Fannin Road Baptist Church
"All scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable
for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in
righteousness;"
II Timothy 3:16
HISTORY OF FANNIN ROAD BAPTIST CHURCH
Life
at any church is looking ahead to see what God’s will and God’s
direction is for it. Today we
pause for a moment to reflect on what God
has done in the past and to look ahead for His will and
our
future.
Fannin
Road was established as Trinity Bible Church in 1974 under the
leadership of Pastor E.W.
Blow. Trinity Bible Church knew four
temporary homes: The home of a member, Griel Memorial
Chapel, Faith
Rescue Mission, and Westview Garden Club. In 1985, by God’s grace and
the
faithfulness and sacrifice of many of His people, construction was
completed here on Fannin Road.
In
1974, Bro. Blow had a ministry at Maxwell Federal Prison. It was there
that a prisoner, hearing
of the newly-formed church, gave the first
building fund offering—three one-dollar bills.
In
late 1981, a church member, Dorothy Hatfield donated the land for the
current church building,
and in November of that year the first regular
building fund offering was taken. Groundbreaking for
the new building
was held in May of 1982, and work progressed as the Lord provided funds.
Brother Blow went home to be with the Lord in December of 1983, and the
church called Bro. Paul
Hall as interim pastor for six months. Bro. Ralph
Davis was called as pastor following the interim
period.
In
March of 1985, Bro. Ray Hayes was called as pastor. Also in 1985 a
special sacrifice offering
was taken to finish the building. That
Sunday our people gave through a love offering of $5000,
enabling us to
finish the present building. On June 9, 1985, we dedicated our new
church home to
the Lord. Toward the end of 1985, in October of that
year, we began our Faith Promise Giving
Program which allowed us to
begin supporting mission works around the world.
In
January of 1986, the church voted to change the name of Trinity Bible
Church to Fannin Road
Baptist Church. In June of that same year Fannin
Road became debt free, and we were able to
burn the mortgage at our 2nd
annual Homecoming.
In
1990, through God’s provision we purchased a double-wide mobile home for
a much needed
Sunday School and fellowship hall.
God
led Bro. Hayes into a counseling ministry through our local church. He
was burdened for
troubled lives, and God opened the doors of service at
the Faith Rescue Mission Farm reaching
many outside of our church
family. Bro. Hayes went home to be with the Lord in February of 1998.
God
sent many able men to fill the pulpit as we continued to pray for a
pastor, and in August of
1998 Bro. Jim Lester was called to Fannin Road.
In
January of 2001, we were given the opportunity to minister to the folks
at South Haven Nursing
Home. Each Sunday at 2pm we hold a special
service for these dear forgotten saints. God has
richly blessed with
faithful workers and good attendance.
In
September of 2002, a Juvenile Detention Ministry was given roots by
Brother Ronnie Hall. On
second Tuesday of each month, our church took
the Gospel through preaching, song, and
testimonies, to young men at the
Air Base Boot Camp. Currently, we are awaiting the restructure
of this
program and will continue as soon as the Lord allows.
In May
of 2003, we added the Young At Heart Ministry to our church outreach.
Currently this is led
by Sister Nancy Hayes and has 19 members. The
only requirements are you have to be “50 or
older” and love the Lord.
2004
was a very busy year for Fannin Road Baptist Church! We began our 1st
semester at Faith
Bible Institute with an enrollment of 18 students.
Class is held each Monday night. This is a great
opportunity to learn
God’s Word through Theology, Old Testament and New Testament study. Our
first graduation was held in 2007.
Also
in 2004, we began several new programs for our youth of which is our
Patch the Pirate Club,
led by Brother Wade and Sister Diane Hill.
Children up to the 6th grade learn much from God’s
Word
through this wonderful musical program, all centered on the Word of
God. In 2007, Pee-Wee
Patch was started.
Pee-Wee Patch
is a younger version of the Patch the Pirate Club. The
children are of
pre-school age These clubs meet each
Sunday evening at 6pm.
Along
with our Patch Club we saw a need to reach Children on Wednesday nights.
From this
sprang a ministry we first called Ricky’s Kids after Brother
Ricky Segars who led this ministry
where children held their
own prayer meeting filled with prayer requests, Bible study, game time,
and sometimes even an apple. In 2007, we divided the Children into
three groups: King's Kids
(Kindergarten - 2nd grade), Pathfinders (3rd -
6th grade), and Teens (7th – 12th grade). Please
pray, for these programs which have grown by leaps and bounds.
2005
started out with a bang! God called us a Youth Pastor/Associate,
Brother Trent Hollen.
Trent hit the ground running and the church was a
buzz with all the new activities going on from
Biscuits baseball to
white water rafting. In late 2007, Brother John Hale was called as our
new
Youth Pastor/Associate, and he joined with us in February 2008.
Also
in 2005, our Bus Ministry was restructured with three families involved
in this special ministry.
Heading up this program was Brother Joe and
Sister Tammy Sanders. In addition to our 15
passenger van, the church
purchased a 40 passenger bus. In 2007, an additional 15 passenger
van
was purchased. We now have over seven families involved with the Bus
Ministry. Please
continue to pray as we minister to the many trailer
parks, housing area, and to those who must be
reached with the Gospel,
our children.
Proverbs 29:18 says “Where there is no vision, the people perish……” God
has given our church
a vision for a lost and dying world. We currently
support 14 mission works around the world and
each Saturday a team from
our GROW program “Go Reach Our World” visits our mission field.
Everyone in our church gets the opportunity to go Soul Winning one
Saturday a month. Where is
your vision for the lost? This is our
heartbeat, why? John 3:16!! He gave so much, and yet we
give so
little. Make this your vision and get started now.
Today,
as many as one hundred and fifty people call Fannin Road Baptist Church
home. We are
quickly outgrowing this current building and need to
either build, or buy an existing structure. We
need to be continually
moving forward for the Lord. In His timing He will meet and supply our
needs.
We
don’t know what the future will hold, but are you willing to be a part
of that? Are you willing to
pray, to seek, and to yield yourselves over
to the work God? God wants to use you!