Text and photos by Peter Vankevich
Over the ocean, the sun rose brightly above low-lying clouds. On the beach, folks stretched out on blankets or sat on the dunes.
They had gathered for one of Ocracoke’s long traditions, the Easter Sunrise Service.
It was there that some in the community first saw Tim Howard, the new pastor of the Life Saving Church, 459 Lighthouse Rd.
With guitar in hand, his wife Betha on one side and Ocracoke United Methodist Pastor Desiree Adams on the other, they sang hymns followed by sermons on the significance of the day.
Born in and raised in Berkeley County in the eastern panhandle of West Virginia near Harpers Ferry, Howard grew up in a religious home attending several services a week.
His mother recalled she once saw him in the backyard, when he was in the third grade, lining his friends up and preaching to them.
First raised as a Baptist, Howard later attended Assembly of God and Pentecostal churches. He met the love of his life, Betha, at age 14 and they married when they were 20 years old.
After graduating high school, Howard had a variety of jobs, finally landing a job at a cement plant lasting 13 years where he did “a little bit of everything,” from being an industrial electrician to running a jackhammer.
During these years, he made friends at the plant who were Christians and they started hanging out together that led to creating a Bible study group.
“At that time, we weren’t going to any specific church; just on fire for the Lord,” he said. “I had taught myself to play the guitar when I was 11 or so and would play during our study sessions. Then some of the guys started singing. Word got out and people started asking us to perform at their churches.”
Betha, who has a beautiful voice, would join them.
The group made several missionary trips to Central America, mostly to El Salvador and also the Dominican Republic. Their ministering continued to include a jail outside of Winchester, Virginia, and to nursing homes.
Then he was asked to be a pastor in a church for a month.
“I loved ministering but didn’t think of myself as a pastor until then,” he said.
Around that time he and Betha wanted to join a church and chose the one they were married in, Valley View Chapel, a Foursquare Church.
The Foursquare Church is an international Pentecostal Christian denomination founded in 1923 by Sister Aimee Semple McPherson and, like the Assembly of God, it has an evangelical tradition.
“We tried the big churches over the years, but we were most comfortable in the small congregations and in this one the people were so welcoming,” he said.
With the Foursquare Church it is the regional District that appoints pastors, and when there was an opening at the Valley View Chapel, they contacted him to ask if he would consider being the pastor,
“We were kind of shocked by that, and so we took some time to think and pray because being a pastor is not a job, it’s a life.” He accepted the position in 2007 and continued until late last year. During this period, they started up two ministries within the church, Tabitha’s Closet, a baby resource for the community, providing items such as clothes and diapers, and a food outreach called Mercy to Other Ministries. Both are still ongoing.
He was a bit shocked because, he said, “being a pastor is not a job, it’s a life.”
He accepted the position in 2007 and continued until late last year.
During this period, they started up two ministries within the church, Tabitha’s Closet, a baby resource for the community, providing items such as clothes and diapers, and a food outreach called Mercy to Other Ministries. Both are ongoing.
After years serving at the same church, Howard wondered if they had reached an end. Around that time, one of their friends from West Virginia, Rob Davis, had recently taken the job as the pastor at the Lighthouse Assembly of God church in Buxton.
Davis contacted him to say the District Superintendent of the Assembly of God asked if he knew anyone who might be interested in being a pastor on Ocracoke.
Although it did not go any further than that, it did get Howard thinking about a life change — to serve in a church on the Outer Banks.
Then the pastor position reopened last fall and this time he visited the island as a guest preacher at Life Saving on two occasions.
The first was an invitation simply to preach and the second, in February, as a candidate to become the new pastor.
“Even the first time, people were asking if I was going to be the new preacher,” Howard said. “We found the people so welcoming for both Betha and me and it felt like it was just to be. We really connected with them.”
He accepted the offer and his first official service was March 2.
As the new pastor, Howard has focused on having a strong relationship with the other churches, specifically the United Methodist Church.
“We do a once-a-month joint worship night on the fourth Tuesday of the month and, of course, the Easter Sunrise Service on the beach,” he said. “Even though we may have our own theologies and specific beliefs, it’s still Christianity and we need to find the commonality to embrace.”
Adams and he have lunch once a month. “We both share a heart for the good people of Ocracoke.”
Another priority was reopening the Bread of Life Food Pantry beside the church.
The pantry reopened in June and started delivering food to those who can’t get out or have difficulty, he said, adding that the pantry is stocking up.
It accepts donations of food items, which can be dropped off on the porch of the pantry adjacent to the church.
Renters are welcome to drop off unused food items at the pantry upon their departure.
For perishable items, call 304-676-3308 to arrange a drop off. The pantry is also looking for a small box trailer to haul resources.
Asked if he gets lots of questions about his surname, he laughed.
“I sure do,” he said. “I have some relatives who traced the family genealogy, and they think we might be descendants of the brother of William Howard, the quartermaster of Blackbeard, but I don’t have any evidence.”
It is not just the Easter Sunrise when Pastor Howard uses his guitar.
The Sunday morning service begins with singing by the prayer team of Pastor Tim, Betha and Jenny Hargrove.
If you don’t attend Life Saving Church services, you can meet Pastor Howard at Tradewinds Tackle shop where he works part time. Betha works at The Castle B&B on Silver Lake.
Sunday School: 10 am
Worship: 11 am
Wednesday Night Bible Study 6:30 pm
(252) 928-9001
secretary@lifesaving.church
https://lifesaving.church/
