VALDOSTA — When Pastor Marcus Jordan and his wife and co-pastor, Cassandra Jordan, began their ministry, Faith Christian Center of Valdosta, five years ago, they had three members. Worship service was held in the old Holiday Inn ballroom.

Today, the ministry has more than 100 members and the couple is in the process of renovating the church, which is located on Enterprise Drive.

“The ministry has grown because we placed an emphasis on family and teaching the word of God,” Marcus said.

Although their ministry was started five years ago, their journey with God began long before then.

A Kingsland native, Marcus came to Valdosta in 1988 and attended Valdosta State College, now Valdosta State University. Cassandra came to VSC in 1989 from Americus.

The two met through the Evangelistic Outreach Ministry, one of the college’s main organizations for student Christians at the time. Marcus was the organization’s president.

“I joined Evangelistic Outreach Ministry the same year I got to college,” said Marcus, who grew up in a Christian home and had been going to church all his life. “As president, I conducted daily Bible studies and prayer groups.”

Cassandra joined Evangelistic Outreach Ministry in 1991.

“I had a desire to know more about God,” she said. “Coming to college and seeing the different Christian groups and their commitment intrigued me. I thought that it was unique to see these people stand for what they believed in, and I wanted to know how they remained so strong.”

Upon joining the Evangelistic Outreach Ministry, Cassandra started a women’s prayer group. The organization also started having its Bible studies in her campus apartment.

“The study and prayer groups eventually grew into 70-plus students, so we had to move our meetings into the Student Union,” Cassandra said.

Marcus and Cassandra became good friends through the organization and eventually began to date.

Marcus ultimately graduated from VSC with a bachelor of science degree in business education and then a master’s degree in public administration. Cassandra received her bachelor’s and master’s degrees in sociology.

The couple chose to remain in Valdosta and pursue their professional careers. Marcus spent 10 years teaching at J.L. Newbern Middle School and currently works at

Lowndes Middle School, where he has taught for five years. He also taught a year at Valdosta State University and seven years at Valdosta Technical College.

Cassandra has taught at Georgia Military College for approximately 12 years.

After a long courtship, Marcus and Cassandra were married in November 1997.

When asked what influenced their decision to start the ministry, Marcus said, “As we progressively obeyed God, His will unfolded unto us. The more I matured in Him, the more He revealed His plans.”

Under the advisement of Bishop George Davis, who pastors Faith Christian Center in Jacksonville, Fla., with his wife, April Davis, the Jordans started a Faith Christian Center in Valdosta. The church is part of Impact 7 and Beyond and is one of seven Faith Christian Centers in the nation. Other Faith Christian Centers are located in Miami, Tampa, Tallahassee, Orlando and Norfolk, Va.

Around the time the Jordans were starting their ministry five years ago, they were also expecting their first and only child. However, what seemed to be the most joyous time in their lives quickly became the scariest time.

When their daughter, Jessica Symone Jordan, was born, she was diagnosed with total anomalous pulmonary venous return (TAPVR). TAPVR is a heart disease that is present at birth in which none of the four veins that take blood from the lungs to the heart are connected.

“She turned blue the first night she was born,” Cassandra said. “After birth, she was transported to a hospital in Augusta through a Life Flight program.”

Jessica had to have her first open heart surgery within the first two weeks of life. She remained hospitalized afterward for about three months.

Her second surgery was performed six months later.

“Jessica’s life allowed us to become more angry in our faith in God,” Marcus said. “Today, she is in perfect health.”

Jessica has to have a checkup on her heart every year as a result of the TAPVR. Cassandra said that the doctor was pleased with Jessica’s condition at her last visit.

In the midst of tending to their daughter’s health condition, the Jordans created what is now a blossoming ministry.

In addition to Faith Christian Center of Valdosta’s weekly Sunday morning worship service and mid-week Wednesday worship service, the church has a praise team choir, hip hop mime team and praise dance team. The couple also does pastoral and marital counseling.

“There are more than 60 members in our children’s ministry, which is directed by Artis and Calissia Singleton,” Cassandra said. “And our director of evangelism, Terri Coleman, ministers to the homeless and spearheads all of our charitable efforts.”

Marcus said that the church also has a ministerial class. The current class should complete training some time in June.

“We are also working on couples classes, a singles ministry and a regal saints ministry,” Marcus said.

Faith Christian Center of Valdosta just had its first women’s conference at Mathis City Auditorium in October. The theme of the conference was Kingdom Women Dominate Now (KWDN) and focused on women crushing depression, fear, doubt and low self-esteem through their faith.

“More than 200 people attended the conference from all over the state,” Cassandra said. “We were very pleased with the outcome and plan to make this an annual event.”

The church is preparing for an Impact 7 and Beyond conference in February and a Born to Win conference in June.

When they are not working or ministering, the couple can be found with their daughter.

Jessica is currently on the soccer team and taking swimming lessons.

“No one would ever know that she has had a heart condition,” Cassandra said.

Jessica will also be a part of the Odyssey of the Mind in Savannah this year. Odyssey of the Mind is an international educational program that challenges students, from kindergarten through college, to learn creative problem solving strategies.

Marcus said that he also enjoys going to the movies. The last movie he saw was “Precious.”

“It was a very thought provoking movie,” he said. “It could be therapeutic for someone who has suffered from abuse.”

When asked about their future plans, the couple said that they would love to do more global outreach, ministering to people via Internet and television.

“Our desire is to be the most loving church in the world,” Marcus said. “We feel that everyone can experience their best life now. We can win with the hand that we have been dealt.”