08/23/2019
Garson McNeilus was a great supporter of Maranatha.
Successful businessman, Garwin McNeilus, became involved with Maranatha in the early 1990’s after his wife, Marilee, volunteered for the legendary “Santo Domingo ‘92” project in the Dominican Republic. “She called me from there and she said, ‘We need to get involved in this ministry,’” says Garwin. “And that was the beginning of our involvement [with Maranatha].”
“Evangelism through construction to me is the most ideal, because it means souls now, and you’re also endowing the future,” says Garwin. “So it’s a win-win. And there are many different types of ministries, they’re all good, they all play their part. But Maranatha is not a disposable ministry–you don’t do it just one time. You build a building, and those same ones that were built in the 90’s are producing souls today. And they’ve spawned, and the next one has spawned. And there will be thousands in eternity, as a result of that one project.”
In the years after the Santo Domingo project, the Seventh-day Adventist Church began making larger requests of Maranatha. The consistent support of the McNeilus family allowed the organization to significantly expand the scale at which it operated, taking on more projects and volunteers.
Over the years, Garwin and Marilee sponsored hundreds of churches and schools through Maranatha. In 2007, Garwin was instrumental in the creation of the One-Day Church and School project, which aided in addressing the large number of construction requests coming from the Adventist Church.
“Don [Noble] was sitting on our couch and he had his head in his hands, and he said, ‘We get all these requests for churches. What can we do?’ And I said, ‘Well Don, have we ever tried building a church from the roof down, like a carport? And then the locals, who can burn the bricks, they can build the sides. They can do that, and that doesn’t take a hard currency to do that.’ That was the birth of the One-Day Church.”
To date, Maranatha has constructed nearly 6,500 churches and classrooms using the One-Day Church design, providing thousands of communities with a place to learn and grow in Christ.
“Maranatha works because it’s God’s program,” says Garwin. “The purpose of Maranatha is not anyone’s agenda. The purpose of Maranatha is bringing souls to Jesus. The purpose of Maranatha is to involve people in evangelism through construction. And I believe that these [last] 50 years are for a purpose. I believe God had a purpose in raising Maranatha up, watching it grow, and as a result, in heaven there will be thousands upon thousands of young and old as a result of the work of Maranatha.”
