History
The Early Beginnings of Alachua Baptist Association
(Nature Coast Baptist Association)
Alachua Baptist Association was formed in 1847. It was composed of twelve churches having a membership of 500. The Association represented an area from the Suwanne River, east to the Atlantic Ocean, north to the Georgia line, and south to Key West. By 1915 the Associational boundary line were rather firmly fixed and Alachua had received its present designated area. The boundaries now include Hernando, Citrus and Sumter counties. We are the third oldest Association in the state. By 1860 there were 25 churches and 941 members. The War Between the States took a heavy toll on the churches and as late as 1881, only twenty-two churches reported to the Association. Within the next two years the Association grew to thirty one active churches and 1,034 members. The entire association averaged nearly $.73 per person in giving. In 1857 the mother section of Alachua Association had withdrawn and organized a new body. The new body mainly situated in Alachua County, left the old name with the old body and took the name of Santa Fe Missionary Baptist Association. The center of Alachua Association then became the Brookville/Leasburg area. In 1946 Alachua churches reported 2,643 members and 122 baptisms, in an area of 1,700 sq. miles and a population of 15,388.
Today, Nature Coast Baptist Association (Alachua) has 38 churches and 2 new church starts in three counties, Citrus, Hernando and Sumter. In 2006 our churches reported 12, 730 members and 514 baptisms. Rev. Joe Maddox has been the Director of Missions since 1993 and has brought the association into the twenty-first century.
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