From a Front Porch Bible Study to a Kingsley Avenue Campus
The earliest chapter of First Baptist Church of Orange Park belongs to Mrs. Carrie Clarke, a Baptist and influential resident of Orange Park in the early 1900s. She held a children's Bible study on the front porch of her home on Kingsley Avenue, and the church traces its beginning to that porch gathering. The house still stands in the town and is now the centerpiece of Clarke House Park. On May 1, 1921, the First Baptist Church was formally founded, sponsored by Woodlawn Baptist Church in Jacksonville. The congregation initially met in the Orange Park Town Hall before purchasing property near the St. Johns River. When that property was auctioned, Mrs. Clarke opened the bidding with one dollar and the gavel fell.
The first pastor, W.O. Kearsey, split his time between Orange Park and First Baptist Church of Jacksonville Beach while finishing his studies at Stetson University in DeLand. By 1930 the church had sixty-eight members in a town of about six hundred. A permanent block and stucco worship building was begun in 1950 and dedicated on May 27, 1951. In the early 1970s, members bought land at the corner of Kingsley Avenue and Hopkins Street and relocated to 1140 Kingsley Avenue, the campus the church still occupies. The move was contested at the time as being too far out of town, but the property offered parking and room to grow. The original 1970s buildings remain on the campus; the current worship center was built in 1995, and a gymnasium and education wing opened in 2003.
A Sunday Rhythm of Bible Study and Worship
Sundays follow a steady two-part pattern. Bible study for all ages begins at 9:15 a.m., with groups meeting for preschoolers, children, students, and adults throughout the campus. The worship service gathers at 10:45 a.m. in the worship center. On the second Sunday of each month, the service includes the Observance of the Lord's Supper, when members share bread and the fruit of the vine in a memorial of Christ's death.
The Lord's Supper is one of two ordinances the church practices, along with believer's baptism by immersion. Both are understood as acts of obedience that picture the believer's union with Christ in his death, burial, and resurrection.
Midweek Around the Church
Wednesdays revolve around the Midpoint Bible Study, led by Associate Pastor Mike Godfrey, which meets in the worship center at 10:30 a.m. and again at 6:15 p.m. At noon, GriefShare gathers in the church library for thirteen weekly sessions of support for people grieving the loss of a loved one. The group is led by church member Michelle Shinsky and is open to anyone, with no charge.
On Wednesday evenings at 6:15 p.m. the campus comes alive for children, students, and adults. Awana serves preschoolers through second graders, and Bible Skills, Drills, & Thrills is for third through sixth graders. Sixth graders are promoted to the student ministry in January each year. Students in grades six through twelve meet in Building B for All Access Students MDWK, a night of Bible study, games, and small groups led by a student leadership team. Adult Midweek Groups round out the evening at 7:30 p.m., with a Women's Bible Study in the library, an Adult Bible Study in the worship center, and groups for preschoolers in Building D and children in Building E.
On the first Wednesday of September, October, and November, the church serves a Chick-fil-A dinner in the gym from 5:30 to 6:10 p.m. for those who pre-order.
Family Milestones from Birth to Graduation
The church organizes its family ministry around a series of six milestones designed to walk parents and children from infancy through high school graduation. Family Dedication focuses on equipping parents of infants through age five as primary faith trainers. Gospel Centeredness, for ages six to twelve, helps families talk about salvation, the Bible, and baptism. Preparing for Adolescence, for ages ten to twelve, addresses the emotional, physical, intellectual, and spiritual changes of the teen years. Purity for Life, for ages twelve to fourteen, coaches parents on biblical teaching about sex and intimacy. Passage to Adulthood, for ages fifteen to sixteen, marks the move into biblical manhood or womanhood with a seminar and ceremony. High School Graduate Recognition, for ages seventeen to eighteen, focuses on apologetics, finances, dating, and missions before graduation.
Preschool and Children's Ministries
The preschool ministry serves children from birth through pre-K with Sunday morning small group Bible studies at 9:15 a.m. and extended session during the 10:45 a.m. worship service. On Wednesday evenings at 6:15 p.m. during the fall and spring semesters, Awana groups meet for preschoolers, and separate groups are offered for babies. Every preschool volunteer holds a current background check and has completed the church's Child Safety Training, with check-in and check-out procedures and adult-to-child ratios in place.
The children's ministry for kindergarten through sixth grade offers small group Bible studies on Sunday mornings at 9:15 a.m. and Wednesday evening programs at 6:15 p.m. from August through May, with Awana for preschool through second grade and Bible Skills, Drills, & Thrills for third through sixth grade. Crystal Saunders directs the combined preschool and children's ministries, with Tracy Tarkington serving alongside her in preschool ministry.
Student Ministry in Building B
Students in grades six through twelve meet in the Student Building on the west side of the campus. Sunday Bible studies for students begin at 9:15 a.m. and Wednesday evenings at 6:15 p.m. for All Access Students MDWK. Annual events include DiscipleNow weekends, a fall Friendsgiving Meal and Paxton Turkey Bowl in the Student Building, and a winter trip to Universal Orlando's Rock the Universe.
Adults, Men, Women, and Senior Adults
Adult Sunday school groups meet at 9:15 a.m. in rooms throughout the campus. The groups are organized by life stage and interest: the Pleasant Group for single young adults ages eighteen to twenty-five, the Atwood Group for married couples mostly under forty, the Thomas and Tharp Groups for couples under fifty and fifty-five, the Lamb Group for adults of all ages, the Hayle Group for those mostly over fifty-five, the Shipskie, Younger, Swartz-Fowler, Sidney, S. Puckett, and Talley Groups for older adults, the K. Puckett and Zumbro Groups for women, and the Borden Group for unmarried single adults over twenty-five. The Gilmour Group, led by Anne Gilmour, is a special-needs Bible study for adults with intellectual and developmental differences and meets in a wheelchair-accessible room near the worship center.
Battle Ready, the men's ministry, introduces men to First & 10, a small group limited to ten men and led by Associate Pastor Mike Godfrey. Beginning each August, the group reads one book a month for ten months and meets to reflect on application.
The senior adult ministry adds a Midpoint Bible Study at 10:30 a.m. on Wednesdays, monthly fellowship luncheons in the gym, a low-impact exercise class, ministry projects, and trips such as a fall ride on the Blue Ridge Scenic Railway.
Counseling, Prayer, and Special Needs
The church maintains a counseling ministry and a prayer ministry for those in need of pastoral care. The Foundations Christian Counseling center is referenced in the sermon archive as a partner for seminars on depression and anxiety. The Zumbro Group and the church's music ministry both engage with the deaf community in Orange Park.
Beliefs Rooted in the Baptist Faith and Message
First Baptist Church of Orange Park affirms The Baptist Faith and Message (2000) as its confession of faith. The church teaches that the Bible, written by men divinely inspired, is God's revelation of Himself and is totally true and trustworthy, with Christ as its focus. There is one true and living God who exists eternally as Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. Man was created in God's image, fell into sin, and can be restored only through God's grace. Salvation comes by personal faith in Jesus Christ and involves regeneration, justification, sanctification, and glorification. The church is an autonomous local congregation of baptized believers, governed by Scripture under the Lordship of Christ with pastors and deacons as its scriptural officers. Baptism is by immersion of a believer, and the Lord's Supper is a symbolic memorial.
The church believes in the priesthood of all believers, the cooperation of churches through voluntary associations, the separation of church and state, the sanctity of human life from conception to natural death, the dignity of marriage as the union of one man and one woman, and the responsibility of every believer to share the gospel and make disciples.
Missions, Church Planting, and CarePortal
Missions shape much of the church's identity. Through its Global Missions Fund, the church supports John Robinson with Linguæ Christi in Europe, ministries including Cabaret Haiti Mission, C4C Ministries, Mercy Support Services, and others. Locally, the church partners with the Orange Park Clothes Closet & Food Pantry through a fall food drive and engages CarePortal, an online platform that connects vulnerable families with concrete needs such as beds, clothing, and car seats.
The church plants through four partner churches, each a member of the Southern Baptist Convention and many supported by the Send Network: Grace Harbor Church in New Bedford, Massachusetts; Grace Redeemer Church in Anaheim, California; Redeemer St. Johns in St. Johns, Florida; and Trinity Hill Church in Monteverde, Florida.
Sending Out from Orange Park
The church cooperates with the First Coast Churches Network, the Florida Baptist Convention, and the Southern Baptist Convention. Mission trips in 2027 include a trip to Havana, Cuba, with C4C Ministries for high school juniors and seniors and adults, and a Pastors and Ministry Leaders Vision Tour to Wales and England with Pastor David Tarkington to visit the work of Linguæ Christi.
Leadership and Staff
David Tarkington serves as Senior Pastor, having joined the staff in December 1993 and becoming Senior Pastor in 2005. He holds degrees from the University of North Texas, Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary, and The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary, and serves as Expand Team Champion for First Coast Churches, Church Planters Care Champion for the Send Network, a member of the Committee on Order of Business for the Florida Baptist Convention, chaplain for the Orange Park Police Department and Orange Park Fire Department, character coach for Fleming Island High School athletics, founder of GameDay Church, trustee for Gateway Seminary, and 2025-2026 President of the Rotary Club of Orange Park. Mike Godfrey, Associate Pastor, joined the staff in September 2022 and leads pastoral training and church planting residency. Shelvin Lamb, a Jacksonville native and graduate of the University of North Florida and New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary, has served as worship pastor for more than twenty years.
Kenzie Allen leads missions mobilization and orphan care, Brian Borden oversees finance and single adults, Patrick Hayle leads mercy ministries, Crystal Saunders directs children and preschool ministries, and Tracy Tarkington serves alongside her in preschool ministry.
On the Calendar Each Week
The church office is open Monday through Thursday from 8 a.m. until 5 p.m. The church livestream is not currently broadcast, but sermons and Sunday Seminars are posted online, including recent series through Jonah, Nahum, Galatians, Esther, and the Ten Commandments, along with seminars on Christianity and world religions, biblical forgiveness, the Trinity, heaven, and a presentation by Dr. Christopher Yuan on sexual identity. Podcasts are available on Apple Podcasts and Spotify, and the church is active on Facebook, Instagram, and YouTube.