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As First Baptist Church of Marco Island continues to mount a marvelous future it also has a deep-seeded past.

Its first service was led by Pastor Dale Vessel on Sept. 13, 1964, in a small building located where Tommie Barfield Elementary School now stands.

First Baptist moved to Goodland when property was donated in 1966. First Baptist and a small but mighty congregation of 25, opened its first sanctuary on Mango Avenue on March 13, 1966.

As the word spread, the church grew and became an official constituted body on May 16, 1971.

However, by 1975, the church was in crisis. There were few members and a lack of interest by the Goodland residents in the church, according to church history. Were it not for the stamina of a few members the church might have closed its doors.

It was decided the church needed to relocate to a growing Marco Island. First Baptist began holding services in Tommie Barfield Elementary School on Jan. 4, 1976, with the Rev. W.H. Smitty.

Attendance grew to as many as 45 for services, leading to First Baptist requesting property from the Deltona Corporation, the major developer of the Island, to build a church.

ROGER LALONDE / Eagle staff

An aerial photo of the First Baptist Church of Marco Island.

View from above: First Baptist Church rises to meet the community’s needs (07-27-07)

Deltona agreed to provide land on Winterberry Drive for a small church. Groundbreaking for the new church was on Feb. 2, 1977. The first service in the new building was held on April 30, 1978, with about 50 members in attendance.

Over the years the small congregation had different pastors. In September, 1979, the Rev. Jack Hughen became the church’s full-time pastor and remained in that role for 20 years. A new sanctuary, with additional educational space was completed in 1980, housing 117 students. Over the years the school was phased out and the Learning Center expanded. In 2000, a 6,000 square-foot education building was constructed to meet the needs of a growing daycare ministry, accommodating 136 full-time children.

Hughen retired in the fall of 2002 and the Rev. Tim Neptune became pastor in 2003, coming to Marco to implement growth, not only on the island, but also for church planting.

An aerial view today shows the major construction work that will yield a 420-seat sanctuary, offices, nursery, classrooms, bookstore, library and coffee shop. A major inclusion in the construction is a future high school. It will be the first on Marco Island. Goal date for beginning classes is the fall of 2009.

The construction is ahead of schedule and worship may take place in the new facility by April, 2008. There also are plans for worship facilities off island, with the first being at Edison College in January 2008. The 10-year goal is to plant 20 new facilities across Collier County.