First Baptist Church, Garden Lakes was launched as a mission of First Southern Baptist Church, Avondale in April 1953. Though the church has experienced many changes over the years, it has always remained consistent in its presentation of an ancient gospel to a modern world. We are convinced that “the gospel of Jesus Christ is the power of God unto salvation of all who will believe.”
When the church family first moved to our present location in April 1979, there were no houses in the immediate area and the church was surrounded by cotton fields. Since then, we have seen the farm land replaced by hundreds of houses and thousands of people. We have been awakened to the fact that God has enlarged our territory and given to us a tremendous responsibility of ministering to those around us. It is our desire to win many to faith in Christ and disciple them to grow in their love for Christ.
In October 2003, we enjoyed our Fiftieth Anniversary Celebration and a ground-breaking ceremony for new Worship Center, which was completed in July 2006, and dedicated in August. Since then the church has seen many changes, including the retirement of Pastor Jerry Dunn, the addition of Garden Lakes Christian Academy to our campus, and the crash of our local economy, but God is forever faithful.
From 2011 – 2019, Pastor Jeffrey Stachmus served as the Senior Pastor and many were reached with The Gospel message. As a church, we launched New Light Korean Baptist Church to it’s own campus, licensed 3 individuals to ministry, and partnered with 3 other new church plants! In addition to our regular church ministries, our on campus mission ministries currently include a professional child care Academy, which is present on campus Monday through Friday. We serve as host to two mission churches that utilize our facilities for their Sunday worship services and another for small group studies. We work cooperatively with the Estrella Baptist Association and the Arizona Southern Baptist Convention, in an effort to reach our world for Christ on the regional, national, and international mission fields.
As our pastor has answered God’s call to his next ministry assignment, we have entered a period of transition. With a team of leaders in place, our church continues to grow and move forward during this interim time. As you visit us you will find members who reside in the area year round, as well as an influx of winter visitors who call FBCGL home when they flee the cold weather! You can count on meeting new friends on a regular basis and being made to feel welcomed and cared for when you visit our campus.