How it all started...
Oak Park Baptist Church
History Summary
On March 27, 1957, what was to become the Oak Park Baptist Church began as a dream in the hearts of Rev. Ted Jones and Mr. T. C. Roundtree of the Archer Baptist Church. The two men proceeded to ask about possible interest in a Baptist Church for the community in the grocery store of Mrs. Mittie White. The following Friday evening, twenty-four people met in Mrs. White’s home to discuss the vision. On April 5, 1957 a motion was made and unanimously passed that the body be organized. That evening seventeen people responded to the invitation to become the first charter members of the Archer Road Baptist Chapel.
As the new work flourished, they bought property (1.5 acres on Archer Road west of Gainesville), moved into an old existing 30 ft. by 40 ft. tin building, furnished it, and dedicated it to the work and ministry of the Lord. With God’s blessings on the mission, the ministry constituted as the Oak Park Baptist Church on April 2, 1961. An application for membership in the Santa Fe River Baptist Association was submitted and accepted that same year.
By the late1970's the church had built two permanent buildings, i.e., a sanctuary and an education/fellowship building. The ministry and vision continued to grow. In 1986 the church purchased an additional 3 ½ acres of property adjoining the original site. A volleyball court, children’s play area, and a softball field were developed on the new land. In 2007 the church got involved with Pray-Then-Play Sports. To accommodate that commitment, the softball field was converted to two football fields.
In 2009 the church launched a new worship center building project that was completed and dedicated the first Sunday of July in 2017. During those years, the Celebration Pointe project got underway. Since they needed a strip of our fields for their paved entrance road, the sports fields had to be reconfigured. By the time all the construction was finished, Pray-Then-Play Sports had been replaced with other Christian approaches to sports ministry. Then Covid 19 arrived and shut down practically every gathering activity. We are now actively seeking a young adult/college student to help us organize and develop and restart our sports ministry. One of the goals is to construct a small building on the fields that will house equipment storage space, restrooms, and a consessions area.
Currently, in addition to The Oaks Church services and ministries, we are hosting several other ministry groups including a Hispanic Church (Iglesia Evangelica Bautista) on Sunday afternoons, a college Asian Bible Study group on Monday Nights, a ladies' Precepts Bible Study group on Tuesday mornings, and a new Chinese-focused church (GainesvilleGrace Church) on Friday Nights.
We are still a work in progress...
Please feel free to join us as we seek to love the Lord and love people.
History Summary
On March 27, 1957, what was to become the Oak Park Baptist Church began as a dream in the hearts of Rev. Ted Jones and Mr. T. C. Roundtree of the Archer Baptist Church. The two men proceeded to ask about possible interest in a Baptist Church for the community in the grocery store of Mrs. Mittie White. The following Friday evening, twenty-four people met in Mrs. White’s home to discuss the vision. On April 5, 1957 a motion was made and unanimously passed that the body be organized. That evening seventeen people responded to the invitation to become the first charter members of the Archer Road Baptist Chapel.
As the new work flourished, they bought property (1.5 acres on Archer Road west of Gainesville), moved into an old existing 30 ft. by 40 ft. tin building, furnished it, and dedicated it to the work and ministry of the Lord. With God’s blessings on the mission, the ministry constituted as the Oak Park Baptist Church on April 2, 1961. An application for membership in the Santa Fe River Baptist Association was submitted and accepted that same year.
By the late1970's the church had built two permanent buildings, i.e., a sanctuary and an education/fellowship building. The ministry and vision continued to grow. In 1986 the church purchased an additional 3 ½ acres of property adjoining the original site. A volleyball court, children’s play area, and a softball field were developed on the new land. In 2007 the church got involved with Pray-Then-Play Sports. To accommodate that commitment, the softball field was converted to two football fields.
In 2009 the church launched a new worship center building project that was completed and dedicated the first Sunday of July in 2017. During those years, the Celebration Pointe project got underway. Since they needed a strip of our fields for their paved entrance road, the sports fields had to be reconfigured. By the time all the construction was finished, Pray-Then-Play Sports had been replaced with other Christian approaches to sports ministry. Then Covid 19 arrived and shut down practically every gathering activity. We are now actively seeking a young adult/college student to help us organize and develop and restart our sports ministry. One of the goals is to construct a small building on the fields that will house equipment storage space, restrooms, and a consessions area.
Currently, in addition to The Oaks Church services and ministries, we are hosting several other ministry groups including a Hispanic Church (Iglesia Evangelica Bautista) on Sunday afternoons, a college Asian Bible Study group on Monday Nights, a ladies' Precepts Bible Study group on Tuesday mornings, and a new Chinese-focused church (GainesvilleGrace Church) on Friday Nights.
We are still a work in progress...
Please feel free to join us as we seek to love the Lord and love people.
Expanding the vision...
The Oaks Church is a multi-generational, multi-cultural, multi-racial fellowship of Christ followers. We believe Jesus is not only the foundation of our lives, but He is the very center of our existence and fellowship. Every individual and every family needs the foundation and fellowship of Jesus and His community of believers, the church. Our statements of faith and practice are detailed in The Baptist Faith and Message: 2000 . We are a participating member of the North Central Florida Baptist Association, The Florida Baptist Convention, and The Southern Baptist Convention. As such, we also support the mission work of the North American Mission Board and the International Mission Board. For more information, at your request, we will be happy to email a copy of our constitution and by-laws. We are bound together by a calling to love the Lord, to love one another, to love others, and to share the good news of the gospel of Jesus Christ. The gospel of Jesus is the story of Jesus’ birth, death, burial, resurrection, ascension, and return. He loves us so much, He would rather die on a Roman Cross alone for us, than to go to heaven without us. If you have never given your life to Christ, please consider Jesus’ claims today.
He said, “I am the way, the truth, and the life; no one comes to the Father but by me.” (John 14:6) Would you join us on a journey of a lifetime that begins right where you are and ends in the presence of our Lord forever.
Jesus is calling you to follow Him.
He said, “I am the way, the truth, and the life; no one comes to the Father but by me.” (John 14:6) Would you join us on a journey of a lifetime that begins right where you are and ends in the presence of our Lord forever.
Jesus is calling you to follow Him.
Meet the team.
Pastor Danny Austin & Sister Eva
Senior Pastor
Pastor Danny with his wife, Eva, joined The Oaks Church staff in 1997. Called into full-time ministry in 1977 while teaching in high school in Arkansas, he was ordained to the gospel ministry in 1980. Pastor Austin has a BSE in Music Education from the University of Arkansas and earned a Doctorate in Worship Studies from the Institute for Worship Studies in 2010. In addition to pastoring The Oaks Church, he has been actively involved in cooperative ministry and fellowship with other area pastors and ministries for many years. Eva, a career public school teacher, shares the pastor’s heart for ministry and is actively involved in the ministries of the church. They have four adult children and four grandchildren.
Elsie Wilson
Ministry/Missions Director
Elsie felt a call to missions as a High School student. Earning a Bachelor’s Degree with a focus on Bible and Missions from Barrington College (Rhode Island), she went on to earn a MSN degree from Vanderbilt University. As a Registered Nurse, she has served the Lord through her profession as a Certified Nurse-Midwife and Family Nurse Practitioner for more than 40 years. As Director of the Frontier School of Midwifery and Family Nursing in Kentucky, she taught missionary nurses midwifery, many of whom are now ministering around the world. She also was privileged to found a Christian not-for-profit birthing center in St. Petersburg, FL. Elsie spent 15 years working among the Appalachian people in Kentucky, a year as a missionary in Zaire, Africa and has taken short-term missions trips to Guatemala, Brazil, Paraquay, China, Sri Lanka, Serbia, and Bolivia. After retiring from the UF Department of OB/GYN in 1999, she began serving on our staff. Subsequently, she earned her PhD at the International Seminary in Plymouth, FL.
Jo Lee Mobley
Church Secretary
Jo Lee, a long-time resident of Alachua County, gave her life to Jesus in 2002 and was baptized in The Oaks Church and became an active member. In December of that same year she joined our staff as Church Secretary & Receptionist and Administrative Assistant. She has two children and three grandchildren.