Faith, Music And A Familiar Face: Lovelady Church Welcomes Special Guests

By Greg Ritchie

Messenger Reporter

LOVELADY — In any small town, a church service is rarely just a service. It’s a place to catch up, to reconnect and, every now and then, to experience something extraordinary.

That’s exactly what Pastor Jack McMahon hopes to offer on Sunday, April 19.

At 10:50 a.m., First United Methodist Church at 310 Read St. will host a special morning featuring Jim and Ann Webb Davenport — longtime gospel ministers whose music and message have reached audiences across Texas and beyond. But for McMahon, the event is just as much about the people in the pews as it is about the guests at the front.

“I’ve always believed a church is a family,” McMahon said. “And when you have the chance to bring something like this in, it’s a way to strengthen that family and invite others to be part of it.”

McMahon, who has led the Lovelady congregation for the past seven years, speaks about ministry in a way that feels less like a role and more like a calling that never quite turns off — even after “retirement.”

“God’s always been faithful,” he said. “He puts you where you need to be, and you just try to follow that.”

That same sense of purpose is what drew him to invite the Davenports.

Ann Webb Davenport built her name singing country gospel music across Texas, with songs that found their way onto radio charts and into churches throughout the region. Her ministry has long centered on using music to reach people where they are.

Jim Davenport, meanwhile, spent years driving an 18-wheeler across the country — all while quietly building a ministry to fellow truck drivers. That calling eventually became Lonesome Road Ministries, connecting with drivers and communities far beyond East Texas.

“They’ve both spent their lives ministering in different ways,” McMahon said. “And when they came together, it just strengthened what they were already doing.”

The two married in 2009 after each had lost a spouse, blending not only their lives but their ministries. More recently, in 2022, they were called to serve at the Church in the Grove at the Great Passion Play in Eureka Springs, Arkansas, where they continue to share their message with visitors from around the world.

Still, for all their travels, McMahon says what they bring is something simple — and meaningful.

“They’re humble people,” he said. “They’re not about putting on a show. They’re about sharing their faith, and people can feel that.”

The April 19 service will include both music and personal testimony, offering what McMahon describes as “a chance to be spiritually inspired” in a setting that feels comfortable and familiar.

And that’s exactly how he likes it.

“I never wanted a big church,” McMahon said. “I’d rather have a smaller one where people know each other, where it feels like home.”

On Sunday morning, that home will open its doors a little wider than usual. And sometimes, that’s all it takes.

Greg Ritchie can be reached at [email protected]