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Inglewood Baptist Church
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John Holland was a founding member of Inglewood Baptist Church in southern Grand Prairie, Texas. The church was begun in 1957 and the original pastor was Rev. E. O. Hartwell.
As with most small churches, every family pitched in to help the new church get started. The Hollands were friendly with several young couples who helped charter the church. They lived in the Inglewood addition of GP and most of their children went to the same elementary school that backed up to the church. It was a close church family.
The Charter Members of Inglewood Baptist Church included: The John Hollands, the W.A. Gulleys, the Sam Chenoweths, the Charles Greggs, the Pat Riggins’, the Dooley family, the Clay family, the Byars family, the Campbell family, the Reynolds, the Dennis Family, the Jones family, Mrs. Ruby Pool, and Jim and Betty Welch who helped organize the church.
John Holland was one of the men who formed groups that went out into the neighborhood to invite their neighbors to attend Inglewood. He even invited the Japanese men from work to come. At one time or another John served as Sunday School teacher, Department Head, Treasurer, and Finance Director. Always he was “a one-man welcoming committee” on Sunday mornings!
When the local churches formed a Church Softball League, John played on the Inglewood team. Most of the players brought their wives and kids to the games and they all got to be a really close group.
John’s family lived only a couple of blocks from the church. Once for a lark, instead of turning the car around and heading home, John backed the family car all the way home. The girls giggled and squealed all the way. After that they would ask every Sunday if “Daddy could back the car home.” He could rarely say no to his girls.
In 1999, Inglewood held a revival. Instead of singing out of the hymnals, the music minister displayed the words to the up-beat music on a screen at the front of the sanctuary. John took his glasses off to read the words and said, “Hey, this is fun!”
John was still a faithful member of Inglewood at the time of his death. His Sunday School teacher gave him a list of members to call every week . Every Thursday night without fail, John called and encouraged the people on his list. He prayed for some, joked with some, and even helped to find solutions when they told them about their problems. The class probably never knew just how much they meant to him.
John went to church Sunday morning, December 12, 1999; he passed away suddenly that night following a massive heart attack.
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Easter Sunday 1960
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The Old Sanctuary
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Church Directory Picture
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