It took 20 years of toiling and prayer, but Pastor Fannie Dean’s vision for Mission Ministry Faith Center has come true.

The journey to build a church for Mission Ministry is finally over. In fact, the church now has two buildings and a new parking lot on a property off Goldie Road in Oak Harbor. The newest of the two buildings is about 4,000 square feet with a soaring ceiling.

Mission Ministry held a grand opening revival celebration Friday at the church, complete with the blowing of a shofar, a ribbon cutting and some good food.

The most unique thing about the project, Dean said, is that the church built it without borrowing any money.

There is no mortgage. The project was funded solely with donations.

“We’re the only black church in Oak Harbor to buy land to build a church,” she said. “This has been the project of my life. I have had so much determination.”

Over 29 years, Fannie Dean and husband, Pastor Randy Dean, have built a dedicated religious community. He said many members of the congregation who moved out of state still keep in touch and support Mission Ministry.

“We have a lot of faith here,” he said.

Fannie Dean is known in the community for her work fighting for racial equity and organizing the church’s annual Martin Luther King Day celebration.

Fannie Dean explained that there were a lot of obstacles to overcome and difficulties to work through during the process of building the church.

The church has been the target of burglaries and vandalism over the years. She had hoped to finish the project in 2015.

“It was a long journey,” she said. “It took a lot of prayer. I trusted and believed in God.”

A smaller building was first built on the site, which is where the congregation met while the larger church was under construction.

Pastor Charles Boyles of the House of Prayer said he is grateful Fannie Dean endured and kept faith.

“When you make something happen for someone else,” he said, “God will make it happen for you.”