O’FALLON – This summer, long-time Missouri Baptist minister Lee Sanders retired after over 50 years in ministry, including 27 at his current church, First Baptist Church, O’Fallon (FBCO). In July, FBCO honored him with a new title, associate minister emeritus.
Sanders and his wife, Penny, plan to continue serving at FBCO.
“Emeritus” is a distinction given to valued servants and instructors who retire but are allowed to keep their previous titles. It’s most commonly applied in ministry to senior pastors, and in academia to university professors.
In a letter to the church’s personnel committee, FBCO Senior Pastor Michael Atherton said that “bestowing the title creates a formal connection between past and present leadership. It preserves the legacy and wisdom of a retiring pastor.”
He also explained that the emeritus honor provides opportunities for Sanders to continue using his knowledge and experience in different ministry opportunities such as preaching, bereavement support, mentoring staff, counseling, informal consulting on church matters, and other activities without having formal day-to-day responsibilities.
Lee Sanders
“The title helps the retiring pastor stay meaningfully connected to the body without the expectations of active ministry,” Atherton said.
“It’s an honor and a blessing I don’t take lightly,” Sanders says. “It’s a gesture of love and appreciation.”
Sanders has spent more than half his ministry at FBCO, which he joined in the fall of 1998.
He says his immediate retirement plans are “to slow down and get a grip on what God has for me.”
Sanders most recently served FBCO as senior adult minister, but he had previous ministry roles in education, discipleship, missions, and other areas.
In addition, Atherton said Sanders “led the church through two seasons in which we were without a pastor. One of those seasons was following a legacy pastor, Gary Taylor, where the church went without a pastor for almost two years. In those moments (Lee) served so unbelievably faithfully.”
In the July 27 recognition service Atherton also acknowledged and thanked Sanders for his experience in mentoring FBCO’s younger associate pastors as they joined the church.
Jonathan Swan, associate pastor of discipleship and education, said, “Whenever you step into someone’s role, and they’re still around, there’s the potential for that not to work out – for there to be friction. What I have found was that this was the best way for me to start my full-time ministry – to have Lee here to help guide and to mentor me, and to equip and to encourage. I could not be more thankful for him.”
He also said that, as he looks at the varied church programs and ministries, he sees “God’s fingerprints through the ministry of Lee.”
“Lee’s been like a father to me, sharing wisdom, his experience,” said Brandon Winkler, pastor over FBCO’s student and family ministries. “I would not be the follower of Jesus, the husband, and father that I am without Lee’s influence in my life.”
Sanders also oversaw missions at FBCO during his service there.
Brandon Kiesling transitioned into the role of overseeing evangelism and missions at FBCO after originally being hired as young adult minister.
He said Sanders’ “heart for seeing people come to know Jesus and mobilizing the church to go out and share the gospel has been such a blessing to me.” He said Sanders’ help during the transition was “incredibly helpful for me… to understand the role I was stepping into and how to do it well.”
“Everything (Lee) does is with excellence, and he’s done it so well for so long,” Kiesling said.
Prior to First O’Fallon, Sanders served at Tower Grove Church in St. Louis for five years, and Plaza Heights Church in Blue Springs, Mo., for over 12 years in two different periods.
He also served at First Granite City (Ill.), First Maryland Heights, and Kingshighway Church in the St. Louis area, in addition to churches in Texas and Mississippi.
All together, Sanders counted 15 senior pastors he’s served under in 20 different churches over a 57-year period
In addition, Sanders has led nearly 50 Bible teaching tours to Israel and Greece. He’s participated in 34 international and 21 US mission trips.
In 2023 he incorporated his teaching and tour experience into a Holy Land travel agency, Twelve Stones Ministry, in order to help churches and individuals become involved in missions and connect with the areas where Christ and New Testament disciples walked and taught.
For more information about the ministry, email twelvestonesministry360@gmail.com or visit Twelve Stones Ministry on Facebook.