About Us

Learn about the calling God has given us.

Who Is Open Door Missions?

Open Door Missions, Inc. is a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization incorporated in the State of Louisiana that has accepted the task of taking the Gospel of Jesus Christ to the world. All of our programs are financed by donations from generous people such as yourself. We work closely with local pastors, supporting Mission Projects in Ukraine, Malawi, Zambia, Mozambique, and with the Navajo Nation in New Mexico. 
 
We are a grassroots organization run entirely by volunteers. As such, we have minimal administrative fees and can ensure that all donations directly support our missions projects. We appreciate anything you can give and all donations are tax-deductible. Please donate today!
 
We also welcome your prayers. Please pray for our mission, so that we may serve the Lord with good works which He performs through us. The Great Commission requires great action. What we do together can impact the lives and eternities of generations to come.
 

Our Mission

Open Door Missions strives to bring  glory to God by bringing the Good News of salvation and love of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ to all nations. To reach the lost by sponsoring pastors, providing help for the needs of the people and organizing mission trips for those who want to participate with us in  these areas of ministry, to make disciples of Christ!

Our Beliefs

Open Door Missions believes the in following statement and requires all pastors, preachers, churches and organizations supported by Open Door Missions to also acknowledge and accept the following Statement of Belief:

The Holy Bible was written by men divinely inspired and is God’s revelation of Himself to man. It is a perfect treasure of divine instruction. It has God for its author, salvation for its end, and truth, without any mixture of error, for its matter. Therefore, all Scripture is totally true and trustworthy. It reveals the principles by which God judges us, and therefore is, and will remain to the end of the world, the true center of Christian union, and the supreme standard by which all human conduct, creeds, and religious opinions should be tried. All Scripture is a testimony to Christ, who is Himself the focus of divine revelation.

Exodus 24:4; Deuteronomy 4:1-2; 17:19; Joshua 8:34; Psalms 19:7-10; 119:11,89,105,140; Isaiah 34:16; 40:8; Jeremiah 15:16; 36:1-32; Matthew 5:17-18; 22:29; Luke 21:33; 24:44-46; John 5:39; 16:13-15; 17:17; Acts 2:16ff.; 17:11; Romans 15:4; 16:25-26; 2 Timothy 3:15-17; Hebrews 1:1-2; 4:12; 1 Peter 1:25; 2 Peter 1:19-21.

There is one and only one living and true God. He is an intelligent, spiritual, and personal Being, the Creator, Redeemer, Preserver, and Ruler of the universe. God is infinite in holiness and all other perfections. God is all powerful and all knowing; and His perfect knowledge extends to all things, past,  present, and future, including the future decisions of His free creatures. To Him we owe the highest love, reverence, and obedience. The eternal triune God reveals Himself to us as Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, with distinct personal attributes, but without division of nature, essence, or being.

God as Father reigns with providential care over His universe, His creatures, and the flow of the stream of human history according to the purposes of His grace. He is all powerful, all knowing, all loving, and all wise. God is Father in truth to those who become children of God through faith in Jesus Christ. He is fatherly in His attitude toward all men.

Genesis 1:1; 2:7; Exodus 3:14; 6:2-3; 15:11ff.; 20:1ff.; Leviticus 22:2; Deuteronomy 6:4; 32:6; 1 Chronicles 29:10; Psalm 19:1-3; Isaiah 43:3,15; 64:8; Jeremiah 10:10; 17:13; Matthew 6:9ff.; 7:11; 23:9; 28:19; Mark 1:9-11; John 4:24; 5:26; 14:6-13; 17:1-8; Acts 1:7; Romans 8:14-15; 1 Corinthians 8:6; Galatians 4:6; Ephesians 4:6; Colossians 1:15; 1 Timothy 1:17; Hebrews 11:6; 12:9; 1 Peter 1:17; 1 John 5:7.

Christ is the eternal Son of God. In His incarnation as Jesus Christ He was conceived of the Holy Spirit and born of the virgin Mary. Jesus perfectly revealed and did the will of God, taking upon Himself human nature with its demands and necessities and identifying Himself completely with mankind yet without sin. He honored the divine law by His personal obedience, and in His substitutionary death on the cross He made provision for the redemption of men from sin. He was raised from the dead with a glorified body and appeared to His disciples as the person who was with them before His crucifixion. He ascended into heaven and is now exalted at the right hand of God where He is the One Mediator, fully God, fully man, in whose Person is effected the reconciliation between God and man. He will return in power and glory to judge the world and to consummate His redemptive mission. He now dwells in all believers as the living and ever present Lord.

Genesis 18:1ff.; Psalms 2:7ff.; 110:1ff.; Isaiah 7:14; Isaiah 53:1-12; Matthew 1:18-23; 3:17; 8:29; 11:27; 14:33; 16:16,27; 17:5; 27; 28:1-6,19; Mark 1:1; 3:11; Luke 1:35; 4:41; 22:70; 24:46; John 1:1-18,29; 10:30,38; 11:25-27; 12:44-50; 14:7-11; 16:15-16,28; 17:1-5, 21-22; 20:1-20,28; Acts 1:9; 2:22-24; 7:55-56; 9:4-5,20; Romans 1:3-4; 3:23-26; 5:6-21; 8:1-3,34; 10:4; 1 Corinthians 1:30; 2:2; 8:6; 15:1-8,24-28; 2 Corinthians 5:19-21; 8:9; Galatians 4:4-5; Ephesians 1:20; 3:11; 4:7-10; Philippians 2:5-11; Colossians 1:13-22; 2:9; 1 Thessalonians 4:14-18; 1 Timothy 2:5-6; 3:16; Titus 2:13-14; Hebrews 1:1-3; 4:14-15; 7:14-28; 9:12-15,24-28; 12:2; 13:8; 1 Peter 2:21-25; 3:22; 1 John 1:7-9; 3:2; 4:14-15; 5:9; 2 John 7-9; Revelation 1:13-16; 5:9-14; 12:10-11; 13:8; 19:16.

The Holy Spirit is the Spirit of God, fully divine. He inspired holy men of old to write the Scriptures. Through illumination He enables men to understand truth. He exalts Christ. He convicts men of sin, of righteousness, and of judgment. He calls men to the Savior, and effects regeneration. At the moment of regeneration He baptizes every believer into the Body of Christ. He cultivates Christian character, comforts believers, and bestows the spiritual gifts by which they serve God through His church. He seals the believer unto the day of final redemption. His presence in the Christian is the guarantee that God will bring the believer into the fullness of the stature of Christ. He enlightens and empowers the believer and the church in worship,  evangelism, and service.

Genesis 1:2; Judges 14:6; Job 26:13; Psalms 51:11; 139:7ff.; Isaiah 61:1-3; Joel 2:28-32; Matthew 1:18; 3:16; 4:1; 12:28-32; 28:19; Mark 1:10,12; Luke 1:35; 4:1,18-19; 11:13; 12:12; 24:49; John 4:24; 14:16-17,26; 15:26; 16:7-14; Acts 1:8; 2:1-4,38; 4:31; 5:3; 6:3; 7:55; 8:17,39; 10:44; 13:2; 15:28; 16:6; 19:1-6; Romans 8:9-11,14-16,26-27; 1 Corinthians 2:10-14; 3:16; 12:3-11,13; Galatians 4:6; Ephesians 1:13-14; 4:30; 5:18; 1
Thessalonians 5:19; 1 Timothy 3:16; 4:1; 2  Timothy 1:14; 3:16; Hebrews 9:8,14; 2 Peter 1:21; 1 John 4:13; 5:6-7; Revelation 1:10; 22:17.

Man is the special creation of God, made in His fulfill the creative purpose of God. The sacredness of human personality is evident in that God created man in His own image, and in that Christ died for man; therefore, every person of every race possesses full dignity and is worthy of res own image. He created them male and female as the crowning work of His creation. The gift of gender is thus part of the goodness of God’s creation. In the beginning man was innocent of sin and was endowed by his Creator with freedom of choice. By his free choice man  sinned against God and brought sin into the human race. Through the temptation of Satan man transgressed the command of God, and fell from his original innocence whereby his posterity inherit a nature and an environment inclined toward sin. Therefore, as soon as they are capable of moral action, they become transgressors and are under condemnation. Only the grace of God can bring man into His holy fellowship and enable man to fulfill the creative purpose of God. The sacredness of human personality is evident in that God created man in His own image, and in that Christ died for man; therefore, every person of every race possesses full dignity and is worthy of respect and and Christian love.

Genesis 1:26-30; 2:5,7,18-22; 3; 9:6; Psalms 1; 8:3-6; 32:1-5; 51:5; Isaiah 6:5; Jeremiah 17:5; Matthew 16:26; Acts 17:26-31; Romans 1:19-32; 3:10-18,23; 5:6,12,19; 6:6; 7:14-25; 8:14-18,29; 1 Corinthians 1:21-31; 15:19,21-22; Ephesians 2:1-22; Colossians 1:21-22; 3:9-11.

Salvation involves the redemption of the whole man, and is offered freely to all who accept Jesus Christ as Lord and Saviour, who by His own blood obtained eternal redemption for the believer. In its broadest sense salvation includes regeneration, justification, sanctification, and glorification. There is no salvation apart from personal faith in Jesus Christ as Lord.

A. Regeneration, or the new birth, is a work of God’s grace whereby believers become new creatures in Christ Jesus. It is a change of heart wrought by the Holy Spirit through conviction of sin, to which the sinner responds in repentance toward God and faith in the Lord Jesus Christ. Repentance and faith are inseparable experiences of grace. Repentance is a genuine turning from sin toward God. Faith is the acceptance of Jesus Christ and commitment of the entire personality to Him as Lord and Savior.

B. Justification is God’s gracious and full acquittal upon principles of His righteousness of all sinners who repent and believe in Christ. Justification brings the believer unto a relationship of peace and favor with God.

C. Sanctification is the experience, beginning in regeneration, by which the believer is set apart to God’s purposes, and is enabled to progress toward moral and spiritual maturity through the presence and power of the Holy Spirit dwelling in him. Growth in grace should continue throughout the regenerate person’s life.

D. Glorification is the culmination of salvation and is the final blessed and abiding state of the redeemed.

Genesis 3:15; Exodus 3:14-17; 6:2-8; Matthew 1:21; 4:17; 16:21-26; 27:22-28:6; Luke 1:68-69; 2:28-32; John 1:11-14,29; 3:3-21,36; 5:24; 10:9,28-29; 15:1-16; 17:17; Acts 2:21; 4:12; 15:11; 16:30-31; 17:30-31; 20:32; Romans 1:16-18; 2:4; 3:23-25; 4:3ff.; 5:8-10; 6:1-23; 8:1-18,29-39; 10:9-10,13; 13:11-14; 1 Corinthians 1:18,30; 6:19-20; 15:10; 2 Corinthians 5:17-20; Galatians 2:20; 3:13; 5:22-25; 6:15; Ephesians 1:7; 2:8-22; 4:11-16; Philippians 2:12-13; Colossians 1:9-22; 3:1ff.; 1 Thessalonians 5:23-24; 2 Timothy 1:12; Titus 2:11-14; Hebrews 2:1-3; 5:8-9; 9:24-28; 11:1-12:8,14; James 2:14-26; 1 Peter 1:2-23; 1 John 1:6-2:11; Revelation 3:20; 21:1-22:5.

Christian baptism is the immersion of a believer in water in the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. It is an act of obedience symbolizing the believer’s faith in a crucified, buried, and risen Savior, the believer’s death to sin, the burial of the old life, and the resurrection to walk in newness of life in Christ Jesus. It is a testimony to his faith in the final resurrection of the dead. Being a church ordinance, it is prerequisite to the privileges of church membership and to the Lord’s Supper. The Lord’s Supper is a symbolic act of obedience whereby members of the church, through partaking of the bread and the fruit of the vine, memorialize the death of the Redeemer and anticipate His second coming.

Matthew 3:13-17; 26:26-30; 28:19-20; Mark 1:9-11; 14:22-26; Luke 3:21-22; 22:19-20; John 3:23; Acts 2:41-42; 8:35-39; 16:30-33; 20:7; Romans 6:3-5; 1 Corinthians 10:16,21; 11:23-29; Colossians 2:12.

The first day of the week is the Lord’s Day. It is a Christian institution for regular observance. It commemorates the resurrection of Christ from the dead and should include exercises of worship and spiritual devotion, both public and private. Activities on the Lord’s Day should be commensurate with the Christian’s conscience under the Lordship of Jesus Christ.

Exodus 20:8-11; Matthew 12:1-12; 28:1ff.; Mark 2:27-28; 16:1-7; Luke 24:1-3,33-36; John 4:21-24; 20:1,19-28; Acts 20:7; Romans 14:5-10; I Corinthians 16:1-2; Colossians 2:16; 3:16; Revelation 1:10.

The Kingdom of God includes both His general sovereignty over the universe and His particular kingship over men who willfully acknowledge Him as King. Particularly the Kingdom is the realm of salvation into which men enter by trustful, childlike commitment to Jesus Christ. Christians ought to pray and to labor that the Kingdom may come and God’s will be done on earth. The full consummation of the Kingdom awaits the return of Jesus Christ and the end of this age.

Genesis 1:1; Isaiah 9:6-7; Jeremiah 23:5-6; Matthew 3:2; 4:8-10,23; 12:25-28; 13:1-52; 25:31-46; 26:29; Mark 1:14-15; 9:1; Luke 4:43; 8:1; 9:2; 12:31-32; 17:20-21; 23:42; John 3:3; 18:36; Acts 1:6-7; 17:22-31; Romans 5:17; 8:19; 1 Corinthians 15:24-28; Colossians 1:13; Hebrews 11:10,16; 12:28; 1 Peter 2:4-10; 4:13; Revelation 1:6,9; 5:10; 11:15; 21-22.

God, in His own time and in His own way, will bring the world to its appropriate end. According to His promise, Jesus Christ will return personally and visibly in glory to the earth; the dead will be raised; and Christ will judge all men in righteousness. The unrighteous will be consigned to Hell, the place of everlasting punishment. The righteous in their resurrected and glorified bodies will receive their reward and will dwell forever in Heaven with the Lord.

Isaiah 2:4; 11:9; Matthew 16:27; 18:8-9; 19:28; 24:27,30,36,44; 25:31-46; 26:64; Mark 8:38; 9:43-48; Luke 12:40,48; 16:19-26; 17:22-37; 21:27-28; John 14:1-3; Acts 1:11; 17:31; Romans 14:10; 1 Corinthians 4:5; 15:24-28,35-58; 2 Corinthians 5:10; Philippians 3:20-21; Colossians 1:5; 3:4; 1 Thessalonians 4:14-18; 5:1ff.; 2
Thessalonians 1:7ff.; 2; 1 Timothy 6:14; 2 Timothy 4:1,8; Titus 2:13; Hebrews 9:27-28; James 5:8; 2 Peter 3:7ff.; 1 John 2:28; 3:2; Jude 14; Revelation 1:18; 3:11; 20:1-22:13.

It is the duty and privilege of every follower of Christ and of every church of the Lord Jesus Christ to endeavor to make disciples of all nations. The new birth of man’s spirit by God’s Holy Spirit means the birth of love for others. Missionary effort on the part of all rests thus upon a spiritual necessity of the regenerate life, and is expressly and repeatedly commanded in the teachings of Christ. The Lord Jesus Christ has commanded the preaching of the gospel to all nations. It is the duty of every child of God to seek constantly to win the lost to Christ by verbal witness undergirded by a Christian lifestyle, and by other methods in harmony with the gospel of Christ.

Genesis 12:1-3; Exodus 19:5-6; Isaiah 6:1-8; Matthew 9:37-38; 10:5-15; 13:18-30, 37-43; 16:19; 22:9-10; 24:14; 28:18-20; Luke 10:1-18; 24:46-53; John 14:11-12; 15:7-8,16; 17:15; 20:21; Acts 1:8; 2; 8:26-40; 10:42-48; 13:2-3; Romans 10:13-15; Ephesians 3:1-11; 1 Thessalonians 1:8; 2 Timothy 4:5; Hebrews 2:1-3; 11:39-12:2; 1 Peter 2:4-10; Revelation 22:17.

Our Team

The Board of Directors of Open Door Missions is comprised of pastors and laymen who are actively involved with our domestic and international missions and projects.

President (Virginia)
Vice President (Florida)
Executive Director Emeritus,
Board Member (Texas)
Board Member (Louisiana)
Board Member (Louisiana)
Board Member (Tennessee)
Board Member (Louisiana)
Board Member (Louisiana)
Treasurer/Accountant (Louisiana)

Join us in this important work!

Wayne Patullo

Board Member

It was during my first mission to Africa in 2013, that I knew I would be returning. I fell in love with the African people. Prior to my first mission there, I never had any desire to go to Africa. However, once there, I realized how wonderful and welcoming the people are. I knew then that I would be returning often and I do! There is a reason Malawi is nicknamed the “Warmed Heart of Africa,” it is because of her people! They live in one of the poorest and highest poverty stricken countries in the world. They don’t have much but what they do have, they are generous to share with you! Besides Malawi, I’ve been on missions to Botswana, Zambia, Zimbabwe and Mozambique! I look forward with much anticipation and eagerness every time I return to Malawi to assist my Brothers and Sisters!

I traveled on a mission to Portland, Maine to assist with a church plant there. The pastor in Portland, with the will and guidance of our Lord, is growing His church and bringing the Good News to the people in Portland! For several years I participated in missions to Eagle Butte, South Dakota to serve on the Lakota Cheyenne River Sioux Tribe Reservation. If you notice, I avoid using the term “Mission Trip.” I feel a trip is something one begins once they arrive at their destination and ends once they leave. Our mission begins as we meet people along the journey to and from our destination — whether it be talking with people at the airport, on the airplane or any other mode of transportation we use along our travels. I believe we are on a mission to fulfill our Lord’s will every time we meet someone.

I’m an active member attending a Baptist church in Northern Virginia. I married my best friend Kathy, 35 years ago. We have a son and daughter and four grandchildren!

Brett Patterson

Board Member

My name is Brett Patterson and I have served with ODM since
2007. I currently serve Hatch Bend Baptist Church in Branford,
Fla., as pastor since 2011, and serve as Association Mission
Strategist for the Lafayette Baptist Association in Bell, Fla., since 2017.

I gained a passion for mission work on a trip to Ukraine in 1998. Since then, I have served on short term mission trips to Ukraine, Zimbabwe, South Africa, Canada, Guyana, Holland, Germany, and several trips in the United States. I currently have a standing partnership with Jabulani Mudenda of Hope Ministries in Binga, Zimbabwe, training pastors. I have been married to my wife Kimberly since 2003 and have three awesome children.

Pastor Gary Hillyard

Executive Director

Pastor Gary Hillyard is a Pastor of Beacon Bay Baptist Church in Livingston, Texas, is our Executive Director. He is the mentor for our board because he was involved in missions before any of the others on the board. He has been a pastor and great soul winner for 48 years.

Gary and his wife Cindy lived in Ukraine as church planter/pastor for five years. He and Dr. Holloway were the only two on the board at this time that were part of the original founding of Open Door Missions. Gary has pastored churches in Texas and Washington State. He has served in the former Yugoslavia, Ukraine, Russia, Australia, Guinea Sierra Leone, West Africa, Kenya and South Africa.

Dr. F. Randy Harper

Board Member
  • Graduate of Baptist Christian College, New
    Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary and Luther Rice Seminary.
  • He has a B.A., Div., M.A., M.Div., and D.Min. D.D and Th.D. from Louisiana College.
  • He served as Associate Pastor / Evangelism – First Baptist Bossier, Pastor of Northwoods Baptist Church Pastor of Bellaire Baptist Church – 1996 to present.
  • Served on Louisiana Baptist Executive Committee.
  • Former Trustee – Southern Baptist Theological Seminary, Louisville, KY.
  • Past President – Louisiana Baptist Pastor Conference Louisiana.
  • Served as Chairman and Vice Chairman Board of Trustee’s at Louisiana College.
  • Serving as a Volunteer Chaplain Shreveport Fire Department
  • Serving as Volunteer Chaplain – Louisiana State Guard LTC.
  • His hobby is teaching Kung Fu and playing golf.
  • Married to Vicki 43 years, with 3 sons and 6 grand-children.

Dr. Mike Holloway

President

Dr. Holloway has been a fulltime pastor
since 1985 and is currently the pastor of
Ouachita Baptist Church in West Monroe, La. As our president, Dr. Holloway was also a part of the founding of Open Door Missions, along with the executive director, Gary Hillyard.

Dr. Holloway has been actively involved in missions for the past 22 years. He has ministered in 10 countries at this present time, with most of his work being with the Ukrainian people. He has pastored six churches and loves to help and encourage pastors in other countries. He has served in a number of ways with the Southern Baptist Convention.

Dr. Holloway earned his Master of Divinity Degree from New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary in 1989 and then later earned his Doctorate of Ministry Degree from Mid America Baptist Theological Seminary in 1997. He served on the La. Baptist Convention Executive Board and as a Trustee of the New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary from 1992-1998. His heart is teaching the Bible, evangelism of the lost and encouraging pastors on the missions field.

Randy Swift

Board Member

I have been an active member of Brainerd Baptist Church in Tennessee since 1966. I have served my church as a Deacon, choir member, and building and grounds maintenance manager. I’m also a primary speaker for Sunday Worship service.

Our Lord has led me on mission trips to18 countries on five continents. I will travel wherever our Lord leads me in serving Him and bringing the Good News of His salvation!

I’m currently retired. I formerly worked as a System Analyst. My wife Nancy and I have been married for twenty-six years. We have five daughters, two sons, nineteen grandchildren and nineteen great grandchildren. We also have three foster great grandchildren and two foster grandchildren.

Don Murphy

Board Member

I’m a long time member of Lighthouse Baptist Church and actively involved in my church. I have served our Lord in many capacities of my church. I believe it is important to serve our Lord in the mission field. The harvest is great and the workers are few. I want to serve as His worker. I have traveled on Mission trips nine times to the Ukraine, four times to Malawi and South Africa and more than twenty times to the Navajo Indian Reservation in New Mexico.

I look forward to my next mission trip where our Lord leads me.

Marc Taylor

Board Member

Marc Taylor is a layman and active member of Cook Baptist Church in Ruston, Louisiana. Marc is a building appraiser and businessman who also is a contract professor at Louisiana Tech University. He is an ordained deacon and leads many mission trips to the Navajo Nation in New Mexico. As a board member, he organizes the Open Door Missions work with the Navajo in New Mexico. Some trips are Vacation Bible School, some are construction and some are the Christmas Shoebox Ministry which takes presents to children at Christmas time. He and his wife Buttons have been working in New Mexico for 12 years.

Waylon McCormick

Accountant/Treasurer

Waylon McCormick is a Non-Board member serving with Open Door Mission. Waylon is a long-time member and Associate Pastor of Ouachita Baptist Church in Louisiana. He serves as Treasurer and Accountant for Open Door Missions.