Meet our Pastor
Born on July 6, 1971, in a small town called Binghampton in New York, John Charles Wynn is the second child of Howard and Virginia Wynn and a younger brother to his only sibling, Angela Wynn (now Scott). God began working in the heart of young John and was soon led to the Lord at age 7, by his dad, Howard Wynn and was baptized at Mansfield Baptist Temple in 1978. Two years after, John Charles Wynn would be first introduced to his future mission field as his parents responded to God’s call to be missionaries in the island of Leyte, Philippines. On July 13, 1980, the Wynn family flew to the Philippines becoming the second American Baptist missionary family in Tacloban, Leyte.
In 1984, John Wynn became one of the pioneer students of Grace Baptist Academy. As a student, John never showed the slightest hint that he would become a missionary someday as he always dreaded speaking in front of people. But YOUTH CAMP 1988 would come and God would get a hold of John like never before in his life. As the speaker of the youth camp preached on Matthew 9:36-38, John realized how the harvest was indeed plenteous but the laborers, truthfully, were few. “John knew that the Lord had allowed him to see the harvest and not many were surrendering to come here. He did not want to be a missionary because he knew that would mean talking in front of many people and that scared him. But in that YOUTH CAMP, he finally surrendered and told the Lord that he was willing to do God’s will instead of his own.” - Christi Wynn
In pursuit of God’s calling in His life, he attended Atlantic Baptist Bible College in 1990 and graduated in the year 1994 and started his deputation that very same year.
During his college days, John was resolved to finish school and started to pray for a wife that would be willing to go back to the Philippines with him. Little did he know, that God had already been preparing the heart of someone for him and and for the mission field. In 1992, John and Christi became friends and grew fond of each other and started dating later that year. They both remained committed to going to the Philippines as missionaries. Their courtship went on for a few years and finally, on his second year of deputation, John married Christi on June 29, 1996.
Eventually, after almost a year, God would lead His laborers, John and Christi, into his harvest on May 27, 1997. Later that year, John was ordained as Pastor and served God in Grace Baptist Church as an assistant to his father, Pastor Howard Wynn. Pastor John and Maam Christi gave birth and raised three lovely children here in Tacloban — Joshua Charles, Emily Joy, and Jacob Christopher.
From Pastor John's return to Tacloban as a missionary in 1997 up to now, God has led and enabled him to help and start ministries that were all aimed on one thing — to see people saved and changed through the preaching of the Gospel.
While serving as an assistant to Pastor Howard in GBC, God placed him in Burauen in 1998 to assist the start of Grace Baptist Mission there until eventually, he was called to handle the mission work himself.
Like so many, Pastor John was called by God to be a missionary at a youth camp. Recognizing that God does move especially in calling out young people during youth camps, he saw the great need to have a facility that would be dedicated to serving that purpose. In 2009, Camp Victory was started. Now, God has allowed Grace Baptist Church to have a facility that holds youth camps, junior camps, retreats, etc. For the past few years since the inaugural camp in 2015, Camp Victory has seen young people and young adults get saved and surrender for the ministry.
Pastor John, again was burdened and this time it was for the people in Dulag, Leyte. In 2011, God called him to start Grace Baptist Mission, Dulag.
Pastor John continued to be used by God in the Lord's harvest in other ministries like teaching in Grace Baptist Bible College and handling the Young Adults Department for more than 20 years as an assistant Pastor.
It is evident in the Bible that God prepares His laborers and sends them into His harvest. Clearly, God's hand has been on the life of Pastor John, carefully preparing him for his new role as the Pastor of Grace Baptist Church, Tacloban.
On February 6, 2021, Pastor Howard L. Wynn, the pastor of Grace Baptist Church for 41 years, was called home by the Lord at the age of 73. On March 14, 2021, with 100% vote from all the voting members of the church, his son, Pastor John C. Wynn, was voted and installed as the new pastor of Grace Baptist Church.