Every Town Needs a Downtown Church; a History of First Baptist Church, Gainesville, Florida.

Nashville: Southern Baptist Historical Society and Fields Publishing, Inc., 2000. 240 pp.

In frontier Gainesville, Florida, downtown was pretty much all of town in 1870 when a small band of believers established First Baptist Church. In 130 years First Baptist grew from a small wooden church with fifteen members and a shortage of money to a solid brick church complex with a membership that peaked in the mid 1980s at over 2,200 before falling to half of that by century's end. Throughout, money rarely matched needs. But it was the same church, still committed to downtown, where the needs were, even if the town had grown to over 90,000 with a university of more than 40,000 students in its midst.

C. Douglas Weaver tells the story of the rise, decline, and stabilization of First Baptist, mainstream but not always vanguard, during 130 years of change in missions and ministries, reform and reaction, communities in need of outreach. First Baptist remained an important part of Gainesville, but, like much of downtown over the past couple of decades, it has had to change with a changing community. First Baptist has encountered, coped with, perhaps mastered, the dislocations arising from the slow decline in popularity of both downtowns and churches. Stability became the goal where once expansion drove the church.

Weaver writes straightforward institutional history, not the fashion nowadays but still a valuable approach in that it gives an unshakable framework for others to embellish. Leaders and other prominent people dominate; there's no from-the-ground-up social history here. The book is laid out chronologically by pastor; within each pastorate are categories--call, facilities, organizations, missions, internal and external ministries, ecumenism, and so on. Throughout, although specific elements grow and wane, the structure and tasks of the church grow increasingly complex.

As new concerns arise, Weaver fits them into the story. For instance, he ably addresses the impact of civil rights and the conservative takeover of the Southern Baptist Convention. Furthermore, he does not shy away from the occasional scandal or crisis that damaged the church; Weaver is good about describing causes and consequences. He establishes clearly that, overall, the pattern is one of progress, slow and steady, and continuing strengthening of an initially strong foundation, resting on faith. Fashions change, but underlying commitment remains constant.

Sources are mostly oral histories and church records. The target audience presumably has some understanding of the ebb and flow of Baptist history. Still, Weaver is careful to give context that assists the reader in comprehending the actions and work of the church and its leaders. His study stands on its own and gives us a useful, readable contribution to American religious history.--Reviewed by John H. Barnhill, Yukon, Oklahoma.