About Us

Our Story

 

MARGARET WYNN MEMORIAL BAPTIST CHURCH

HISTORY 1962 - present

       The Margaret Wynn Memorial Baptist Church of Poland, Ohio was first known as the South Park Baptist Mission.  It began in the home of Faye and Vie Shingleton on Leland Avenue in Poland.  In January of 1962, two families from Parkview Baptist Church met weekly for worship and bible study.  A third family joined in February.  In March of that year the mission called A.R.Wynn and his wife Patsy, (a recent seminary graduate from Texas) to be their first Pastor.  That summer the Wynns moved to a large home at 5797 Youngstown-Poland Road.  The church began using that site as their meeting place.

       The congregation continued to grow and by September it moved the meeting place to the basement of the McCrones building at 1 Main Street, Poland.  The Wynn’s five year old daughter, Margaret, succumbed to the effects of Cystic Fibrosis on December 2, 1962 and the church chose to name itself in her memory when it constituted on March 3, 1963.

       The first revival was held in 1962 and the first Vacation Bible School was held in 1963.

       The church located some property at 56 Water Street and negotiated a loan in 1963 with the Home Mission Board.  The building was built over a two year period.  The church began to meet in the basement of the new building in early 1965. 

After 6 years of service Pastor Wynn was called to service at Sheffield Lake Baptist Church.  We then called Gordon Sayers as our interim pastor until calling Thomas Forte to be our Pastor and he served until 1972.  At that time the church called Gary Henderson.  In 1974 Dupre Gowan was called to Pastor the church.  Under his direction the church planned and constructed the parsonage at 52 Water Street.  Most of the work was done by the members of the church. 

In 1976 Bill West was called to be Pastor and served until the church called Mike Gibson in 1978.  In 1982 Pastor Dupre Gowan was called back to the church to serve as Pastor until his time of retirement in 1984.  At that time the church called Don Ertel.  During his pastorate at the church the mortgage on the church building was paid in full November of 1985. 

In 1993 the church called Pastor Barry Knaub to be its Pastor.  During his pastorate the mortgage on the parsonage was paid in full. Pastor Knaub was called to serve at our fellow SBC church in Niles in 2003 and at that time Steve Tharp served as interim pastor from May 2003 to June 2004.  Pastor Danny Burd served the church through the summer of 2004. 

Pastor Jeff Jeffers came to serve in June of 2005. During this time the church updated the sanctuary and foyer and added a sound room to enhance our worship experience. 

In September of 2010 Pastor Barry Knaub was called back to be our Pastor. A praise band was started while Pastor Knaub was here.  During his second pastorate here the church was flooded in February of 2011.  The church had to be completely remodeled and during that time the church met at the Poland Township building on Dobbins Road.  When we were able to return to the church building we had a beautifully remodeled church.  In July of 2012 the Korean church ministry was started and is presently meeting after our services and using our facilities.  What a blessing it is to be able to share our church and spread God’s word even more.

Pastor Barry Knaub and his wife Mary retired from the ministry in September of 2017 to move to Columbus and be with their grandchildren.  Pastor Mark Parks came to be our interim Pastor at that time.  He and his wife are presently pastoring the Grace Place Mission in Warren.

In January of 2018 we called Pastor Dan Hetzer, his wife Rachel and their 3 children to our church. After 4 months, Pastor Dan returned to Florida.
 In November of 2018 we called Pastor James Lackey, his wife Melissa and their son, Hudson to our church. In June of 2020, Pastor Lackey felt called to return to Kentucky.

The church has ordained at least 8 men that were called to the ministry from our church. Two of the ordained continued on to serve on as church staff.  Pastor Bill West was ordained by the church and then served as our Pastor for several years.  Pastor Mark Wimbish was ordained by our church and then served as our Youth Pastor for 6 years. Past records indicate the church having a hand in starting 3 missions.  One in Liberty, one in Columbiana, and one in New Castle.  And we are presently involved in the Korean ministry and Grace Place ministry. God has blessed us with many new members and there are several families that have been here since the beginning or shortly after as God has led them to continue His work here.  Everyone working together to spread The Word and loving each other like family is one of the things that has always made this church so special.

The history of our church, however, goes far beyond places, dates and statistics.  It is the workings of God in individuals lives within the church giving them the desire to spread His love to others in the church and to go out into the world and tell others of “The Good News” that Jesus Christ can be their Lord and Savior.  It is all of the church members working together under God’s direction to meet the needs of others in the community and in the church.  Please pray that God will continue to lead all of us as members of Margaret Wynn Memorial Baptist church to spread His word and meet needs in His name now and the future.

Our Beliefs

 

Bible. We believe the Bible, consisting of 66 books, to be the inspired Word of God, without error, the revelation of His will for the salvation of men, and the divine and final authority for all Christian faith and life.

God. We believe in one God existing in three persons: Father, Son and Holy Spirit. God has always been and will always be the only God. There were none before Him and shall be none after him.

The Father. We believe that the Father created all things in heaven and on earth. He created human beings out of a love for us and desires a personal relationship with each of us.

Jesus. We believe that Jesus Christ is true God and true man, having been conceived of the Holy Spirit and born of the Virgin Mary. He lived a sinless life and died on the cross as the sacrifice for our sins according to the Scriptures. Furthermore, He arose bodily from the dead and ascended into heaven.

Holy Spirit. We believe that the ministry of the Holy Spirit is to convict men, making them aware of their sin and the salvation available through Jesus. He regenerates, guides, instructs, and empowers the believer for godly living and service.

Man. We believe that man was created in the image of God and sinless, but fell into sin and is therefore lost and subject to judgment. There is nothing man can do to save himself from this judgment, but he can accept the death of Jesus as punishment in place of his own eternal death by acknowledging God and accepting the free gift of salvation.

Salvation. We believe that the sacrificial death of Jesus Christ provides the only way of justification and salvation for all who believe. Any who attach additional works of man as a requirement for salvation are false in that they infer Jesus’ death is insufficient in and of itself to save and that human beings somehow have the capability to save themselves.

Accepting the Sinner, Denouncing the Sin. We believe that no sin is too big for God to forgive. Therefore, as Christians we should be open and eager to share the Gospel with everyone regardless of their sin or affliction. However, making Jesus Lord of our lives means striving towards holiness and turning from our sinful ways. Therefore, while being open to all sinners, Christians ought not accept, ignore, or promote any sin as permissible.

Non-Essential Elements. We believe the above tenets make up the basis of Christian faith on which all Christians believe and agree. We have intentionally omitted any statements regarding areas of legitimate disagreement (i.e., baptism, predestination, end times) on which agreement is not essential for salvation.