BIMI missionaries Marvin and Donna Woodson spent 25 years planting churches in Canada. During their 2006 furlough, they discovered that Marvin’s mother had developed some serious health problems that required assistance. Marvin and Donna, married for 32 years, never had any children of their own. Marvin, the only sibling in his family, immediately recognized his responsibility to care for his ailing mother. They sought counsel from their pastor, Dr. Matt Jarrell, of Open Door Baptist Church in Mesquite, Texas.
Dr. Jarrell saw the unfortunate circumstances as a great opportunity. His church had been praying that the Lord would enable them to help start 25 new Independent Baptist churches in the “bedroom communities” around Dallas and Fort Worth. (The area has been experiencing tremendous growth and is a ripened field for new churches.) Pastor Jarrell suggested that they pray about partnering with Open Door Baptist Church to start churches in the region.
The Woodsons prayed earnestly about this new direction and ultimately sensed peace from the Lord about the decision. In December of 2006, the Personnel Committee of BIMI officially transferred the Woodsons from the Far North to USA church planting ministries.
I had the opportunity to assist in the preplanning of this new church in April when my wife and I spent a week with the Woodsons. Marvin and Donna felt led to start their USA church-planting ministry in Allen, Texas. Allen is about 30 minutes north of Dallas and has witnessed a population explosion in recent years. In ten years, it has grown from a “wide spot in the road” to a city of more than 76,000. Experts predict that all available property within the city limits will be sold within the next decade. It has some churches but only one Independent Baptist church.
God provided a wonderful place to start the new church. Marvin rented a conference room in a nice Hampton Inn. He then scheduled the opening services for 10:00 and 11:00 a.m., and 6:00 p.m. on Sunday, June 3, 2007. They had new covers printed for several thousand John/Romans, in addition to 10,000 Gospel tracts. On June 1 and 2, volunteers from Open Door Baptist Church helped distribute the literature and invite people to the opening service. The next day, the first service of Maranatha Baptist Church was held. In spite of heavy thunderstorms, a few people visited on that first Sunday. One of those visitors, a 21-year-old young lady, trusted Christ in the evening service!
Marvin shared his future vision for the infant church with me. He is praying for a new pastor to take the work in 12 to 18 months. Then he wants to do it all over again. He has already chosen the place for the next church. McKinney is a town of nearly 100,000, also in need of churches. When that work is eventually underway, then 23 others still wait to be started!
