Editor’s Note: Church:People is a new GFM series that offers pastors and other church leaders the opportunity to highlight the incredible people of good faith in their congregations. If you have someone you would like to write about, please send a draft to submissions@goodfaithmedia.org. Submission guidelines can be found here.
The church dinner ends. The buzz of the crowd fades, and a familiar scene unfolds: leftover supplies need to be gathered, chairs need to be stacked, and tables need to be wiped down. As most folks head out, Jeff Linville remains.
A gentle and dependable leader at First Baptist Greenville, Jeff is one of those church people who will approach after the event and ask a simple, yet beautiful question: “Do you need some help?” That posture of thoughtful service defines Jeff’s character, as he is one of those church people who instinctively notice what needs to be done and offer to help without hesitation.
Beyond this quiet attentiveness, Jeff serves as a deacon, faithfully attending meetings even when the agenda is routine.
He also facilitates the Carson Sunday School Class, a role that’s becoming increasingly challenging to fill as fewer people commit to long-term volunteer leadership. But Jeff does it with grace and energy. He organizes the curriculum, seeks input on topics and themes to cover, recruits teachers—including community leaders like our local Jewish rabbi—and occasionally teaches himself.
Then, last year, Jeff was diagnosed with throat cancer, a life-altering change. For someone so accustomed to serving others, the prospect of receiving care can be particularly difficult.
Some of the most active church members pull away when illness strikes, unsure how to let others help. But Jeff chose a different path. He let his church family surround him with love and support, including receiving care from a Stephen minister.
Stephen Ministers are lay people trained to offer one-on-one, Christ-centered care to those going through a difficult time. Jeff recognized he needed someone beyond his immediate family to process his diagnosis. As he later shared, he wanted someone to help carry the emotional load, knowing his wife was hurting too.
That experience led Jeff to share a powerful Sunday morning testimony with our congregation. He said, in part: “Here at Greenville First Baptist, our women do a much better job of utilizing the resources of our Stephen Ministers than do our men. I want to tell the men of our church that it is all right for us to ask for help.”
After drawing attention to the cultural expectations that often make it more difficult for men to ask for support, he went on to say, “Typically, Stephen Ministers are assigned during a time of crisis in someone’s life. Too often during these critical moments, men choose to go it alone—as if ‘going it alone’ is somehow a measure of courage.”
Even in his time of need, Jeff found a way to serve by sharing his testimony with the church! He also modeled courage through his honesty and vulnerability, essential qualities for building deep relationships.
Faithful church people, like Jeff, show us what it means to bear one another’s burdens, to graciously receive, as well as give. This spirit of mutual care is what transforms a gathering of people into a community of faith.
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Senior Minister at First Baptist Church, Greenville, South Carolina.
