STAR Spotlight

In this edition we want to shine the spotlight on First Assembly of God Seadrift.

South Texas is blessed to have so many healthy rural churches with dedicated pastors caring for not only their church family but the entire town. These churches are some of the healthiest churches in South Texas. One of these healthy rural churches is First Assembly of God Seadrift, Texas, population 1,350, pastored by Tim and Beverly Smith. They have pastored in Seadrift for 26 years. Tim and Beverly raised their 3 children in Seadrift and they all continue to serve the Lord. I hope you enjoy this interview with the Smiths as they share their pastoral wisdom. God bless you as you consider planting, PAC’ing or pastoring an existing church in rural South Texas!

When and why did you come to Seadrift?

Beverly - In February of 1994 we were voted in. We came because we both prayed intensely about it and asked others to pray. God assured us by several separate things, all coming together that this was God’s will for us and our family. Tim was able to transfer from his job to a better position at a power plant much closer to Seadrift and we sold our house quickly so that we were able to move without having that hanging over us.

Tim- We came to Seadrift in February of 1994. The church was without a pastor and we were invited to come as guest speakers for Sunday services. The church board asked us to come the following Sunday and they asked us to keep coming for services. After four weeks they elected us as pastors.

How did you confirm that it was God’s will to pastor in Seadrift?

Beverly - A lot of prayer and reading God's Word; letting God speak to us through His Word and answering our prayers about the concerns we had. We wanted to know beyond a doubt that this was God's perfect will for our lives.

Tim - After preaching the first Sunday, I felt very good about the services and the response of the people to the messages. They had been without a pastor for several months and were discouraged but very hungry for God’s word and responded in the altars. I could see God’s healing work being done in the people. This happened quickly. I also saw that there was a lot of repairs and work that needed to be done on the church building and parsonage. Over four weeks we quickly grew to love and care about the people. They also began to love and appreciate us and our ministry. We believed that we could help the church make improvements to the properties. God gave me a burden to minister to the people and to help the church through their challenges. During this same time, my secular job transferred me to a facility nearer to Seadrift. I believed this to be an act of God to help me fulfill His desire. I submitted to God’s leading and the congregation voted for us to be their pastors.

What are some highlights of pastoring in Seadrift?

Beverly - The ministries we have been able to provide our community such as Vacation Bible School; having fundraisers to enable us to send youth to camp; taking a group of youth to San Francisco to minister to the homeless population and underprivileged children; celebrating Tim's 40th birthday; being able to go on 5 missions trips between the 2 of us (not including the youth mission trip); numerous ladies home missions trips to Pleasant Hills Children's Home; being unanimously approved to serve as Assistant Pastor once I received my credentials as a Licensed Minister; and celebrating our 25th year as pastors here.

Tim - One highlight for me is the relationships with the people. I love them as my own family and refer to them as my church family. We love and care for them and they love and care for us. I find great fulfillment in witnessing God move in lives and change the lives of His people. I also enjoy and appreciate the relationships within the Fellowship of the Assemblies of God. I have many pastor, evangelist and missionary friends. Another highlight is participation in mission’s trips. I have traveled on three trips, two to Spain and one to Israel. There are many notable family events that have happened to us while in Seadrift. All three of our children have graduated High School and college. They have married and we now have 6 grandchildren. We have celebrated many milestones including our 25th wedding anniversary, renewing our marriage vows during a Sunday morning service and several notable birthdays. God is good.

What were / are some of the challenges?

Beverly - 5 people in a house with 1 bathroom! Lol. Being pliable. Sometimes your ideas just won't work; often we had to reach a compromise. Sometimes, at first, we felt like we were on a mission field because some things were done very differently at this church than we had ever done them. A song that was popular at that time was Steven Curtis Chapman's "The Great Adventure". And pastoring has been a great adventure.

Tim - The biggest challenge in the beginning was financial. The church had little money and we borrowed money to make the parsonage livable. I shared a message about my burden for the church and people gave sacrificially. The church building is about 70 years old. The parsonage is over 60 years old. We have remodeled the church, fellowship hall, Sunday School rooms and the parsonage. We maintain the buildings very well, the church is on sound financial standing and we have no financial debt. After being established in Seadrift for about a year and overcoming some of the challenges, I recognized an opportunity to enlarge the hearts of the people. I began to invite evangelists, missionaries and others to challenge the people. We gradually increased our missions giving and God has blessed the church for it. We currently give near 20% of income to missions and another 10% for evangelism and outreach. We have 2 or 3 revivals each year. The church supports Hill Country Camp, Pleasant Hills Children’s Home, and 24 missionaries. We also host kid’s crusades, fund raisers for those in need, and provided school supplies for local children. God has enlarged our hearts.

What are ways to love and serve your town?

Beverly - The first thing we did was Vacation Bible school. For several years we gave away baskets of food at Thanksgiving and Christmas to those who might not otherwise have a holiday meal. After a while we decided we wanted to do more. Last year we gave away school supplies and had door prizes of family-sized shampoos, bath products, toiletries, cereals and snack items. This year, due to Covid restrictions, we delivered the collected school supplies to Seadrift School so that they could provide them to the students. We were also able to host a new shoe giveaway for the children of the community. Our plan is to add a component each year to meet the needs of our community. Our motto for these events is "Serving God By Meeting Community Needs”

Tim - #1 Love and care for people. Jesus died for the whole world. #2 Be available to serve them at their place of need. Jesus never left a need unmet. When you can do something, do it! SHOW the people you care about them. Have benevolence funds in your annual budget to help those in need. Have prior permission to use those funds as needed.

What are the benefits of being bi-vocational?

Beverly - By being bi-vocational, we were able to leave more money in the church treasury so that we could do more for our community and maintain our church property. It also has helped us greatly understand the working people who attend our church. We were very much in touch with the conflicts and issues confronting those in our church who were employed. It also allowed us to minister to many people who would have never attended our church.

Tim- Pastoring a small church is challenging. Resources are often limited. Small church pastors and / or spouses often work outside the church to provide basic needs; housing, medical insurance, retirement benefits, transportation, etc., and income from working outside the church provides these necessities. Working for a secular employer has scheduling challenges for service schedules, funerals, weddings, hospital visits, emergencies, conferences, education and many other things. Discussing these issues with potential employers prior to accepting a position is essential. Your first calling is to God, then your spouse/family, then to the church (also an employer). Most employers are reasonable business people who understand life needs. They may even be church members and understand the needs of ministry. Being bi-vocational allows for pastors to fulfill their calling and provide for their families at the same time. Use that exposure to establish relationships thus building your ministry. Learn to manage your time. When the church can provide the finances, you are better off for your efforts. Have regular dates with your spouse and schedule family time. Do not overlook rest time!

What would be your advice and encouragement to those thinking about pastoring in rural South Texas?

Beverly - Never think you are above pastoring a "small" church. Be open to God's leading. Someone must pastor the small churches; why not you?? A challenge would be to get to know your new church family. Slow down and take some time. No two churches are alike. Every one has its own personality, generational makeup and ethnic makeup. When you go in and begin to make changes rapidly, you can upset people, hurt feelings and cause people to shut down and resist.

The people in smaller, rural churches are very loving and eager to learn and help with ministry projects when they know you love and care about them. We showed them love and respected them and we tried to not make any changes for several years then as we did make changes, we did it slowly. They are open to do anything we ask them to do because we took the time to get to know our congregation.

Tim - Small towns offer many opportunities. There are opportunities to know many of the town people personally and to be involved in the community in significant ways. The rural community offers these opportunities. Ministry is about people and them knowing Jesus Christ and His love. Almost everyone in Seadrift knows me as the pastor of the Assembly of God. This exposure brings opportunities to minister and pray for others as we are often invited to participate in community programs. I have served on two Community Advisory Panels for large industrial facilities. I have participated in public forums discussing environmental and safety issues affecting our community. These opportunities open the door to minister to people and the community at large which in turn brings people into your church. Planting a church in a rural area allows the minister to be involved in the formative stages of the church plant. The church government and leadership can be established with influence from the minister rather than entering an existing church and initiating change.