​United Thanksgiving Offering Honors Mrs. Sandra Crank

By: EMILY SIMPSON
Baptist Progress Writer

“Who can find a virtuous woman? For her price is far above rubies” (Proverbs 31:10).

When the mother of King Lemuel penned the famous question “who can find a virtuous woman?” she most likely thought of the woman her son would marry someday. Her charge went on to describe this “virtuous woman” with a list of ordinary yet godly characteristics. Her husband trusts her, she is not idle, she is wise and caring, she builds a productive home, she fears the Lord. What might seem like a checklist is made a lot clearer when looking at the forest through the trees. What is the message this mother stressed to her son? The fact that this kind of woman, a virtuous woman, is a partner worthy of a king, “for her price is far above rubies.” An example led by the king, was for all the men and women of the kingdom to follow. Yet King Lemuel’s mother could not have known that when she penned her famous question, her descriptions (inspired by the Word of God) would also describe another remarkable woman centuries later. A woman found deep in the heart of Texas.

Mrs. Sandra Odom Crank was born and raised in the beautiful hill country of Whitney, Texas. In this same town she would meet her husband, Dr. Edwin Crank and give birth to their first child. When the two met, Dr. Crank was just a student at Baylor University. He found lodging at a relative of Mrs. Crank’s and became the pastor of Prairie Valley Baptist Church where Mrs. Crank attended and played the piano. It was there that the pair grew to know each other. When they married, it marked a lifetime of jokes that “the pastor ran off with the piano player” according to their daughter Tammy Wood.

As time passed, the Crank family grew as they added four beautiful daughters, Cheri, Teri, Kelli and Tammy. They eventually made the move to Jacksonville, Texas. Dr. Crank accepted a job as the chair of Jacksonville College’s Bible Department. He held that position for two years before becoming the college’s president. Dr. Crank ministered to those students for 25 years, and between Jacksonville College and the library at BMA Seminary, Mrs. Crank was right alongside him as his secretary where her kind and loving nature gave her a ministry of her own.

“She opens her mouth with wisdom, and on her tongue is the law of kindness” (Proverbs 31:26).

Students who found themselves at Jacksonville College in the 1990’s had all the usual cares and concerns of a typical college student. Yet these students had something that others did not – The Couch in Mrs. Crank’s office.
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 “That was a big part of her ministry” recalled Tammy Wood, “I have heard so many students talk about sitting on her couch and her (taking the time for) counseling students… she helped so many young couples make it through the first years of marriage. You know she would send wives back home and say, ‘now you need to do this, this is how you’re gonna make it, this is what you do in the first years of marriage’.”

​“Mrs. Crank was just absolutely known as the campus encourager” echoed Heith Mitchell, BMAT Missions Director and former Jacksonville College student. “No student at Jacksonville College would’ve ever thought she had something more important to do… she was going to love you. She was going to laugh a lot and out loud. She was going to be very encouraging” because she saw every student sitting in front of her as the most important investment.

Mrs. Crank’s ability to counsel in wisdom, listen with care, and encourage with laughter, all came from her deep love for the Lord. Yet this love for Him was not sparked until after she became a pastor’s wife.

Before settling in Jacksonville, Dr. Crank accepted another pastorate position which, due to its difficult nature, lasted only 18 months. However, Mrs. Crank always believed the reason they endured that pastorate was for her to receive the gift of salvation.

“She realized that she had never truly had a saving experience and got saved while we were there” Tammy remembers. “I think it would be really difficult for a pastor’s wife to say, ‘hello, I’m not saved!’” Despite the difficulty, Mrs. Crank stepped out in faith to admit her eternal need. And for her daughter Tammy, “that gave me courage to really do things as an adult knowing that my mom had stepped out like that, and it always gave me courage to do the right thing.”

“A joyful heart is good medicine” (Proverbs 17:22).
“Her children rise up and call her blessed” (Proverbs 31:28).

The life and joy that began at the point of her conversion only grew until her final days on earth. No one could doubt the joy that lived in Sandra Crank’s heart, and her family knew it best.

Some of Tammy’s favorite memories are of laughing with her mother, her smile, and the times they shared as a family. Those same values have been passed down to Mrs. Crank’s grandchildren, as well as her faith. “She was a devout believer; follower of Christ and she lived that out in every area of her life. Was she perfect? No, she wasn’t, but she was a true follower of Jesus Christ,” Tammy says.

“She went through as much suffering as anybody else, but with just real joy that showed all over outward, and endeared people to her,” Heith believes.

“…a woman who fears the Lord, she shall be praised” (Proverbs 31:30).

“She wanted people to come to know the Lord, that is the most important relationship in your life, and I believe that’s how her legacy lives on” Tammy recalled. “When we got to her funeral, it wasn’t about her. It was about her Lord. And I believe that her life preached that… you didn’t have to hunt for things to say [about her], and I thought that was really a cool thing that her life had already said it. And if there’s anything that I want my legacy to say it would be the same.”

“Many daughters have done well, but you excel them all” (Proverbs 31: 29).

Traditionally, the BMA of Texas Thanksgiving offering is dedicated to a former director. This year, it is dedicated to a director’s wife. Though she never would have wanted people to fuss over her, Mrs. Sandra Crank excelled at her station in life. She excelled in faithfulness and obedience to God. She lived out what it means to be the virtuous woman described in Proverbs 31. And from those who knew her, “it really means something this year that she’s being honored. To that one special offering in Texas that represents the BMA of Texas and all its ministries because she really did give her life to ministry and to the BMA”, Heith Mitchell.

Mrs. Sandra Crank will always be loved, her memory will always make us laugh, and her faith will always spur us on.
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“Who can find a virtuous woman? For her price is far above rubies” (Proverbs 31:10).

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