Tuesday, May 13, 2008

Urgent Prayer Needed - local Pastor and 13 yo son missing

There is an extreme need for prayer for the family of a local pastor. I have copied the news release from tbo.com. You can also check out updates on the progress at www.bellshoals.com/pastor TAMPA - Bell Shoals Baptist Church officials are somber this morning as crews in North Carolina continue the hunt for a small plane that was carrying the church's senior pastor, the Rev. Forrest Pollock, and his 13-year-old son, Preston. Pollock, who has led the large congregation for six years, was piloting a small private plane that left North Carolina early Monday bound for a conference in Texas, according to the church's online bulletin. It never showed up. Searchers are focusing on a wooded area about 30 miles from the Rutherfordton, N.C., airport where Pollock took off about 4:10 a.m. Monday, the bulletin said. The 44-year-old pastor is married and has six children. A prayer room is open for church members to come in and pray. Church officials said a regular prayer session for staff members will begin at 9 a.m. The Rev. George Thomasson was reticent when asked whether the media could observe the session. "We will have to think and talk about that," he said. "They're in an intense search, even tonight," Thomasson said Monday evening. "Other than that, we don't know. Our real appeal is to the Tampa Bay area to pray for our pastor" and their family. Pollock flew to North Carolina on Sunday afternoon. "He reached his destination in North Carolina; however, after leaving from there early Monday morning for Texas, we have learned that Pastor has not yet reached his destination at the time of this writing," a message posted late Monday on the Web site states. "Everything humanly possibly is being done to locate Pastor's whereabouts. We are, however, appealing to all of our church family to pray earnestly for God's supernatural intervention. The new Worship Center is open for prayer and will remain so until further notice." Bell Shoals has about 6,000 members, and about 3,000 people attend services each week. Pollock came to the church with a background in television production. He became interested in TV production while in high school in Oklahoma, working as a volunteer intern at a TV station. He went on to start his own TV production company and work as a TV reporter and anchor and print reporter "before God called me into ministry," he told The Tampa Tribune in 2007. After graduating from Southwestern Baptist Seminary in 1994, Pollock served churches in Fort Worth, Texas, for three years and Baton Rouge, La., for five years before joining Bell Shoals.

1 comment:

mommy5 said...

This is so sad! We never know when our last earthly moment will be. I reminds me to not put things off, look for the blessings in EVERY day, and reprioritize. (Family moments before tasks.)