St. John Church Unleashed Grand Prairie

The St. John Church is called of God to be a ministry which serves in multiple locations and responds to an expanding community. The community is defined by our commitment to Christ beyond demographics.

A great pastor must possess both vision and a heart for God and His people. The St. John Church has found both and more in Pastor Denny D. Davis, Sr. He is a pastor with conviction, integrity, and a big heart, who has been shepherding the St. John Church for 19 years.

Pastor Davis, was born to Almeda and Andrew Davis and was reared as an only child in the rural city of Champaign, Illinois. At 12 years old, Pastor Davis gave his life to Christ, by the tender age of 14, he knew he was called to the ministry and began handwriting sermons in his bedroom. It was at his home church, The Mount Olive Baptist Church pastored by Rev. Lundy Savage, that Pastor Davis announced his call to preach in 1976. Rev. Savage continued to encourage and nurture Pastor Davis’ gift and allowed him to preach his first sermon February 17, 1977.

Pastor Davis knew he needed to cultivate his gift further through formal education and with the support and encouragement of his mother, after high school, he moved to Dallas, Texas to pursue a Bachelors degree in Religion with a minor in Business Administration from Bishop College. During his college years, Pastor Davis was the President of the Minister’s Lyceum and was heavily involved with many churches in the Dallas community.

His gift and calling was continually nurtured and developed under the watch of many of Dallas’ veteran pastors and preachers, including the late Rev. S.M. Wright of The People’s Baptist Church. It was with the support of these pastors, that Rev. Davis learned what it truly meant to shepherd and lead a people.

In 1983, Pastor Davis married his high school love, Wanda Bolton-Davis, the two made there home in Dallas. In August 1984, Pastor Davis accepted his first pastoral position at the Mount Rose Baptist Church in Dallas, Texas and just one year later, the Davis’ had their first child.

Pastor Davis continued his educational pursuit and received his Masters in Theology from Brite School of Divinity at Texas Christian University. The Davis’ then gave birth to their second child and three years later, in 1991, Pastor Davis was called to pastor the St. John Church in Grand Prairie, Texas.

Since assuming the pastorate position, St. John has grown exponentially both spiritually and physically. The Lord has blessed and added more than 12,000 new members, and more than 80 ministries within the church.

In 1995, one year before the Davis’ third child was born, the St. John Church was able to retire a half million-dollar mortgage note, within 26 months. This allowed the ministry to work towards Vision 2000, a 3.5 million dollar, much-needed expansion project, which was completed debt free in 2000.

Shortly after the completion of Vision 2000, Pastor Davis, felt the Lord sending him into uncharted territory, Southlake, Texas. Recognizing the need to develop a church in a growing community where few churches existed, Pastor Davis started the St. John North Family Fellowship Church (now named, St. John Southlake Campus). The church began as a small group of Christians meeting in various home-based settings. The meeting locations soon began meeting in a single office suite and later expanded to multiple office suites.

In 2004, St. John Church broke ground on the capital plan to build a full church facility to better serve the Southlake community. In December 2007, the St. John Southlake Campus, an 80,000 square foot facility that supports 2400 worshippers, was completed.

Under Pastor Davis’ guidance, St. John Church has become one church in multiple locations offering four Sunday worship services and three mid-week Bible studies every week.

Pastor Davis is married to Wanda Levette Bolton-Davis and has three children: Kandis Levette, Denny Dwight II, and Destiny DeYonne.

Other Accomplishments:
• Reverend Davis has served as First Vice President of the Fellowship District Congress of Christian Workers and currently serves as the Corresponding Secretary of the State Congress of Christian Workers, Missionary Baptist General Convention of Texas.
• He has served as the Second Vice Moderator of the Fellowship District, and on the Advisory Committee of the National Baptist Publishing Board.
• Currently he serves as the Director General of the fellowship District Association.
• He is also a member of the Bishop 5 Plus 1 Revival Team.