On November 6, 1950, Mel Bond was born in St. Charles, Missouri, and was raised in very humble beginnings. He and his younger brother and three sisters grew up in a small tar paper house in Troy, Missouri. Mel was born again and filled with the Holy Spirit with the evidence of speaking in tongues on June 17, 1958.
Donna Hale was born on December 20, 1952, in St. Louis, Missouri. She was the youngest of four children, growing up with a brother and two sisters. She and her siblings were raised by parents who pastored several churches throughout her life. They have always been a musical family who has enjoyed singing together at church and family gatherings. Donna was born again and filled with the Holy Spirit as a young child of about five years.
Mel preached his first sermon at the age of 7 to a group of his friends on a street in Overland, Missouri. He had a bad experience with a pastor not long after, causing him to question why God would allow terrible things to happen to a young boy. He fell away from his faith and chose an increasingly difficult path during his teenage years. By his Junior year in high school, he was so miserable that he pursued joining the military because he longed to see combat. He secretly hoped that he would not survive it.
He joined the Marines, but they could not send him to areas of combat for several months. So, after a few weeks, he pursued the Army, where the recruiter told him what he wanted to hear. He enlisted in the Army in 1967 and, following boot camp, was sent to South Korea at the heart of the conflict. It was here that Mel had a supernatural experience while on guard duty one night. Feeling at the end of his rope, he cried out to God, asking God to show Himself “real” to Mel. In the dark of night, a white dove appeared. Knowing this white dove was a supernatural manifestation of the Holy Spirit and not a natural bird, Mel instantly knew that God was answering his prayer! So, at approximately 2:00 a.m., in South Korea, he rededicated his life to the Lord.
After that personal experience with God, Mel joined a men’s Bible study group called “Navigators,” an organization that worked with soldiers to get them saved and help them organize their life in the military. He credits their program for getting him started on the path of memorizing scripture. He also began teaching Sunday school classes in South Korea. He would preach and teach whenever and wherever he had the opportunity. This is where his passion to share the love of God with the world took hold of his life!
Now that he had dedicated his life to living for the Lord, Mel began to ask the Lord to find him a wife for his future. He had two dreams in which he saw clearly a young woman with blonde hair. However, he thought the dreams were only a confirmation of his request. Mel went into a Newberry’s Dime Store in St. Louis about one year later while back in the states from his tour in South Korea and it just so happened the exact woman that he saw in his dreams was the cashier! Eleven months later, on June 20, 1970, Donna and Mel were married. Over their 50+ years together, God has blessed them with three beautiful daughters who have given them seven beautiful grandchildren.
Shortly after they were married, they began traveling to different places in Missouri to preach and conduct crusades. They pastored their first church in Moscow Mills, Missouri, on April 14, 1972, where he preached a sermon titled “Inward Fire” at his first service. In 1973, Mel decided to enroll at Central Bible College in Springfield, Missouri, to learn more about the Word of God.
After Central Bible College, they moved to Taylor, Texas, to begin pastoring the Assembly of God Church, including conducting healing and miracle crusades. In 1980, God led them back to Missouri, landing in Wright City to pastor the Assembly of God Church.
Because of his affiliation with the teachings of Kenneth E. Hagin, Kenneth Copeland, Fred Price, and John Osteen, the Assemblies of God eventually removed Mel from their denomination. So, in April 1982, Mel and Donna decided to establish their church, Agape Church, in Wentzville, Missouri.
Their first services at Agape Church were held on April 25, 1982. They rented a small space in the back of a Christian bookstore in Wentzville for about three months. Desiring to have a larger facility that would allow them to minister to more people, they relocated to a local storefront for the next year and a half. They acquired the land at their current location (140 N Point Prairie Rd) and broke ground in September 1983. The doors opened for the first time in January 1984!
Mel Bond Ministries (MBM) launched in 1984 as Pastor Mel began to receive invitations to travel nationally and internationally to share the unconditional love of God with signs and miracles at crusades. Over the years, the ministry has expanded several times, including the exciting additions of TV programs in 2012, live-streamed services in 2021, and a channel on Roku in 2022!
Since 1982, they have conducted Miracle/Healing Crusades in over 30 countries, primarily in third-world countries. They have witnessed over 1 million people accept Jesus Christ as Lord and more healings and miracles than they can remember.
In their hearts, Pastors Mel and Donna have always felt that God’s mandate for them is to touch the world with God’s Unconditional Love. Following God’s Word, Pastor Mel feels God has placed him here in this day and time to usher in the season of great signs and wonders, which will lead to the rapture. He desires that none should perish, and he’s dedicated his life to doing everything he can to bring as many people as possible to know the Lord. Mel affirms the truth of the saying, “behind every great man is a greater woman!”