels called Trackers, Scouts, and Trailblazers, and a common verse is shared across all age groups so the whole family can talk about the same topic at the dinner table.
Teens For Christ meets at 6:30 p.m. in the lobby for students in seventh through twelfth grade. The youth group opens the Bible together, plays games, talks through current events, and digs into how a passage speaks into the week ahead. The teens often meet alongside the adult Bible study while the program builds momentum.
At 6:30 p.m. the Wednesday Night Prayer and Bible Study begins in the main auditorium. Pastors Dave and Joe alternate months, working through books of the Bible or selected topics. The study runs to 7:30 p.m. and is live-streamed for those watching from home.
Men's Ministry on Thursdays
Two men's Bible studies meet at the church on Thursdays, both led by Pastor Joe. The Early Thursday study gathers at 6:00 a.m. in Pastor Joe's office, the Afternoon study at 12:00 p.m. in the same place. The format is the same: prayer, then a verse-by-verse walk through a book of the Bible or a chapter-by-chapter look at a non-fiction Christian book. The men call these gatherings a time of rich fellowship, with regulars who have been coming for years and newer faces joining in.
On the last Saturday of the month during the school year, the Men of Mercy and Might Study takes the same men deeper into systematic theology in a more seminar-style class. The 10-week run begins in late August and goes through May. A textbook is required, and registration is open to anyone in the body who wants to attend.
Women's Ministry
The Women's Ministry at FBC aims to grow women in the knowledge of God's Word, strengthen their spiritual disciplines, and build lifelong friendships with their sisters in Christ. Two regular rhythms run through the year.
Ladies T.E.A. (Teaching, Edification, and Application) is a special event held every other month on a Saturday at 10:30 a.m. The group shares a meal, enjoys rich fellowship, and listens to God-centered teaching. Ladies bring an appetizer, brunch dish, or dessert, and childcare is available with an RSVP.
The Foundational Truths study is a deeper, more sustained work. Held once a month on Saturdays, the class uses John MacArthur's Essential Christian Doctrine as a textbook and walks through biblical doctrines such as how the Bible was given, the attributes of God, man and sin, the Trinity, the church, and the end times. The class is taught by Pastor Joe and runs each February through the end of the year. Sign-up is open in person or online.
Two ladies-only small groups round out the week. A Tuesday afternoon group meets at 1:30 p.m. in a home near Proctor Road and I-75, and a Thursday afternoon group meets at the church every other week at 1:00 p.m. Both are multi-generational, focus on encouragement and prayer, and do not provide childcare.
Small Groups Across Sarasota
FBC describes its network of small groups as the connective tissue of the church. Most groups meet in homes, the church, or a few local venues, and most are mixed age. Several follow a similar pattern: singing or prayer, a discussion of the pastor's Sunday sermon, and a time to pray for one another.
The Saturday Prayer Group meets at 9:30 a.m. in the church lobby. Crossover, a young-adult-singles study for ages 18 to 29, meets at the church every other Sunday at 6:30 p.m. The East Sarasota Group meets at Heritage Oaks Golf and Country Club on the second and fourth Monday at 12:30 p.m. The North Sarasota Group meets in The Meadows near UTC on the first and third Monday at 7:00 p.m. A Ladies Thursday Group meets at the church every other week. Newcomers are encouraged to try a group and then stay with the one that fits their season of life.
Kids For Christ and the Family Ministries
Children's ministry at FBC runs under the banner of Kids For Christ, with the goal of helping children discover who God is through the Word, come to Christ for salvation, and grow in love and obedience. Three settings carry this out: the nursery on Sunday mornings, the Children's Sunday School during the 10:00 hour, and the Wednesday night Adventure Club.
Every teacher and helper is trained and background checked. Classrooms are in the main church building, and the nursery is in the rear of the auditorium. Parents are kept informed through the church's online events calendar, and contact for the nursery and children's ministry is handled by email through the church office.
A Missions-Heavy Church
Faith Baptist takes the Great Commission personally. The church supports more than fifty missionaries and families serving in South Africa, Botswana, Peru, Brazil, Uganda, Paraguay, Nepal, Taiwan, Zambia, Spain, Eastern Europe, Israel, Mexico, Bulgaria and Romania, Australia and Vietnam, the Seminole community in Florida, the Navajo community in Arizona, Kenya, England, Hong Kong, Hungary, New Mexico, Jamaica, Japan, Thailand and Mongolia, Colombia, Portugal, and Tallahassee and Tampa in Florida. Marc and Judie Blackwell, who planted FBC in 1969, are still on that list, now serving in South Africa.
The congregation hears from these missionaries directly. Periodic updates are shared in the worship service, and a short-term mission trip to Uganda is run in partnership with Russ and Sylvia Daniels, the church's missionaries there. Members are encouraged not just to give financially but to pray and to keep up with the missionaries personally.
What Faith Baptist Believes
The church's doctrinal statement begins with the Bible as the inspired and inerrant Word of God and holds to the sovereignty of God and the responsibility of man. The church confesses the deity of Jesus Christ, salvation by faith in His person and work, the indwelling of the Holy Spirit, the Great Commission, and the eternal destinies of heaven and hell. The doctrinal statement also looks forward to the rapture of the church, the tribulation, and the second coming of Christ. Baptism by immersion is practiced as a testimony of saving faith, and the Lord's Supper is observed as a solemn remembrance of Christ's death.
The Pastoral Team and Leadership
Senior Pastor Dave Anderson has been in pastoral ministry for more than forty years, the last thirty-five alongside his wife Colleen. The Andersons have two adult children and three grandchildren. Before coming to FBC, he was raised in the Christian Science tradition; a ruptured appendix at age eleven and the ministry of Berean Baptist Church in Albuquerque, New Mexico, brought him to saving faith in Christ. He holds to the expository and Reformed Baptist stream of ministry and counts A.W. Tozer, Francis Schaeffer, and John MacArthur among his influences.
Assistant Pastor Joe Hamlin joined the FBC staff in October 2021. A veteran of the United States Air Force, Hamlin earned a Bachelor of Social Work and a Master of Social Work from Grand Valley State University and a Master of Divinity from The Master's Seminary. He and his wife Kim have been married for more than thirty years, and the Hamlins have two adult children and four grandchildren. Hamlin writes a good portion of the pastors' published material and book reviews, and he teaches the Pastor's Class, the men's Bible studies, the Foundational Truths women's study, and the Men of Mercy and Might systematic theology course. He came to faith in his twenties while stationed in Germany after his brother, newly converted, called him week after week to share the gospel.
Supporting the pastoral team is a staff of ministry directors: Ben Smith as Children's Director, Melissa Smith as Nursery Director, Colleen Anderson as Worship Director, Tom Yoder as Media Director, Kim Hamlin as the team's web development lead, and Terry Kauk as Executive Secretary in the church office. A board of deacons (Mark Constantineau, Dave Bliesner, Ben Smith, George Manick, Brian LaPerriere, Roger Kaufman, and Kenny Dotson) serves alongside the pastors.
Serving, Outreach, and Operation Christmas Child
FBC runs a steady set of serving opportunities inside and outside the church. Greeters and ushers welcome visitors on Sunday mornings; volunteers run the coffee bar in the lobby; helpers serve in the Lil' Buds Nursery, the Children's Sunday School, and the Wednesday night Adventure Club. A Meal Train ministry, coordinated by a member of the body, brings meals to those who need them.
The Manna Ministry is the church's primary outreach arm for physical needs. Donations of clothing, linens, and hygiene items are gathered and delivered to nearby homeless shelters. Every Christmastime, the congregation fills Operation Christmas Child shoeboxes, which are shipped to children around the world through Samaritan's Purse.
Visiting, Giving, and Getting Connected
Faith Baptist Church of Sarasota is located at 8751 Fruitville Road, Sarasota, Florida 34240, with visitor parking in front of the main building. The church office can be reached at (941) 371-3071. Sunday worship begins at 10:00 a.m., the Pastor's Class at 11:15 a.m., and the Wednesday night programs at 6:00 p.m. and 6:30 p.m. Dress is informal; the church body is a mix of jeans, shorts, and dressier clothes.
Guests are invited to stop at the Services Desk after the service for a cup of coffee and printed information on the church's ministries. Online giving is available through the church's giving platform, and gifts can also be mailed to the church or dropped in the offering box on Sunday mornings or in the church office during the week. Sermons are posted on the church's YouTube channel and on SermonAudio, where an archive of recent series through 1 John and Apologetics is available to listen to or download. The pastors publish short essays on Christian doctrine and daily Christian life, and a monthly book recommendation from Pastor Joe rounds out the church's written resources.
Faith Baptist Church is a body that traces its roots to 1969, holds to an Independent Baptist confession, and gathers Sunday after Sunday on Fruitville Road to preach the Word, pray, and welcome anyone who walks through the doors.