Pastor Jerry and Debbie also have a family legacy of faithful service in Iowa and beyond. Calvary Baptist in Leon is well-known at BCI as it was the church pastored by Pastor Max Carmichael, who passed away this past February. Pastor Max was a significant leader during the time when BCI became a state convention almost 26 years ago.

Many Ministry Roles

After high school, Jerry attended Hannibal–LaGrange University in Missouri, a private university associated with the Missouri Southern Baptists. While at school, Jerry also served as pastor for a church in Frankford, Missouri. After college, Jerry served with the International Mission Board as a “Journeyman” in Japan. In the Journeyman program, recent college graduates devote 2 years to service in international missions. 

After serving as a Journeyman, Jerry returned to pursue theological education at seminary. During his studies, he pastored a church in the Davenport area. Jerry ministered at Park View Baptist Church in the city of Park View outside of Davenport for 2 years before returning to the mission field overseas.

Jerry and Debbie served overseas together with IMB for 27 years. The first 10 years were spent in Malawi. They served another 10 years in Zimbabwe and 5 years in Kenya. After many years of faithful service the McFerrons returned to Iowa to take care of aging parents who were experiencing health issues.

Upon returning to Iowa, Jerry took the role of pastor at Calvary Leon. For the last 5 years, Pastor Jerry has served bi-vocationally as pastor at Leon and as an instructor at DMACC.

Family Legacy of Faith

Jerry’s family has a long history with BCI. Jerry is the son of Claude and Betty Jo McFerron who have a long legacy in Iowa. Claude “Mac” McFerron was a long-time and beloved pastor who pastored several churches in Iowa including Immanuel Baptist Waterloo, Calvary Baptist Indianola, and Calvary Baptist Marshalltown. He also served on the BCI Executive Board and was known as a father figure for many pastors because he was such an encourager.

When Jerry’s mother Betty Jo passed away, Claude took a portion of the life insurance benefit to help establish the BCI Foundation. Cluade’s second wife, Irene, was also heavily involved in the building of the Foundation accounts which established scholarship funds and small church assistance funds. The Foundation distributes funds for meeting needs through processes such as the Iowa Ministry Fund and Seminary Tuition Scholarships.

Future Plans

Although Pastor Jerry has retired as pastor from Calvary Leon, he will continue his role as Adjunct Instructor at DMACC until the end of the year. Doubtless there will be many more ministry roles for Jerry and Debbie. Looking back over his years of ministry, Pastor Jerry says he has simply tried to be faithful to what the Lord has put in front of him. “To be faithful, you just need to continue to step through what is in front of you until God says otherwise.”