Jerry O’Dell began preaching at the age of 19, while attending Southwestern Assemblies of God College in Waxahatchie, Texas; and afterward spent 16 years as a co-evangelist with evangelists T.L. and Daisy Osborn. From 1980-86, Jerry served as a professor at Rhema Bible Training Center in Tulsa, Oklahoma, and on behalf of that ministry, held seminars and crusades in other nations, while fulfilling the position of International Outreach Director.

Marilyn is a 1978-79 graduate of Rhema and always preaches and teaches beside her husband. In 1986, the O’Dells launched O’Dell Ministries into full-time outreach ministry, enabling them to do more of what they do best: reaching the unreached on the front lines of evangelism. They have ministered in nearly 100 nations with seldom equaled expertise in open-air mass-evangelism.