John Crowder Jr

John was serving in the Navy as an aviation machinist when he met Ginger in 1955. The night

they met, they were both supposed to have dates with other people but God had other plans.

Six weeks later, they were married. Even though neither of them were saved at the time, John

had a hunger for God's word and they started reading the Bible daily. Naturally, they started in

Revelation, lol.

When John and Ginger moved to Florida, they started attending Temple Heights Baptist Church.

John immediately loved the church and said "he had never heard preaching like that." It was

under that preaching that both John and Ginger came to know the Lord. After John's salvation

in September 1969, he began working in the bus ministry and served as a deacon.

John was a hard worker and owned his own business, "King Tire Outlet" with a slogan of "The

King is Coming." Every time anyone came into King Tire and said "I want to talk to Mr. King,"

John would say "sure, let me introduce you to Mr. King." He used the name of his business as a

way to start a conversation about Jesus. He was kingdom minded, eternally focused.

John took the great commission seriously. In recent years, he didn't go anywhere without his

"Smile Jesus Loves You" tracks. He was determined to give one to anyone he came in contact

with and encouraged others who knew Jesus to take a stack to hand out as well. After he lost

his mobility, he would frequently task Ginger or another family member with handing out the

tracks for him. He was bold for Jesus and expected others to be as well.

John was extremely generous. When he owned his business, he frequently helped people who

didn't have the money to pay for tires or repairs because he cared for others more than money

in his pocket. John used to keep a $100 bill in his wallet to give missionaries when they were

visiting the church.

John and Ginger have been attending Bible Baptist Church for the past 14 years. John served as

a dedicated greeter and usher, warmly welcoming both members and visitors. He especially

enjoyed meeting first-time guests, often introducing them to Ginger, and inviting them to sit

together. It brought him great joy to introduce visitors to the church he loved so much.

Not only did John love to tell people how to get to heaven, he just loved to tell people how to

get to places in general. He had a fantastic memory for roads and routes. One time, one of his

granddaughters, Holly, was visiting Orlando and was trying to navigate using GPS but kept going

in circles. Knowing her grandfather well, she called him for help. John quickly pulled out his

paper map and offered assistance. He told his granddaughter, "forget the GPS and use the M-A-

P."

John faithfully loved the Lord, his family, his country and his church. His favorite verse was

Proverb 3:5-6