Dr. Marvin D. Webster

Beloved long-time pastor Marvin D. Webster departed this life—crossing over to the next—at age 94 on August 13, 2025 in Newberg, Oregon, where he was living happily ever after with Virginia, his wife of 70 years.

As senior pastor for 34 years at University Baptist Church (now known as High Street Community Church) in Santa Cruz, California, he led many people to begin and strengthen their personal faith and trust in Jesus Christ. While shepherding a family-oriented church, Marvin was not as focused on adding numbers of members as he was with helping believers to grow in faith and love and to engage with the communities around them.

Early on he championed the beginning of the YoungLife ministry to unchurched high school kids in Santa Cruz County. He encouraged and rallied donors, staff members and volunteers. Always ready to mentor, Marvin led a Monday afternoon group of younger church and para-church ministers, as one noted, “to talk about anything from heartaches to heresy.”

Another focus for Marvin became men’s breakfast groups in Santa Cruz and Watsonville, sustained over many years. These local groups were influenced by the small groups and prayer breakfasts for people in business and government in Washington, DC. These groups were led by his long-time friend, and former statewide YoungLife leader in Oregon, Doug Coe. Both Marvin and Doug were known to advise, “Be spiritual about natural things, be natural about spiritual things.”

As pastor, Marvin had an earnest heart for worldwide Christian missions. One of his favorite tasks was to encourage missionaries out in the field, first by post then later by email. His cards and notes constantly were sent to far-flung places—among them Japan, Brazil, Chile, Italy, Germany, Austria, Uganda, the Middle East and Manhattan. A remarkable number of people he pastored in Santa Cruz later ventured out to take on the challenging task of bible translation to unreached people groups, primarily through the Wycliffe Bible Translators.

Marvin himself led a series of Bible tours to Israel, starting in 1969. Accompanying him on that first trip were his two grade-school age sons along with his wife Virginia. They rode camels in Egypt and toured in luxe buses in a then pristine Lebanon. The older son celebrated his 12th birthday in Jerusalem (though without a bar mitzvah).

Marvin took up the challenge of studying for a Doctorate of Ministry and received it in 1978 from Fuller Seminary. His leadership qualities made him frequently in demand for denominational and board positions––on the home and foreign mission societies, on the Mount Hermon Christian Conference Center advisory board, and on the Denver Seminary board of trustees. On the Denver board he served for 18 years, many as chairman. He was praised by then president and later chancellor Vernon Grounds for his “wise, steady” helmsmanship.

As a preacher, he was known for practical messages that warmed the heart and ended on time. He would frequently begin them praying the words of Psalm 19:14, “May the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be acceptable in your sight, O Lord, my rock and my redeemer.” Camp director and pastor Len Sunukjian recounted that “his biblical messages were marked by thoughtfulness and encouragement. Actually, Marv’s life was the message! He incarnated humility, kindness, love for his family, and pastoral care.” To keep children alert in worship, Marvin would call them to the front platform to open “the box.” The child with the shoebox that week would hand it to him. He would open the lid and find a toy or other object. Then in an impromptu riff he would offer a spiritual meaning he saw in that object, delighting the kids who then begged for the box next.

In counseling, Marvin often would suggest living with others according to Philippians 2:4, “Each of you should look not only to your own interests but also to the interests of others”. To this day his two sons call themselves blessed to have grown up under his gentle humor and grace giving spirit.

Marvin Dwayne Webster was born April 29, 1931 in Fargo, North Dakota. His father Vance Herschel Webster and his mother Jessie Irene Wise had been raised in Indiana and met at church. Vance Webster had started a career in metallurgy but after heading up the Sunday School as superintendent felt a call to pastoral ministry. After a pastoral stint in Fargo, the family with Marvin and his older brother Warren moved to Muscatine, Iowa in 1936. Marvin keenly remembered the day his father took him to Comiskey Park in Chicago to see the White Sox play the Yankees—when Joe DiMaggio barely beat out an infield hit toward third base to keep his record 56-game hitting streak alive.

Later the same year in 1941, Vance was called to the large, downtown First Baptist Church in Eugene, Oregon, founded in 1852 in a log cabin. Marvin warmly recalled sitting between his dad driving the car and a young Billy Graham on the other side of him when the emerging evangelist was in town for an outreach with Youth for Christ in April 1945.

For his graduating year in the class of 1949 at Eugene High School (now South Eugene), Marvin was elected student body president—reportedly on the strength of his leadership skills and sparkling green eyes. Prior to the start of senior year, forsaking his usual summer job picking cherries or beans, Marvin went to a youth retreat at Camp Arrah Wanna, near Mt. Hood. There he met a smart, beautiful, musically talented, horse-riding girl from a family farm outside Portland, and fell madly in love. He agreed to be camp newspaper editor if Virginia would be his co-editor. That started a teenage romance that led to an engagement on the shore of Laguna Beach, California and to their marriage in 1955 in Eugene that would last the rest of his life.

Marvin graduated from college in his hometown at the University of Oregon in 1953 with Phi Beta Kappa honors. After that he enrolled in the recently founded Fuller Seminary in Pasadena, California—where his brother already was preparing for mission work in Pakistan.

That summer before he went to seminary, both Marvin and his brother worked in Oregon on forest fire lookouts on neighboring ridges, passing the solitary time studying their Greek grammar.

After seminary in 1956, Marvin and Virginia moved to the prairie land of Prineville in central Oregon for his role as associate pastor. Their first son Anthony Vance was born there in 1957. Cowboy life did not quite lasso Marvin so he returned to Eugene as associate pastor for his home church. Among his many duties was shepherding the college students, with many of them becoming lifelong friends. In Eugene, Virginia gave birth to their second son, Lane Sanford in 1958.

In 1962 in Santa Cruz, a spiritually minded group of six couples, mainly small business owners, wanted to start a new church. It would reach out on the west side of town where the University of California system was planting a new campus on former ranch land. Led by homebuilder David Bogaard, they asked for names from their contacts at the Mount Hermon conference center up the road in the redwood forests. Marvin was well known there, as a result of his leading several summer college conferences for the center. The startup leaders selected him as their senior pastor. Then for more than thirty years together they grew the church into a worshiping community with a heart for the university students and staff, for families, and for youth throughout the county. Two standout leaders in the church, Roger and Norma Gintert, became close friends of Marvin and Virginia. Among many moments, the couples enjoyed several unintentionally suspenseful adventures together driving around the hairpin turns and rustic hills of Italy.

In his retirement in Portland, Oregon, Marvin was active in Village Church and a lively couples’ group. He remained in touch through email with his many ministry and missionary contacts around the world. He formed another men’s group with his high school classmate and lawyer, Bill Crow, and with land developer and poet, Art Lutz. He helped raise his three Oregon-based granddaughters and took a renewed interest in Nike-sponsored Oregon Duck sports.

He became even more adept at pruning the red, yellow and pink roses that he and Virginia prized. He joined her in attending many city symphony performances. For several years he served as the narrator for a community celebration of Handel’s Messiah each December. One of his all-time favorite songs was My Tribute by the gospel singer and pastor Andraé Crouch. He knew it well, often singing the last line of the first verse, “All that I am and ever hope to be, I owe it all to Thee” followed by the chorus, “To God be the glory.”

As Marvin dealt with aging and long remained in independent living at his retirement center of Friends view in Newberg, he often would quote Psalm 31:15, “My times are in Thy hand.” The time came this month when the hand of his Lord and Savior finally beckoned him home to eternal life.

Marvin is survived by his beloved Virginia; by his older son Anthony Webster (Dawn), their children Lindsey Burnett (Josh) and Jeff Webster (Aubrey), and grandchildren Molly Burnett (age 11) and Maverick Burnett (age 9); and by his younger son Lane Webster (Brooke), their children Merit Webster, Berkely Webster and Tegan Glancy (Joseph), and grandchild Elijah Glancy (age 7 months).

A service to celebrate Marvin D. Webster will be held on September 20, 2025 at 2pm at Village Church, 330 SW Murray Boulevard, Beaverton, Oregon, 97005. (Phone: 503-643-6511).

In lieu of flowers, donations may be made in his name to two organizations important to him: Village Church or Wycliffe Bible Translators (wycliffe.org). For the church, a check is preferred written to Village Church to be sent to the address for the celebration service above, with the designation “To the Memorial Fund for Marvin D. Webster.” For Wycliffe, go to online giving, click add instructions, then write “In memory of Marvin D. Webster.”

Any personal notes to Virginia can be sent to [email protected] or to [email protected].