Florence Baptist Temple · Since 1969
One congregation, more than five decades, and a gospel message carried from an old theater near the airport to generations around the world.
Begin the story↓Bill and Norma Monroe · The early years
1969
A church begins
On Sunday, November 2, 1969, 25-year-old Bill Monroe gathered a small group in Florence with a clear purpose: preach the gospel and build a church that would serve the whole family. By his recollection, the message that morning was the first sermon he had ever preached.
From November 1969 through April 1972, the congregation met in a former World War II base chapel and theater near the Florence airport. Rent was $50 a month, plus $8.50 for water. The roof leaked, the building was difficult to heat, and doors became makeshift Sunday School tables.
From the early archive · 1969–1972
These photographs show the congregation during its years in the former theater building near the Florence airport.
The invitation goes out
Newspaper announcements carried the invitation across Florence, introducing families to a young church with a growing Sunday School and a heart for the city.
1972
A permanent home
After two and a half years near the airport, the church purchased five acres of an Irby Street pecan grove and placed two more under option. A $5,000 building-fund down payment and a $250,000 bond issue made the first permanent building possible. On April 9, 1972, the congregation moved into a 15,000-square-foot building with a 500-seat auditorium and 13 classrooms—today’s chapel and surrounding classrooms.
The first 36 months
What began in a rented theater quickly became a church with a permanent home, a growing Sunday School, and families arriving from across the Florence area.
1972
Florence Christian School
Florence Christian School opened as a ministry of the church with 54 students in kindergarten through third grade. Pastor Monroe founded the school and has served as its president. Its first graduating class—16 seniors—followed in May 1979.
1972 onward · Church and school together
The church and school grew side by side on Irby Street, sharing the same campus, leadership, and purpose. Classrooms, commencements, and new construction became part of one unfolding ministry.
1977
December 18 · From the archive
Long before sermons could be streamed, messages were carried home on cassette. In this surviving clip, Pastor Bill Monroe preaches the same promise Florence Baptist Temple still proclaims: Christ is coming again.
“The promise of Christ’s return has never changed.”
1986
February 9 · The Baptist Temple Hour
On February 9, 1986, FBT signed with ABC affiliate WPDE and put its Sunday morning service on television. The broadcast later expanded to WMBF, carrying the service across the Pee Dee, Grand Strand, eastern South Carolina, and into southeastern North Carolina.
Explore the sermon library ▶The Baptist Temple Hour · Original television recording
1987
November 1 · The 18th anniversary
On the church’s 18th anniversary, Pastor Monroe reflected on the years since its first service and thanked God for years of preaching, discipleship, missions, and church planting.
1988
April · Genesis Day
In April 1988, “Genesis Day” marked the reorganization of Sunday School as FBT’s central strategy for reaching, teaching, and serving. The ministry structure grew with the congregation, making room for more people to learn and belong.
1992
A landmark year
A contract for the new worship center was signed in August 1991, ground was broken in September, and construction took 13 months. The church dedicated the auditorium on November 1, 1992.
For 72 hours before the dedication, people read the entire Bible aloud from the new pulpit. Then nearly 2,000 voices spoke its first words together: “Jesus is Lord!”
A gift to the community
Choir music and a live Nativity invited Florence inside to hear the story of Christ’s birth. The welcome reached beyond the presentation, pairing free admission with a food drive for neighbors in need.
The purpose stayed centered on what Pastor Monroe called “the real story of Christmas.” In 2013, the Living Christmas tree food drive had filled 70 boxes for neighbors in need.
More room to gather
The former auditorium became the Dining Hall and Sunday School area; a Spanish service also began that year.
Space for the next generation
The dedicated “D” Building opened new space for children and freed rooms for youth and adults.
May · Ministry Center
The new office complex created still more Sunday School space in “A” Building.
2002–2006 · Beyond Florence
Pastor Monroe served two terms as president of the Baptist Bible Fellowship International. Its National Church Planting Office was established during his tenure.
June · A ministry of recovery
A Christ-centered addictions ministry began serving people and families. Its first meetings were held in Corbett Stone’s living room; within a year, the ministry had grown enough for him to join the church staff full time.
Recreation and outreach
Football, baseball, softball, tennis, and Upward Sports expanded the campus as a place of outreach.
A church in motion
Each image holds a piece of the life of Florence Baptist Temple—a church gathering, serving, singing, traveling, and making room for the next person to come through the doors.
2014
45th anniversary
Generations of the church family filled the sanctuary for the 45th anniversary shown here.
Five years earlier, more than 1,800 people attended the 40th-anniversary Sunday, where charter members were honored and Pastor Monroe received the Palmetto Patriot Award and the Order of the Palmetto. Beyond the weekly pulpit, Pastor Monroe authored three books and numerous pamphlets and journal articles while teaching and encouraging pastors and church planters beyond Florence.
2019
Fifty years
The church’s “Sower” sculpture turns its history into a promise: the seed of the gospel has been sown here for generations, and the work continues into the future.
“We are not just building a memorial for the past, we are casting a vision for the future.”
2025
November · 56th anniversary
Florence Baptist Temple still gathers, teaches, serves, and sends. Pastor Bill Monroe is still preaching—and the next chapter is being written in the present tense.
“I want to tell the story once again because I don’t want us to ever forget it.”
Continue the story
