Retired pastor Frank Marshall celebrated his 100th birthday on April 21.
Nate Adams, Illinois Baptist State Association executive director, recently visited Marshall at First Baptist Church Mt. Zion and presented a personalized newspaper page from his birth year to mark the occasion.
Ministry through the years
Marshall pastored his first church in 1948, Concord Baptist Church in rural Pinckneyville, where he earned $15 a week. He moved to Fort Worth, Texas, the following year where he attended seminary for four years. There, he pastored a church 150 miles away and earned $15 a week to start, later receiving a $5 a week raise. It wasn’t until he returned to Illinois in 1952 to serve as pastor at First Baptist Church in Golconda, which led to “big money” — $65 a week to start. Marshall served his most recent interim in 2011.
Before retiring, Marshall pastored or interim pastored for more than 65 years in 25 congregations — one in Missouri, two in Texas, and 22 in Illinois.
Impacting lives
He performed 878 baptisms, 254 weddings and 213 funerals.
In the 1950s he wrote a regular column for the Illinois Baptist newspaper, “Minute Messages.”
He also served as interim director of missions for Central Baptist Association from 1993–1994.
He and his wife, Jeanne, have three children, Roger, David and Valerie (Pafford).
Both Roger and David followed their father into ministry. David pastors FBC Mt. Zion. Roger pastored at FBC Effingham before retiring. He also served as a zone consultant for IBSA.
EDITOR’S NOTE — This story was written by Lisa Misner and originally published by Illinois Baptist.
