About Us
Our History
Pastoring together for over 93 years
In 1948 the Association’s name was changed to Pinellas Baptist Association to include those churches in adjacent counties who wanted to become a part of the fellowship. Then in 1988 the Association’s name was changed to its present name to be more inclusive of the Association’s churches in southwestern Pasco County.
For Several years Pinellas County Baptist Association was served by the same missionary that served the Tampa Bay area. The title changed several times, they were called: Field Secretaries, Superintendent of Missions, Director of Missions, Associational Director, and currently called Associational Mission Strategist, but basic responsibilities have remained the same, that of “assisting the churches to fulfill their mission.”
The Suncoast Baptist Association began in 1932 as the Pinellas County Baptist Association. It’s founding membership was made up of eight Southern Baptist churches.
The eight founding SBA churches, their birth years, and their pastors in 1932:
Calvary Baptist Church, Clearwater (1866) – Rev. W. Norman Lidy
First Baptist Church, Dunedin (1910) – Rev. J.W. Gaddy
First Baptist Church, Largo (1908) – Rev. G. Talmadge Hinton
First Baptist, Ozona (1915) – Rev. B.M. Glisson
Fist Baptist Church, Safety Harbor (1913) – Rev. L.F. Walker
First Baptist Church, St. Petersburg (1892) – Rev. David M. Gardner
Fifth Avenue Baptist Church, St. Petersburg (1928) – Rev. J.T. McNew
Pine City Baptist Church, St. Petersburg (1925) – Rev. G.E. Burton