The first church in Sarasota County was organized by John Hendry on July 6, 1875. Charter members of Friendship Baptist Church were E.R. and Emiline Foster, Rebecca Lowe, Mrs. L.F. Rawls, Martha Reaves, I.A. and Eleanor Redd, John Tatum, Serene Tatum, and J.F.M. Tippett. Members erected a small log structure on borrowed land 5 miles south of here that served until 1887. The first pastor was E. J. Hull, followed by I.A Redd, who served from 1877 to 1891, and services were held one weekend per month. This four acre plot was obtained in 1887 through the efforts of Charles Reaves, Fruitville's first settler. Because a cemetery was needed, the Florida Mortgage and Investment Co., LTD gave this site as a place of public worship, school, and burying ground. Church members raised building funds from the sale of 100 barrels of lime produced from burned oyster shells, and the trustees were Charles L. Reaves, Frank H. Tucker, and John Tatum. The first services in the new church were held in June 1887, and within a year membership doubled to 43. The church building also served as the area's school until 1898. In 1953 the early building was moved 1/2 mile south of here and was replaced by a new structure to serve over 200 members.