The people of First Baptist Church Maryville and the Winters Family greatly appreciate our prayers and ask you to continue to pray for the congregation, Pastor Fred’s family, and the assailant and his family. However, we ask you to e-mail any condolences to contact@fbcmonline.com instead of posting them here. We would like for this site to be filled only with memories and stories of our beloved Pastor Fred. Other guests, please utilize the Prayer Request section of our site for passing along your prayers and well wishes. Submit your stories now.

Our Stories

Not Titled

When I think of Pastor Fred I remember the first time I heard him preach.  Our daughter and son-in-law (Teresa & Dave Goodhue) lived in Troy in 1991 and we came from Charleston, IL to visit them and of course went to church with them on Sunday to check out this church they had told us about.  When I heard Fred preach the Word of God I was really impressed.  Here was a man who had a gift and used it to inform people and gave God the Glory for it.  When Mary and I moved here in 1994, because of a job change, we knew instantly where we would worship.  That was settled from the first time We heard him preach and met him for the first time.  We bought our home in Glen Carbon, 3 miles from the church because our church was close by.  We did not come here with a Southern Baptist background, but it didn't matter to Fred and it didn't matter to us.  This was going to be our church.  After working on various committees through the past 15 years, working in drama, teaching Sunday School, I came to know the real Fred.  The "real Fred" was the same man we saw preach for the very first time years ago.  I am still amazed how Pastor Fred could take his little note cards, with his sermon written on them so small I couldn't even read his notes and deliver the powerful sermons the way he did.  On Sundays I was able to sit backstage and listen to him preach the second and now even the third sermon without missing a word was amazing.  He did this without reading his notes, because he memorized it word for word.   He always had his little jokes and stories and of course the war stories as well.  To me he was just "Fred", or sometimes "Pastor Fred", not because I didn't respect him, but he was my friend as well as my pastor.  Mary and I are proud to have served our Lord under Pastor Fred.

The Happiness of Joy & Being Worry Free

The last sermon I heard Pastor Fred preach was on happiness, joy & on being worry free.  Also,  to let Jesus handle every situation in our lives no matter on the circumstances.  Pastor  Fred continued to say, we must have joy in our hearts but also in our mind, the two go hand in hand.   We can not worry continously about things, we must believe and have faith that our Savior will handle every situation the way he believes it should be.  The one thing that I learned that Sunday, was if we worry too much that is like saying to Jesus that he can not handle any situation in our lives. 

I have known the Lord as my personal Savior since I was 12, but I have not lived my life as the Lord wanted me to, I turned my back on him several times.  As I was visting this church, there was something about Pastor Fred that I have never felt in a church or seen in a pastor before. When he was up there preaching the sermons there was such passion, love, and devotion in his soul.  Pastor Fred most of all had the ability to introduce people to God, but when they accepted Christ into their lives, it filled him with joy, peace, and love.

When I was interested in joining the church, we had to have pizza with the pastor.  I had never seen a pastor and his wife have an invite like this before.  I thought to myself, what dedicated people they are to the church and to their people.  They both welcomed everyone like they were part of the family and like they knew us for years.  As Pastor Fred was introducing the information about the church and about his family, I knew  he was genuine, that is when I decided to join the church, that was three years ago.  Pastor Fred knew how to touch people through his sermons, he had a way about getting through to indivdiuals in the most kind, simple, loving voice.  He never had to preach forever, God was there showing and giving Pastor Fred the guidance he neeed

I would like to thank our Heavenly Father, for the Shepard he gave us here on this earth.  If we could just imagine if Pastor Fred was not introduced to us, how different our lives would be. You could tell how Pastor Fred lived his life and by how many lives he touched by the love that was expressed at his funeral.   God gave us a wonderful man who loved life, people , but most of all he loved doing the work of our Savior.  I know our hearts hurt from this tragic event, but we can not let evil prevail. God is with us through this terrible time, but he is the one who will give us the love, courage, and the strength to make us a stronger church and stronger Christians. 

Cindy you are a great example to all of us with your faith, courage, and your strength in these trying times.  Your faith inspires me as a Christian, that everyone does have a purpose and meaning.  Thank you for showing us how to be a better person even when evil tries to win.  I feel blessed to be apart of a church that has unity, purity, and flexibility.

The Happiness of Joy & Being Worry Free

The last sermon I heard Pastor Fred preach was on happiness, joy & on being worry free.  Also,  to let Jesus handle every situation in our lives no matter on the circumstances.  Pastor  Fred continued to say, we must have joy in our hearts but also in our mind, the two go hand in hand.   We can not worry continously about things, we must believe and have faith that our Savior will handle every situation the way he believes it should be.  The one thing that I learned that Sunday, was if we worry too much that is like saying to Jesus that he can not handle any situation in our lives. 

I have known the Lord as my personal Savior since I was 12, but I have not lived my life as the Lord wanted me to, I turned my back on him several times.  As I was visting this church, there was something about Pastor Fred that I have never felt in a church or seen in a pastor before. When he was up there preaching the sermons there was such passion, love, and devotion in his soul.  Pastor Fred most of all had the ability to introduce people to God, but when they accepted Christ into their lives, it filled him with joy, peace, and love.

When I was interested in joining the church, we had to have pizza with the pastor.  I had never seen a pastor and his wife have an invite like this before.  I thought to myself, what dedicated people they are to the church and to their people.  They both welcomed everyone like they were part of the family and like they knew us for years.  As Pastor Fred was introducing the information about the church and about his family, I knew  he was genuine, that is when I decided to join the church, that was three years ago.  Pastor Fred knew how to touch people through his sermons, he had a way about getting through to indivdiuals in the most kind, simple, loving voice.  He never had to preach forever, God was there showing and giving Pastor Fred the guidance he neeed

I would like to thank our Heavenly Father, for the Shepard he gave us here on this earth.  If we could just imagine if Pastor Fred was not introduced to us, how different our lives would be. You could tell how Pastor Fred lived his life and by how many lives he touched by the love that was expressed at his funeral.   God gave us a wonderful man who loved life, people , but most of all he loved doing the work of our Savior.  I know our hearts hurt from this tragic event, but we can not let evil prevail. God is with us through this terrible time, but he is the one who will give us the love, courage, and the strength to make us a stronger church and stronger Christians. 

Cindy you are a great example to all of us with your faith, courage, and your strength in these trying times.  Your faith inspires me as a Christian, that everyone does have a purpose and meaning.  Thank you for showing us how to be a better person even when evil tries to win.  I feel blessed to be apart of a church that has unity, purity, and flexibility.

The Faithful Sower

           My wife Janet and I, along with our three boys began attending FBCM back in the mid to late 1980’s, back when the church services were initially being held in the fellowship hall at the 2184 Vadalabene Drive location.  I can say whole heartedly that we had both the honor and life changing privilege of meeting and getting to know Fred and Cindy during that time.  Fred baptized our two oldest boys and poor Fred had the undaunted challenge of trying to lead me to accept Christ as my personal Lord and Savior.

            For whatever reason, I never prayed with Fred to accept Christ, as I was still too wrapped up in the world and all the things that I thought it had to offer.  As years passed, our family moved away from the St. Louis area in 1990 and as we left, Fred told my wife that one day I would make that decision when the time was right and I realized that I needed a Savior.  We had stayed in touch with Fred and Cindy over the years, and always would attend church at FBCM whenever we came back into the area to visit family.

            As Fred had stated there came a time in my life when I found I couldn’t control the drinking and our family was hurting because of my actions.  Then one Sunday morning up in Mountaintop, PA, I went forward and prayed to accept Jesus Christ as my personal Lord and Savior.  Then a miracle occurred that same day, as my addiction to alcohol was taken from me.  One of the first people I had called was Fred; he later told me that he and Cindy along with FBCM had continued to pray for me even though we had been gone for almost three years.  I could hear the joy in his voice, as he was just as excited as I was to hear the news.

            Our family later moved to Raleigh where we now live.  Our children have grown up and are all married, and we now have 3 grandchildren with one more on the way.  The seeds that Fred had sown in my life had taken root back there in Maryville, and for that reason FBCM will always hold a special place in my heart.  Because of Fred’s love for Jesus and his commitment to never give up on me, along with his dedication to continue to pray for our family over the years, I will forever be grateful.  It’s not often that you can say that the world is a better place because of one person, however when talking about Fred, I can say with certainty that the world is a better place because of all the lives he has touched, and I know that I am better person today because of Fred allowing Jesus to live through his life. 

            In closing, before I begin to write a novel, I would like to encourage FBCM to never forsake your first love and to remember the promises of God to those who overcome.  FBCM will always hold a special place in my heart, and I will continue to pray for you and look forward to our next trip back home so that we can worship with everyone once again. 

Not Titled

First of all I just wanted to say that I know God is alive and well at FBCM. I watched Pastor Fred's funeral service online since I now live in Georgia and I was blown away by the Holy Spirit's presence there. I had been praying for Cindy, the girls, and your church since the day I had heard the news. My prayer was for the Holy Spirit to bring peace, hope and passion for you to continue on. I saw that in the funeral service and was praising God the whole time I watched. I recently wrote Cindy a letter to let her know how much she and her husband meant to my family and it made me sad to think that I had to wait until a situation like this to let her know. I wish I could've told Pastor Fred while he was here on earth what he meant to me and my family. I started going to FBCM in 1991 when I was a teenager (and a rebellious one at that). I told Cindy in her letter that I was probably on the prayer list weekly by my parents who I know were devoted in prayer through that season of turmoil from me. Pastor Fred was the first Pastor I actually started to listen to as I was coming out of my rebellion. God used him in such a great way to reach me with God's truth in a non-condemning, loving way. In 1995 he officiated my wedding and helped me and my husband get started on the right foot by re-dedicating our lives to Christ. This was the first step to the many more steps we've taken since then. We now live in Georgia with our 4 kids and are continuing to strive to live a life dedicated to Christ. I just wanted your church to know how much Pastor Fred means to me and that FBCM will always have a place in my heart. I know God is going to do great things in your church and Pastor Fred would be proud to see how everyone has stepped up and not let Satan have victory. I hope Cindy knows how much her testimony is impacting others around her. I could see the Holy Spirit radiating from her as she spoke of her husband and her Savior! My Pastor today spoke on the glory that comes from the suffering we endure. He said the measure of the glory compared to the suffering we endure for a season so out weighs the suffering that this is why we have to receive a new body when we leave this earth. His glory is so big it can't fit into our earthly bodies. Wow, what a Savior! I pray that you all will get to see pieces of the glory daily from this suffering that you are enduring. I pray that God will blow you away with how He will use this. You will continue to be in my prayers.

God bless,

Dee Harris

Another side, another lesson.

One time, at the old location, we were pooring a foundation for a new wing and Fred was out with his jeans on shirt sleaves rolled up and hands dirty. It was one of the first times I had ever seen Fred outside of his roll as pastor. It was a side I did not see often. I was a maintenance man and Fred always had someone for me to tell my wowes to about maintenance issues on my mind. He always played dumb. On that day he showed a side I had not seen, and was not as dumb as he portayed himself to be about the things that I worried about. As I watched the events of that day unfold, I began to learn the meaning of, all the members of the body have a different function and it takes all the members. Fred was a good teacher, even when he wasn't trying to be a teacher, just a man.

Pastor

My memories of Fred and Cindy are the same as many others. I met Fred and Cindy in 1989 as a college student at SIUE. At that time Fred was the Baptist Student Ministries director at SIUE. I was an older student; a freshman at 26 years old, and starting my life over after devastating circumstances in my life. I was newly divorced and moved to this area to go to college. I was depressed, tired, lonely, hopeless and struggling to begin a new life all over again. I was really struggling. Fred invited me to church. Not only did he invite me; he expected me to be there. Fred made himself available to me to talk, laugh, and to teach me how to begin again. He is a friend. As I spent time with him he showed me that the past no longer matters; it’s over and today is full of joy and love and hope. He pulled me away from the sadness and self pity that I clung to; and showed me who God’s Son really is. Until that time nothing devastating had ever happened to me. Fred would never give in to hopeless struggles. As I spent time with Fred over the years, he taught me how to accept God’s forgiveness.

Today I am 45 years old. I have had much harder trials than those of yesterday; I remember all the things that Fred taught me, and the hope in Jesus that the bible talks about. Fred taught about truth, and how satin was whispering lies to me, and how the truth could set me free. This truth (Jesus Christ) has pulled me through and provided me with wisdom time and time again.

You see, Fred did not use words only to tell me about Jesus; Fred showed me who Jesus is by spending time with me and making a stand to believe in God’s word as truth. I had never had devastating things happen to me that required application of Christian theology. Fred turned theology into reality; into truth, and personally guided me through it.

Saturday evening, before Sunday March 8, I received an email from Pastor Fred about something I had been talking with him about. As always Fred reminded me to put God first…. he simply said, …pray and ask God to allow this to unfold in His time.” You see Fred is my Pastor. Just saying that always makes me feel proud.

Fred and Cindy, I love you. I wish Fred were here so I could tell him.

Some Thoughts on Pastor Fred

I hope that those of you who didn't know pastor fred will have the pleasure of meeting someone like him in your lifetime. He showed us all what a christian is supposed to be like. He was not perfect, but he was humble, and he knew God. Knowing someone like him will change your life because he lived so transparently that all you could see was Jesus. No, he wasn't perfect, and I do not idolize the man who died this past sunday. I am saying that he had so given his life over to Jesus in so many areas that those of us who listened to him week after week did not see a man trying to exalt himself or his will or agenda, but only a man laying down his will and desire and agenda to Jesus and his Father's will. There is nothing more respectable than a man who can admit that his will is not going to save the world (or even one person), and that he can humble himself enough to lay down his will in order to do the greater will of our Lord so that more people can know Him and be saved. Saved from hell (the place) and hell (all the horrible things that we have to go through this side of heaven). Please, if you are turned off by reading what I've said about Jesus, reconsider. Ask Him to show you something worth believing in. He will because He's worth believing in. He's better than your best high. Think about your highest high. Haven't you been chasing that since then? I know I have. Bring it. Bring it to him. You won't be disappointed.

What a wonderful man and precious gift!!!

Hinds feet on High Places

We came to visit when the church was on Vadalabene. Pastor Fred came to our house a couple of times.(Those visits have many funny conversations and memories all on their own) But Pastor's advice  for us was to visit whatever church we were inclined for at least a month. We never went anywhere else.

He was willing to answer very difficult questions from our then seven year old daughter. (And even Fred said they were beyond most adult questions) She ask him questions about abortion, heaven, and baptism. He was simple and wonderfully Fred. He didn't just answer the questions, he showed her scripture references to back his answers, and he never hesitated to say,"I don't know, lets look together."

I remember how he lovingly corrected Kyle for running in the church building with a few other boys and then,  made them walk to the telephone pole in the parking lot and back.

I remember Pastor Fred speaking to Kyle and Doug about Baptism. Doug was hesitant, because of his size in comparison to Pastor Fred.Fred was not concerned.  Kyle was so convinced in his understanding and tired of waiting on Doug.  He told Doug on one particular Sunday Morning, "Dad I am going forward today to be baptised, you can come or continue to dwell in fear." Doug and Kyle went forward and Pastor Fred didn't drop Doug. Kyle, however, did spit water over the glass on the band.

Ryan started at the age of two, wearing ties with everything T-shirts, pajamas, all clothing had a tie with it.  He was trying to look like Pastor Fred. People from our previous church ask him one month in our attending, "How do you like your new Pastor?" Ryan said, " He is soooo cool.  He asks people if they love Jesus, and then holds them under water until they say YES!" (Fred loved that story, but really wanted to make sure Ryan understood what Baptism meant.)

I remember how he was there for every heartache we had when Ryan was being tested for cancer. I remember how when we went through it all again 4 years later how he checked on us several times to pray and strengthen us mentally, emotionally and spiritually. He and Adam came out to anoint Ryan when we were going into the tests during round two. Ryan was eight. They showed up on my doorstep and Kyle was getting a tongue lashing like never before. Kyle personally was thrilled they were there and probably hoped they would annoint him before they left.  But Pastor Fred explained to Ryan what being annointed meant and they proceeded.  Ryan had the biggest smile on his face as they left and Kyle was begging them to stay just a little longer. After they left, Ryan asked me, "Mom, what am I king of?"  I told him," Nothing" He said, "Mom, David was annointed King of Israel- WHAT AM I KING OF?" I tried to think of something to say to re-explain the process and the meaning. I remembered something Pastor Fred prayed and answered him confidently. I told him, "Ryan, Pastor Fred annointed you King over your fear."

Ryan still put him in a choke hold on his way into surgery. Fred was pleading in a panic, "Ryan, I can't go in there with you. I am a pastor not a doctor, buddy."

Through the years I have trembled in the face of trouble and hard times. Pastor Fred, much like in the book, HINDS FEET ON HIGH PLACES, told me that the Good Shepherd would equip me with hinds feet to climb each mountain.I am thankful for his obedience to the Lord and being used to break my legs to find safety next to our Father. I am thankful for the time God allowed us to know Pastor Fred. I and my family miss him greatly. I will always hear the tapping of his staff and the sound of his voice directing me to the Heavenly Shepherd. He was a wonderful Pastor.

[ Next Page / Previous Page ]