In the heart of downtown Jacksonville, First Baptist Church Jacksonville has shared and shown the gospel of Jesus Christ for more than 175 years. It is known for biblical teaching and preaching, dynamic worship, ministry for every age and a mission to reach all of Jacksonville with all of Jesus for all of life. Its ministry now extends through three campuses: Downtown in the heart of the city, Nocatee 30 miles south and Green Cove Springs.
Three Campuses Across the Jacksonville Area
Downtown anchors the church's history and ministry in Jacksonville's center. Nocatee serves families and students farther south, while Green Cove Springs provides another setting for worship and age-specific ministry. The campuses share one mission, a common set of biblical values and opportunities for people at different stages of life.
- Downtown Campus: 125 West Ashley Street, Jacksonville, Florida 32202. The congregation can be reached at 904.356.6077.
- Nocatee Campus: 1770 Valley Ridge Blvd, Ponte Vedra, Florida 32081. The congregation can be reached at 904.265.7362.
- Green Cove Springs Campus: 1055 Co Rd 226, Green Cove Springs, Florida 32043.
Although schedules and ministry structures vary by campus, the church emphasizes the same priorities throughout its history: sound biblical instruction, worship, discipleship, genuine care, service and a willingness to share the gospel throughout the city and beyond.
Sunday and Wednesday Rhythms
First Baptist Church's regular week combines Sunday worship and teaching with family dinners and Midweek classes. The rhythm allows younger children, students and adults to study together during the week while giving families a shared meal and time of fellowship.
Downtown
- Sunday: Sunday School at 9:00 a.m., morning worship at 10:45 a.m. and evening worship at 6:15 p.m.
- Wednesday: family-style dinner and fellowship at 4:30 p.m., followed by children's and student Midweek at 6:00 p.m. and adult classes at 6:15 p.m.
Nocatee
- Sunday: worship and Sunday School at both 8:45 a.m. and 10:30 a.m.
- Wednesday: family-style dinner and fellowship at 5:30 p.m., followed by children's, student and adult Midweek at 6:30 p.m.
Green Cove Springs
- Sunday: Sunday School at 9:00 a.m. and worship at 10:00 a.m.
- Wednesday: children's and student Midweek at 6:30 p.m.
Downtown and Nocatee worship can be watched live, and archived messages are available for both campuses.
International Congregations at Downtown
The Downtown campus gathers people through several international ministries. The Vietnamese congregation, led by Pastor Quang Nguyen, has Sunday School at 9:00 a.m. and worship at 10:45 a.m. in First Auditorium 206. The Slavic Ministry, led by Pastor Sergii Solokha, gathers for Sunday School at 9:00 a.m. in W 411. An International Class meets at 9:00 a.m. in the East Lobby under the leadership of Peter Marshall.
The Arabic Ministry, led by Ayman Salib, conducts Bible studies away from the Downtown campus. These ministries give English-speaking members and international congregations distinct places to study Scripture, worship and connect.
First Kids and First Students
Children from babies through fifth grade are included in First Kids at all three campuses. The teaching aim is to present Bible truths in age-appropriate ways that help children know Jesus Christ and grow in their relationship with him.
At Downtown, First Kids meets for Sunday School at 9:00 a.m. Care for babies through Pre-K is provided at 10:45 a.m. during worship hour. Mission and Music, the 6:00 p.m. children's worship gathering, serves babies through age 3 and Pre-K through fifth grade. Wednesday Midweek begins at 6:00 p.m. for the same age range. At Nocatee, First Kids serves within the 8:45 a.m. and 10:30 a.m. gatherings and meets for Midweek at 6:30 p.m. The church has designed a dedicated children's space on that campus. At Green Cove Springs, First Kids has Sunday School at 9:00 a.m., childcare for babies through Pre-K during the 10:00 a.m. service and Midweek at 6:30 p.m.
First Students gathers middle school and high school students for worship, teaching and friendship. Downtown students meet for Sunday School at 9:00 a.m., Student Worship at 6:00 p.m. and Midweek at 6:00 p.m. The ministry connects students from across the city with adult mentors and teachers. At Nocatee, students in grades 6 through 12 gather for worship and study at 10:30 a.m. on Sunday and at 6:30 p.m. on Wednesday. Green Cove Springs students meet at 9:00 a.m. on Sunday and 6:30 p.m. on Wednesday. Each campus combines biblical teaching, worship, service opportunities and shared experiences designed to help students become mature followers of Jesus.
Sunday School and the Life of a Disciple
Sunday School is presented as the main way people become connected to the church and grow in community. Classes study books of the Bible through weekly teaching, table discussion and prayer. Life Groups within the classes create smaller circles for sharing life, building friendships and applying the lesson beyond the classroom.
Downtown offers classes for every age group as well as classes for men, women and couples. The broader groups are joined by Life Groups where participants can offer mutual accountability and hospitality. At Nocatee, choices include 55+ adults, mixed adults, young adults ages 18 to 30, men and women. Groups across the campuses follow a 12-year journey through the books of the Bible and use Crossway's Knowing the Bible resources as a central curriculum.
Grow Groups extend that discipleship process through a one-year accelerated group. The purpose is to strengthen a person's commitment to love and follow Christ with the aim of becoming someone who will make other growing disciples. Serve roles within Sunday School include teaching, group leadership, class administration and hospitality.
College, Career and Young Adult Life
Downtown's College and Career ministry serves young adults ages 18 to 25 who are navigating education, work and life together. Its Sunday rhythm begins with Sunday School and fellowship at 9:15 a.m. in West Hall, followed by Life Groups at 9:50 a.m. The group worships at 10:45 a.m. in the auditorium.
This ministry emphasizes studying God's Word through Sunday School, small groups and personal discipleship. It also gives young adults opportunities for game nights, city activities, basketball and shared meals. Their aim is to spread the gospel through local outreach and global missions while remaining connected to the wider church family across generations.
At Nocatee, the Young Adults ministry meets for Sunday School at both 8:45 a.m. and 10:30 a.m. It emphasizes knowing Jesus, growing in relationship with him, using spiritual gifts in service and participating in outreach and missions.
Women, Men and Senior Adults
The Women's Ministry seeks to connect women from different seasons of life around Scripture, prayer, accountability and service. Downtown women's discipleship includes First Moms, Women's Bible Studies and Grow Groups. At Nocatee, weekly Women's Bible Study is offered on Tuesday at 10:30 a.m. or Thursday at 6:00 p.m., alongside First Moms and Ladies Grow Groups. These ministries are designed to help women grow in faith and become equipped to disciple others.
The Men's Ministry focuses on biblical discipleship, accountability and servant leadership. Men are encouraged to pursue godliness through fellowship and by holding one another accountable to the Word of God. The same emphasis shapes men's groups at both Downtown and Nocatee.
Downtown Senior Adults gather for Sunday School at 9:00 a.m., Tuesday Bible study at 11:15 a.m. and a noon lunch following the study. Their ministry connects older adults with the church while emphasizing ongoing spiritual growth, service and stewardship. At Nocatee, the 55+ ministry has Sunday School classes at both morning services and a monthly luncheon. Its central conviction is that there is no retirement from Christian service, stewardship or spiritual growth.
SHINE and Christian Care
SHINE is the church's special-needs ministry, with a detailed program at Nocatee for adults and minors with diverse abilities. Shine creates a welcoming, supportive and fun setting with personalized care and activities suited to individual needs. Participants learn about the hope and love found in the life, death and resurrection of Jesus.
Shine serves adults during the 8:45 a.m. and 10:30 a.m. worship gatherings. Shine Jr. is a buddy program that helps minors with unique needs participate fully in Sunday School during those same hours. Downtown also lists SHINE among its ministries.
Pastoral care is also expressed through Biblical counseling and counseling ministry within the life of the church. The counseling staff includes Ryan Trzeciak, Mark Shaw and Christine Lamoreux, while the prison ministry also provides substance-abuse counseling and discipleship.
Worship Led by the Church
At Downtown, the First Worship Choir and Orchestra together include almost 200 people. They use their musical gifts in weekly worship and other gatherings, with weekly choir and orchestra rehearsals at 7:30 p.m. on Wednesday. Additional places to serve include ensembles, solos, drama and other worship roles.
The Nocatee worship ministry is intentionally congregational. Its worship team seeks to encourage, facilitate and lead worship that is sincere in the heart and expressive in action, with the purpose of equipping God's people for service and the building of Christ's body. A weekly worship playlist is available through the church app for quiet time, study or family worship.
Sharing the Gospel Across Jacksonville
Local missions begin with a relational approach: every person sharing the saving message of Jesus with every person they know. First Baptist encourages members to invest intentionally in a neighbor, co-worker, friend or family member. Its seven relational habits are:
- Pray: Put the person's name in a visible place and pray regularly.
- Greet: Offer genuine friendliness, learn names and treat every person as valuable.
- Get to know: Ask questions, listen carefully and notice the details of another person's life.
- Show care and serve: Use knowledge of a person's needs to offer practical acts of kindness.
- Extend a social invitation: Build hospitality through a meal, coffee, a game, a movie or another welcoming activity.
- Invite to church: Offer a service, class or gathering that fits the person's schedule and interests.
- Have a spiritual conversation: Listen to the person's questions, fears, hopes and present faith before explaining the gospel.
The church frames the gospel through four movements: God, humanity, Christ and response. God is the Creator and giver. Human beings are made in his image but have rebelled through sin. Jesus came not to be served but to serve, taking humanity's place on the cross and defeating death through his resurrection. The response is repentance and trust in Jesus as Lord and Savior.
Global missions carries the same conviction across wider boundaries. First Baptist emphasizes that everyone can pray, give or go, whether involvement is across the street or across the globe. The goal is to equip the church family to share Jesus Christ globally, nationally and throughout the community.
Prison Ministry and Mission Partners
The church has maintained a prison ministry for more than 50 years. Teams serve weekly at Union Correctional Institute and Florida State Prison with discipleship, Gospel-sharing events and substance-abuse counseling. Additional serving opportunities are available at the Duval County and St. Johns County jails.
First Coast Women's Services provides free pregnancy tests, ultrasounds, evidence-based abortion education, peer counseling, community referrals and material assistance for people facing unplanned pregnancies. Trinity Rescue Mission offers a structured, Christ-centered program for people experiencing homelessness, addiction or serious need, as well as a recovery facility designed to separate participants from everyday distractions and temptation. Sidewalk Ministries teaches children and parents through Bible lessons, activities, games, praise and worship in open outdoor spaces.
Baptist Beliefs and Enduring Values
First Baptist Church of Jacksonville is Southern Baptist and is affiliated with the Southern Baptist Convention and state and local Southern Baptist entities. It holds to the Baptist Faith and Message 2000. Its beliefs center on the authority and truth of Scripture, the one God revealed as Father, Son and Holy Spirit, and the dignity of people made in God's image.
Salvation is God's gracious work and involves regeneration, justification, sanctification and glorification. Personal faith in Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior is central. The church is described as an autonomous congregation of baptized believers governed by Christ, observing baptism and the Lord's Supper as ordinances. The statement also emphasizes evangelism, missions, Christian education, responsible stewardship, care for people in need, religious liberty and the importance of the family.
Baptism is understood as immersion of a believer in water in the name of the Father, Son and Holy Spirit. It symbolizes faith in the crucified, buried and risen Savior, death to sin and new life in Christ. At Nocatee baptism, participants should arrive 15 minutes before the service and wear dark, loose-fitting pants; shorts are allowed. The church provides a towel and baptism T-shirt. Participants bring a change of clothes and essentials such as a hair dryer, brush or makeup for drying and dressing afterward. The pastor explains the baptism's significance, invites the person's testimony and asks the congregation to join in celebrating that person's life in Christ.
The church organizes its life around eight values:
- Real love for Jesus Christ
- Total commitment to the Bible
- Genuine care for people
- Serious joy in worship
- Multigenerational pursuit of godliness
- Bold passion for the city
- Radical ambition for the nations
Serving, Giving and Accountability
Service is structured through teams for children, students, adults, worship, international ministry, special needs, seniors and missions. The church teaches that God has given gifts to people for the building of the church and encourages those gifts to be used in serving God and one another.
Giving begins with the biblical tithe of ten percent and grows into joyful, regular and generous support of the church's mission. Online, mobile, in-person and mail giving are available. The church also accepts non-cash gifts such as stocks, bonds and real estate, and it provides resources for estate planning and charitable donor-advised funds or required minimum distributions. Giving can be made through the church's giving ministry.
Financial oversight includes review by the Trustee Board, access to transaction records and an annual independent audit. First Baptist Church is also accredited by the Evangelical Council for Financial Accountability, an organization focused on financial integrity and responsible stewardship for Christian ministries.
Across Downtown, Nocatee and Green Cove Springs, First Baptist Church Jacksonville continues to gather people around biblical teaching, worship, discipleship, Christian care, service and mission. Its shared aim remains to reach all of Jacksonville with all of Jesus for all of life.