He was a very good preacher and a very good church administrator,'' said Williams, of Green. ''Charles is one of the nicest, gentlest people I've ever met. As a friend and member and officer of the church, Williams traveled with Mr. Over the years, their relationship grew closer and stronger. The church is where Howard Williams began his friendship with Mr. And at one time, it boasted the world's largest Sunday school. At its peak in the late 1960s, the church had 7,000 active members. Its first service was held at Akron's Rimer Elementary School with 14 people in attendance. The Akron Baptist Temple was founded in 1934. He never compromised his faith, his integrity or his moral standards.'' He had a long faithful ministry and retired with a perfectly clean slate. ''In the assignment, it was almost humanly impossible to succeed his father, but he thrived and he excelled under the challenge. Ed Holland, current pastor at Akron Baptist Temple. '' accepted an assignment to follow his father and replace a giant a person who had visioned the church and founded the church,'' said the Rev. Billington, died) and stepped down in 1996, when his son Dallas R., took over. He began his pastorate at the church in 1972 (when his father, the Rev. Billington led the congregation in the completion of a new $8 million building project, after a $4.2 million, 4,000-seat sanctuary was destroyed by fire. His sons recalled the times that he flew a pontoon plane into the jungles of South America and landed on a river.ĭuring his tenure as pastor of the historic Akron Baptist Temple, Mr. Billington often flew himself abroad to mission fields to spread the gospel. In his retirement, he continued to visit the sick, to officiate at scores of funeral services and to travel abroad to do missions.Īs an advanced pilot, Mr. Billington preached for more than 60 years at tent revivals, on the mission field and in schoolhouses, church houses and mega churches. Have not I commanded thee?Be strong and of a good courage be not afraid, neither be thou dismayed: for the LORD thy God is with thee whithersoever thou goest.'' ''This book of the law shall not depart out of thy mouth but thou shalt meditate therein day and night, that thou mayest observe to do according to all that is written therein: for then thou shalt make thy way prosperous, and then thou shalt have good success. Joshua, the first chapter, verses 8 and 9: ''My dad not only read the Bible, he meditated on it, like his favorite Scripture instructed. Watching and listening to my daughter read the Bible to him late at night is one of those final gifts I will always have with me because it shows that the life he lived has been passed on to his children and his grandchildren,'' said Dallas Billington, who left Akron Baptist Temple in 2007 after serving as pastor for a decade and now lives in Naples, Fla. ''Even though he did not respond, you could feel in your spirit that he was connecting with the Scripture. Dallas Billington said he will hold memories of those special moments close to his heart. In his final days, his grandchildren read Bible Scriptures to him at his bedside. He never missed anything they did sporting events, choir recitals. His grandchildren were the apple of his eye. I'm going to miss him something terrible but it's a blessing that he's gone home to be with the Lord,'' said Charles F. ''Even though this terrible disease took his mind, he was always in extremely good health. The pastor emeritus of Akron Baptist Temple was diagnosed with Alzheimer's about eight years ago but continued to do hospital visitations until about three years ago, when the disease accelerated. Rogers Care Center, where his family gathered daily to be with him. Billington, 83, died Saturday at the Hospice of Visiting Nurse Service and Justin T. ''He was a godly, faithful man who loved people. ''He was faithful faithful to Jesus, faithful to our family and faithful to the Lord's work,'' the Rev. carried his favorite Bible Scripture in his heart to keep him grounded in the Lord. BELOVED PASTOR, 83, KNOWN AS FAITHFUL, GROUNDED \ĪKRON BAPTIST LEADER KEPT SCRIPTURE CLOSEĪuthor(s): Colette M.
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