Miles add up for Panhandle pastor in associational role

MORSE (BP)—Marcus Wilson’s Monday began in the Texas Panhandle town of Morse, population 120, where he lives with his wife, Megan, and three boys.

After helping get the kids to school, Wilson’s morning took him 114 miles to Shamrock, where I-40 is married to the historic Route 66. He met with a couple who had just returned from serving through the International Mission Board in South Africa, talking through churches in the area to visit.

He then grabbed lunch with a pastor before turning west for 50 miles and leaving the interstate at Groom, home of another pastor and the Leaning Tower of Texas. Then, Wilson pointed his Nissan Altima north for 60 miles for another meeting with a pastor in Stinnett. The day ended with 18 more miles home to Morse.

Mileage isn’t new to Wilson, associational mission strategist for the perfectly named Top O’ Texas Baptist Association. On this day, it went past 240. Sometimes it’s more, sometimes less.

The association invested in the Altima eight months ago. Wilson estimates he has covered 2,500 miles per month in it.

He is also the pastor at First Baptist Church in Morse, where he grew up. The dual roles remind Wilson of the need for connection among pastors for more effective ministry. That’s experienced even more starkly in a space like his, where churches range from Texline, on the New Mexico border, to Wellington, south of Shamrock.

“A lot of our pastors deal with loneliness and isolation,” he told BP. “We talk a lot about how to lead churches to engage in the community and local schools, as well as reaching those moving into the area. I don’t want our part of the country to look, in 30 years, the way Europe looks today.”

That last comment may seem a little out of place. But there’s a reason for Wilson’s perspective. Many mistakenly think a place is steeped in evangelical fervor because of its location, like a small town in Texas, for instance.

Words into action

His hearing disability has given Wilson a gift for listening.

His parents were high school sweethearts in Stinnett. They got married and settled there, having three children. Their oldest, Marcus, was born with no hearing in his right ear and severe hearing loss in his left.

He went to speech therapy in first grade, but still had trouble communicating. They looked at different deaf schools. There was one in Amarillo, another in San Antonio, a possibility in Missouri. Their speech therapist suggested looking at a school even smaller than the one in Stinnett, with a teacher-to-student ratio that could give Wilson the individual instruction he needed.

They moved to Morse, where Wilson blossomed at the local elementary school. He was saved at First Baptist during a revival service at 8 years old. His dad continued making the 30-minute commute to his job at a chemical plant, retiring in 2025 after 43 years.

“They made sacrifices, so I could be in a good spot,” Wilson said.

The family remained in Morse while Wilson attended West Texas High School in Stinnett. He competed in cross country, track, and basketball, as well as participated in plays and debate on the way to being valedictorian. He went on to graduate from Oklahoma Baptist University, majoring in secondary education.

While at OBU, he spent a summer assisting IMB missionaries in Eastern Europe. His home church financially supported the trip.

The empty cathedrals in Europe made clear to Wilson the equal emptiness of religion without a relationship with Christ. He’s reminded of it as he drives through the Panhandle.

“In these small towns, there may be about 25 percent evangelical Christians,” he said. “Pampa, for example, has about 18,000 people. There are six Southern Baptist churches there that have a little over 1,000 people. Add in other evangelical, non-SBC churches to get to 3,000 people. That’s around 17 percent.”

After teaching for a couple of years, Wilson felt the call to ministry. In November 2020, he accepted the pastorate at First Baptist Morse, less than 100 yards from the elementary school he attended. The church represents most in the Southern Baptist Convention with about 75 members and a Sunday worship attendance average in the 50s.

“I had a high school classmate pass away suddenly when he was 20, and that impacted me greatly,” Wilson said. “I just wanted to serve in ministry in some capacity. When you’re young, you think you can conquer the world. When that happened, it opened my eyes to the fact that time is short. The most important thing is to share the gospel, live for Christ, and make an impact for eternity.”

‘Prove you wrong’

The associational office is in Pampa, but Wilson’s front dash is his most common desk. It comes with a 180-degree view of the sky and miles upon miles of farmland, cattle ranches, and oil derricks. He knows where the gas stations and local restaurants are, the handful of Dollar Generals, and Dairy Queens.

“The SBC is predominantly made up of churches like these,” he said of the ones he visits. “I love the local church, and I love what I do. I want to see healthy, thriving churches proclaiming the gospel across the Panhandle. One of the things that drew me into associational work was what I saw [happened to churches] in Europe.”

The work isn’t easy, but tall tasks have never bothered him. In fact, they tend to conjure up a healthy sense of stubbornness.

“I’m one of those people who, if you tell me I can’t do it, I’m going to prove you wrong,” said Wilson, who listens to people through the hearing aid in his left ear but also by reading lips. “Several times in school, people would give me accommodations. And sometimes they were needed, but other times I’d say ‘no.’ I wanted to do things the way others did.”

He points to John 9 and the story of the man born blind. Others thought it was a sign the man or his parents had sinned. Jesus said it would be to show God’s glory.

“Every believer should live to the praise and glory of Jesus,” he said. “Everybody has a story, and each story is different. Part of mine is my hearing loss. It’s not a deterrent. I want to do everything I can to bring glory to Jesus.”