This year, the Lord has called home seven of His faithful servants who labored alongside us in the work of Baptist Church Planters. Their lives remind us of Hebrews 13:7, which urges us to “remember those who spoke the word of God to you. Consider the outcome of their way of life and imitate their faith.” Four of these dear ones were part of the very foundation of our Mission in 1991, and their legacy of faithfulness continues to shape the work we do today. As we honor their memory, we rejoice that their race is finished. What a joy it has been to serve alongside so many faithful brothers and sisters in the Lord!
Donna began teaching Sunday school at 16 and never quit teaching. After marriage, Bob and Donna began serving together in their local church. God was preparing them for their BCP ministry: Bob’s passion for discipleship; Donna’s love for teaching and caring for people. Joining BCP in 2003, they traveled to assist churches and visit college campuses to minister to young people. In 2006, they became the Mission Candidate Coordinators and faithfully and effectively arranged candidate visits, training sessions, and materials until 2018 when they retired from active duty at the Mission. Both continued serving at their local church, Donna teaching those little ones and Bob leading both the senior saints and the college-age classes!
Dee served first in New Brunswick, Canada, then transitioned to the states to serve with FBHM/BMNA before transitioning to BCP in 1991 (the start of the Mission). Her ministry focus was children’s ministry, and she served faithfully in many venues in church and in her neighborhood. Her Hammond Herald always included another report of a new JOY Club starting up. Other ministries seen in her prayer letters include jail ministry, ladies’ prayer fellowship, and choir. Dee’s legacy is one of hard work to see church ministries to their children strengthened.
When John and Willie Mae joined BCP in 1991, they had already been serving as missionaries since 1965, planting or re-establishing five churches, and as college faculty and vice president! The passions that the Lord laid on their hearts were the right ones to direct our Mission into new ways and avenues of ministry. John presented the need for cross-cultural missions across the nation in churches, conferences, and colleges. He and Willie Mae also consulted struggling churches, and they were personally invested in a revitalization work in Lorain, OH, for several years. The impact of John’s personal investment in the lives of young men, whether considering ministry or entrenched in ministry, in the states as well as in Africa, cannot be measured. But the Lord knows and has commended John for his faithfulness to the work entrusted to him.
Jan married Terry Elliott in 1962, and during their 28 years together, they worked as home missionaries with BMNA and FBHM. They started over five new churches in their years together before the Lord took Terry Home. Jan loved serving the Lord in the areas of children’s ministry, music, hosting guests, and supporting her pastor husband. In 1994, Jan married William Paton and continued serving with him in a similar ministry in four churches. They retired in 2010 and moved to Missionary Acres, but Jan kept on serving—teaching Sunday school, working in Kids’ Club and youth group, and playing piano/organ for church services. Right up until her Homegoing, Jan faithfully prayed for and supported her church family.
Sarian became a nurse in 1962 before heading to Bible college. She met Merle at BBC, and they married in 1966. Shortly after, they embarked on a more than 50-year ministry life together, serving in local church ministry with BCP as home missionaries. The Lord used them to start or strengthen churches in NY, NC, PA, and IA, and finally in FL. Merle and Sarian also served as foster parents for 23 years, loving on over 50 foster kids in their home. They were known for opening their home to many people who needed temporary housing. Sarian is described as a wonderful Proverbs 31 woman.
Born in Canada, Verna spent her early years in Ontario where she was trained to be a teacher. She began her career in a one-room schoolhouse in rural Canada before moving to Maine. Over the course of her life, she also resided in New York, Pennsylvania, and finally Ohio. Verna continued teaching while serving as a devoted pastor’s wife to her husband David. Joining BCP in 1991 (and helping to establish the Mission) as an independent contractor, they served in over 18 churches together. Their pastoral journey concluded at Calvary Baptist Church in Oberlin, OH, and then at Abbe Road Baptist Church in Elyria, OH.
Beverly served the Lord as a pastor’s wife for 23 years prior to joining BCP, supporting him as secretary, teacher, program director, etc. After her first husband passed, Beverly felt that “God still wanted to use me…to be a helpmeet to a pastor. The Lord sent Walter…into my life, to be a completer and to be part of the work in Tallahassee.” They married in March 1991 and transitioned smoothly to Baptist Church Planters in 2012 and continued ministering to the people of inner-city Tallahassee through Providence Baptist Church even after “retirement” in 2019. The Lord blessed their ministry there with many souls saved, regular Bible studies and baptisms, and a community ministry called The Bread Ministry.
Baptist Church Planters exists to help churches build healthy disciple-making congregations. If you or your church are ready to grow in godliness and leadership, reach out to us today. Let’s partner together to make disciples who make disciples.
