Meet Ronny Marmol

Meet Ronny Marmol, FMI’s new Director of Church & Constituent Relations:

I was born the second of four boys in the Dominican Republic and was raised in Miami, FL. I grew up in a home where our two greatest loves were the love for family & the love for baseball. Baseball was our religion, our idol, and our hope. By my senior year in high school, I was selected in the Major League Baseball draft but chose the collegiate route on a baseball scholarship. With the plan of getting drafted again and receiving a higher signing bonus, I made it my goal to work harder than anyone else. 

My college experience was what some may call the “blue chip life” –whatever you desire at your disposal. The success continued to feed my growing pride and selfishness. With every applause and recognition grew a toxic dependency where I found my identity. I was living for self without an eternal purpose or care. I chased harder and deeper into this identity unaware that it was nothing but a fleeting high and lie, leading me to a path of destruction. 

In January 2001, three weeks before the start of the baseball season, I suffered an injury on my shoulder. An immediate medical evaluation revealed the devastating news—I was done. After several holes, a shaved bone, and four screws later, my baseball dreams were over. I found myself no longer able to do the one and only thing I cared about. I was now without purpose or direction, and unable to hide behind my baseball identity. 

I was angry and forced to deal with my true self. Little did I know that God removed this idol called baseball that I may see His forgiveness, love, and purpose.

After graduating in May 2001, I began working at the college and met a beautiful young lady named Elizabeth. She had a unique peace and joy that my heart longed for. Liz was a Christ-follower, discipled through a college ministry, and often shared with me the joy of the good news of Jesus Christ. On October 30th, 2001, I finally agreed to attend one of their weekly ministry meetings. I clearly remember the message that night from John 10. As I heard and read the letters in red, my heart became overwhelmed with emotions. “The thief comes to steal, kill, and destroy, but I come that you may have life and have it to the fullest. I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep.” (John 10:10-11). The words in red rushed through my body like a breath of fresh air, and for the first time Jesus and the cross on Calvary became beautiful to me. 

Fast forward 21 years….by His grace, Liz and I are celebrating nineteen years of marriage and have the precious gifts of 3 children—Daniel (12), Emily (11) and Sofia (5). Over this time, God has continued to use John 10 to change and shape my life. In John 10:16, He says, “I have sheep that are not of this sheep pen. I must bring them also. They too will listen to my voice, and there shall be one flock and one shepherd.” I love the assurance we have in the Divine “must and wills” of God. His promises WILL be fulfilled by His infinite power and authority. It’s also in this authority that we place our trust as He invites us to be a part of the advancement of His Gospel.

Over the last fifteen years, He has allowed me to pastor in different roles in ministry, but it was my last role as Missions Pastor at a church in Spartanburg where He allowed my eyes to see and my heart to grieve for Gospel-destitute places. God used prayers from a rooftop in Kolkata, conversations with village pastors in Hyderabad, coffee with Syrian families in refugee camps, the precious devotion of a small congregation in a Muslim village in North Africa, and other divine appointments to stir a holy ambition for places where He’s not known (Romans 15:20-21). 

It was during this time that I was also given a book titled Dispatches from the Front. Reading the book was followed by watching a set of DVDs, which led to “turning a cup” of coffee, which lead to a partnership, a friendship, and now the privilege of working as part of the Frontline Missions International team. Our hearts are humbled and excited for this new opportunity, and we pray the words of David Brainerd asking God in His grace to “allow us to make a difference for Him that is utterly disproportionate to who we are.” 

To His glorious fame and our joy,

Ronny Marmol