Maurice Williams
Maurice William’s Testimony
Maurice Williams was born and raised in McComb, MS which is right in the middle of the “Bible Belt”. However, I was not raised in church and lived the lifestyle of the lost and unchurched. My exposure to church was an occasional invitation to church by a girlfriend and when I went with her, the church people treated me like they did not want me there. My attitude was, “No problem, I won’t be back.” All my friends who went to church lived the same lifestyle as me, so
my thoughts were “why bother with church”.
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In 1985 an independent Baptist Church opened nearby in Magnolia, MS. Two coworkers started going to this new church. They were different from other Christians that I had met, being excited about being in church and inviting me to church. After several invitations I attended Tabernacle Baptist Church for the fist time on a Sunday night in December 1985. The Church members were so friendly and made me feel welcome. Because of the friendliness of everyone toward me, I continued visiting the church. After several weeks of hearing the Gospel clearly preached by Pastor Ray Gurnsey, I saw my lost condition and the need of accepting Jesus Christ as my Savior. In January of 1986, at the age of 28, I accepted Christ as my Savior.
As I started meeting Missionaries and hearing about their works around the world, I fell in love with missions. My first mission trip was taken in 1993 with Bro. Henry Benach to the Ukraine and Russia. Life changed from that point forward. After going on Cuban mission trips with JEM, the Lord has allowed us to become a part of JEM.
Sandy and I met while attending the same church. Sandy was raised in church and saved at 12 years old in VBS. We are charter members of Open Door Baptist Church in McComb, MS. It was a blessing for us to be a part of this new church plant which was started by Pastor Dennis Walker, the Preacher which led Bro. Henry Benach to the Lord. We have been active members of Open Door Baptist Church for many years. July 28, 2001 we were married and have been serving the Lord together both at home and on the foreign fields.