MALVERN — Darrel Teeter of Malvern has several big stories to tell about his life.
For most people in his hometown and those who have done business with him, the story starts in 1959. That year, Teeter was in his 10th year as a minister in Assembly of God churches. He was pastor at a church in Murfreesboro and made $40 a week.
“After my first years, the church had grown 50 percent, but the church didn’t give me a raise. I had to get a business on the side to have enough for my family. I purchased two used cars,” Teeter said, explaining how he got started in auto sales. “By 1963, we moved to Little Rock, and soon we had two large locations.”
In 1967, he opened his next dealership in Malvern.
“Chrysler talked me into coming here,” he said. “We never planned on moving here, but the business was a success, so I needed to be here.”
In 1969 and 1970, Teeter Chrysler, Plymouth, Dodge in Malvern was selling 130 to 150 cars a month, Teeter said.
“I did something many of the other dealers wouldn’t do. I carried a large stock of the muscle cars with the 440 Magnum engine. I would have 35 to 40 of them on the lot, and we sold them all over the South.”
Today, Teeter Motors operates a Chevrolet dealership in Malvern and sells Hondas in El Dorado, along with large pre-owned-car lots in Malvern and Sheridan.
At age 80, Teeter still can get very hands-on at his dealerships. He answers questions, takes care of special requests and always answers his cell phone.
“I don’t want to retire,” Teeter said. “I am so involved in all my work. I might retire at 90, but I will never quit.”
That is Teeter’s successful businessman story. His other, larger story begins with two occurrences when Teeter was around 10 or 11 years old.
“In World War II, while my brother was in the Army, it was my job to milk six cows, twice a day,” Teeter said. “I developed strong hands and arms for baseball, and I prayed for my brother to be all right and to come back home safe. It set me up physically and spiritually.”
The story event that helped shape the rest of Teeter’s life was a desire for a baseball glove.
“I loved baseball and I wanted a good glove, but I didn’t have any money,” Teeter said. “One day I saw my uncle Sherman Teeter was clearing some land, and I offered to do it so I could earn some money for the glove.”
Teeter’s uncle refused his offer.
“He wasn’t being mean; he just didn’t spend money that way,” Teeter said.
Remembering how that rejection felt, Teeter said he has always wanted to help young people in need.
“I have never been able to say ‘no’ to kids asking for help,” he said. “One of the greatest things — when I really feel good — is when I am helping kids.”
Teeter and his company have sponsored school athletics for years, not just in Malvern, but across the region.
“I have helped over 20 teams. I added six more this year,” he said
The schools helped by Teeter include most of the high schools in the counties around Malvern and Hot Spring County. And his help is not limited to baseball, but extends to football, soccer, softball and other sports.
Teeter’s philanthropy goes beyond the playing field. He said he carries a special credit card, and each month it pays to feed the orphans of Kolkata, once known as Calcutta, India. He has fed as many as 15,000, he said.
“That is why I am blessed,” Teeter said.
A minister in the Assembly of God Church since 1949, Teeter has reached out to help young people and others all over the world.
Jimmy Bennett — a missionary with the church, director of the church’s global initiatives and a friend of Teeter — said he has seen many examples of his friend’s willingness to help others.
“Once I was president of a seminary in Brussels, and one of our ovens went out,” Bennett said. “I called Darrel, and he said he would take care of it. I called him back and said it would cost $18,000. Darrel said the check was on its way. He told me, ‘Those students need to eat.’”
Bennett, who works out of the Assembly of God headquarters in Springfield, Mo., said Teeter has played a major role in establishing churches in Iran.
“There is one official church there, but there are more than 300 underground churches operating from people’s homes,” Bennett said.
According to statements from George O. Wood, general superintendent of the General Council of the Assemblies of God, during a conference call with leaders of the Pentecostal movement in Iran, the country’s recognition of Islamic law makes it a crime for Moslems to convert to Christianity. Many Iran Christians have been imprisoned, their homes ransacked and possessions seized, Wood said.
“These Christians represent the house churches in Iran,” Wood said. “The Assemblies of God recognizes the house churches in Iran and urges the Iranian government to recognize them as such and give them freedom to meet publicly.”
“Darrel has planted a lot of those churches,” Bennett said. “He is a man of passion and vision.”
Teeter explains that while he is no longer a pastor of a church, he has never stopped working as a minister.
“This is my ministry right here,” he said.
Teeter said there is also a moment when his dedication to mission work started.
“When I was in Bible college, we had missionaries come and give programs,” he said. “One Friday they passed the hat, and I gave $3. That was all I had. That evening, a guy knocked on my door, and he said, ‘I felt I was to give you this,’ and handed me a $10 bill.”
Bennett said Teeter has helped fund training for many of the Iranian missionaries who start those home churches.
In this country, as many as 236 students can live in Teeter Hall, a four-story dormitory at Southwestern Assembly of God University in Waxahachie, Texas. Teeter is also on the board of the Ouachita Technical College Foundation in Malvern. He serves as a board member for the Hot Spring County Medical Center Foundation and the Hillcrest Children’s Home.
Teeter is also the last remaining founding member of the board of directors for Teen Challenge, a program for teens and young adults with drug-addiction problems.
“They are successful with almost three out of four kids that go there,” Teeter said. “I believe that the more we spend on our youth today, the less we will have to spend on prisons later.”
Teeter calls himself “just a worker” who “wants to be involved.” He admits he doesn’t do much more than work at the auto dealerships and as a supporter of churches and young people.
“I do try and walk a mile every day,” he said, “at least I try to.”
Bennett said he has given Teeter a special designation.
“He is an encourager,” Bennett said.
That kind of title is what makes Teeter’s stories interesting.