Beloved pastor, father of 4 killed in crash while on his way to help Hurricane Laura victims
Worshipers from the Northside Assembly of God in Bonifay, Florida, are mourning the loss of their pastor, Rev. Chuck Glass, after he was killed in a crash while traveling to Louisiana to help Hurricane Laura victims on Labor Day.
“We are deeply saddened and grieving for one of our West Florida Churches.
Please help us lift up the family, friends, and congregation of Rev. Chuck Glass of Northside Assembly of God, Bonifay, FL,” the West Florida District Assemblies of God announced on Facebook Monday.
“Pastor Chuck suddenly passed away from an accident while heading to Louisiana to help those affected by Hurricane Laura. We are broken over this loss, and our prayers will be with his family and Northside,” the statement continued, noting that Glass was a “servant-hearted pastor and faithful husband.”
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In a statement from Northside Assembly, the church said it was comforted to know that the late pastor, who leaves behind a wife and four children, did not suffer.
“As many of you probably know, Pastor Chuck passed away this morning. The doctors said that he was unconscious immediately after the accident and never felt pain. God showed him mercy,” the statement published on Facebook said.
The congregation remembered him as a leader who was “always smiling” and enjoyed making others do the same.
“When we went back to see him after he had passed, we saw that he had a grin on his face. That’s the thing about him, he was always smiling. Pastor Chuck influenced so many people, and so many stories are being told about him now. Stories about him when he does something crazy just to make people smile, stories about him giving advice when you didn’t know what to do, and stories about how he was there for you when no one else was,” the church said. “He was an amazing human, and we are all saddened by his sudden loss.”
Across social media, many related churches and individuals also shared warm messages to remember Glass.
“Just picture the walls of Jasper, the streets of pure Gold, Garments whiter than anything on earth...And picture Jesus with his arms around him! Our hearts are saddened and grieving for our friend, Rev. Chuck Glass of Northside Assembly of God, Bonifay, FL,” Live Out Loud Church said.
“Our heart is broken for the loss of fellow pastor, friend, and soldier, Rev. Chuck Glass. We will miss his infectious smile and kindness. Our church will lift up the Glass and Bell families as well as Northside Assembly,” Grace Assembly at Chipley in Florida added.
Like Glass and his congregation, many churches have been working to help with recovery efforts in Louisiana in the wake of Hurricane Laura that has killed 25 people. Last Thursday, Gov. John Bel Edwards urged people sheltering in hotels in Texas to stay there if possible as Louisiana was having difficulty finding available hotel rooms for more evacuees, the Associated Press reported.
More than 92,000 people had registered for assistance from the Federal Emergency Management Agency and nearly 12,000 people were being sheltered by the state, mainly in hotels.
“We don’t think we would be able to quickly absorb another 2, 3, 4,000 people into our hotels,” the governor said.
