Our Story
Mesquite Friendship Baptist Church (MFBC) started with a core group of five (5) African American families, meeting at Town East Baptist Church (TEBC) in Mesquite, Texas, under the leadership of senior pastor, Dr. Jim Byrd. The call to lead the new congregation was given to Rev. Terry M. Turner by the Town East Evangelism Ministry, after several months of planning and prayer meetings in the TEBC Fellowship Hall at 3113 Town East Blvd.
On May 8, 1991, 21 believers held our first worship service in a 700 square feet space located in a shopping center at LaPrada and John West in Dallas, Texas. Those in attendance were Latonya Brownlee, Tammy Brownlee, Earline Harris, Michael Harris, LeRoy Huyghue III, Myeshia Jones, Angela Love, Marvin Melton, Regina Melton, Loyce Trotter, Junawana Trotter, Cherise Trotter, Chris Watson, Mr. and Mrs. Michael Mack, Tina Jackson, TaDarser Jackson, Nancy Turner, Levi Turner, Caleb Turner, and Rev. Terry M. Turner.
During our infancy stage, the financial commitment and support from TEBC, Dallas Baptist Association (DBA) and the Southern Baptist Convention (SBC) were critical to the success of this new mission work. Within that first year, God grew our MFBC congregation so much that we added an additional 700 square feet by expanding into an adjacent unit.
Our congregation continued to grow, and we soon had to seek a larger facility to accommodate the growth. We found a 4,500 square feet facility at 2332 Franklin Drive in Mesquite, that was available for a lease-purchase option. Although the building was condemned, the City of Mesquite allowed us to occupy the building with the understanding that we would make it code compliant within a year. This would begin years of consistent construction projects for MFBC. On August 2, 1992, we held the first service in our new building. After leasing for six months, we closed on the property in December with trustees from TEBC and MFBC signing the mortgage note, along with Pastor Turner.
Mesquite Friendship was constituted as an independent Southern Baptist Church on January 27, 1994. The Articles of Incorporation were signed by the following trustees: Reginald Bryant, Lee Collins, Joe Greer, Marvin Melton, George Moore, Phillip Randall, Keith Youman, and Tammy Youman. Pastor Turner and Marvin Melton were designated as the incorporating officers.
The MFBC membership continued to increase, and we completed several renovation and expansion projects around the building between 1995-1997. We purchased three neighboring sections of land, added an 870 square feet wing, and connected a 6,283 square feet new sanctuary to the existing church. In 2001, we purchased 6.8 acres of land at 680 E. US Highway 80, to accommodate our exponential growth. Through our member’s commitment to their member pledges, we were able to move into our current 45,500 square feet worship center on December 31, 2007. In the following years, we purchased two neighboring properties totaling 4.5 acres, that included a building that is now The Port.
After serving as Co-Pastor for five years Rev. Caleb M. Turner was officially passed the "Pastoral Baton" on Sunday June 18, 2023, by now Pastor Emeritus Dr. Terry M. Turner. To God Be The Glory!
Today, God has continued to bless Mesquite Friendship Baptist Church to have a thriving, active membership of over 1,500 members and 40+ ministries. We know that God is the source of all our blessings, which have been bestowed upon us through our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ.
