Fred Winters served as the Senior Pastor of First Baptist Church of Maryville from 1987 until 2009. He graduated with his BA. from Southwest Baptist University in 1985. He received his Master's degree in Systematic Theology and Church History from Wheaton Graduate School in 1986 and a Master' s of Divinity from Midwestern Baptist Theological Seminary in 1991. Pastor Fred also went on to earn a Doctorate from Southern Baptist Theological Seminary. Pastor Fred and Cindy (Jackson) were married September 12, 1987 and they were blessed with two children: Alysia Grace and Cassidy Hope. Fred is the former president of the Illinois Baptist State Association and was an adjunct professor for Midwestern Baptist Theological Seminary.
Fred will be remembered for many things but perhaps the most will be the ways in which he loved people, shared the message of hope found through a relationship with Jesus and encouraged others to find their purpose and direction in life by seeking God. He loved to preach God’s word truth by truth and incorporate into his messages stories and jokes which kept us all intrigued and coming back each Sunday. Fred was truly a person living life with passion and a positive attitude. Although he was taken from us too soon, the memories that we have will endure for a lifetime and we are grateful for the privilege of how we saw him live out his life each and every day.
