Expansion of the Church

Shortly after Brother Peter Lord became pastor, the church called Brother Bill Flanders as Minister of Music. The attendance increased to the point that there were three services on Sunday and the fellowship hall was set up for the overflow crowd. A Building Committee was formed. The church tried to purchase property at the downtown location, but found nothing available at a reasonable price. Brother Joe Boatwright, Pastor of First Baptist Church Mims, a college classmate and good friend of Brother Peter’s, offered to transfer an option to buy on property they had chosen for a mission on Park Avenue, to First Baptist Titusville. In that way the church could build on Park Avenue and relocate the church from the downtown location.

Relocation

The Building Committee began to plan a new facility at the Park Avenue location. The church sold bonds to raise money for the new facility, which was estimated to cost $700,000.00. During the planning process, it was decided to leave a part of the membership downtown as a mission and to move the majority of the congregation to the new facility. However, some of the long time members wanted to stay downtown, and they also wanted to retain the name “First Baptist Church of Titusville.” The church decided to do that and to name the new church “Park Avenue Baptist Church.” The new facility would consist of a Sanctuary, Nursery Building, and a Recreation/Education Building. The three buildings were built at a cost of approximately $680,000.00. The Recreation/Education building was completed first and the first services were held there the early part of 1969. The Sanctuary was completed and the first service held in May, 1969.

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