Georgia pastor Fred Evers dies of cancer
By Scott Barkley
TIFTON, Ga. (BP) – Fred Evers, pastor of Northside Baptist Church, died Monday (Sept. 7). He was 64.
Evers was diagnosed with esophageal cancer last year. His wife of 45 years, Cindy, reported his death on a page dedicated by Northside Baptist to updates regarding its pastor. Cindy indicated in a post Sept. 6 that Evers had contracted the COVID-19 virus, which hastened his death.
“I spent last night and this morning holding Fred’s hand, reading scripture, and playing praise music,” she wrote Sept. 7. “It just seemed a fitting way to walk a child of God home. I will treasure the time I had with him in these last months as precious, because they were every minute!
“When he left this Earth, his hand went from holding my hand to holding Jesus’s hand. While my heart is shattered into a million pieces, I find my heart is also bursting with gratitude to God for the incredible things he has done for Fred and me.”
Evers became well-known for his 21 years as pastor of Northside Baptist Church. But his legacy extends to state leadership as well as mentoring a number of young ministers, friends say.
A native of Jacksonville, Fla., Evers served two other Georgia Baptist churches before coming to Northside on June 20, 1999. The church has seen gains during his tenure in several areas including baptisms, membership, discipleship, and Sunday School enrollment. In 2007 Northside completed a relocation campaign under his leadership.
Even in recent weeks, Evers continued to preach and minister at Northside whether through preaching at the church or via numerous devotional videos on Facebook.
Evers served in numerous capacities with the Georgia Baptist Convention, including chairman of the Administration Committee, chairman of the Executive Committee, president of the Preaching Conference, member of the CP Budget Committee, and chairman of the Nominating Committee. In addition, he was a board of trustee member for Brewton-Parker College, New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary and Truett McConnell University.
Florida Pastor Heath Lambert to have brain surgery
JACKSONVILLE, Fla. (BP) – Heath Lambert, pastor of First Baptist Church Jacksonville, announced Sept. 6 that he will undergo surgery on his brain to treat a neurological condition.
In 2017, he began experiencing uncontrolled movements in his face, neck, arm and hand on his right side. After many tests, doctors determined the symptoms were the result of nerve damage caused by the compression of blood vessels in his brain.
