I am writing to thank Billy Bruce for mentioning our pastor, Brother Kermit Webb, in his column on July 14, 2009.

I have read some of Mr. Bruce’s columns and I have found them to be very conservative. As far as I am concerned, I agree with them. The sad fact is that we in America often worship human idols, which are often ungodly.

I’m sure the other people Mr. Bruce mentioned were special people too, people that this world sorely needs. I didn’t know the other men mentioned in the article personally, but I did know Brother Kermit Webb. He was my pastor for over 20 years and I could never tell his story in a few short lines.

Brother Webb was born in South Point, Ohio, the son of Thomas and Mary Webb. At the age of 13, he gave his life to Christ during a revival and from that day forward he never looked back. At the age of 30, he was called by God to preach and he became our pastor at the age of 31. He took over the church upon the death of another great pastor, Brother Bill Dowdy.

He never refused to visit anyone, whether it was a shut-in who needed cheering up, a person in the hospital or the person dealing with the death of a loved one.

Throughout his ministry, after the Sunday morning worship services, you would find him, his wife Cheryl, and their daughter, Christy, making these visitations. He would often invite people to church or spend time outside the church talking to them about God. He led many people to the Lord in this way.

He was a ray of sunshine to everyone he met, with his big broad smile and thoughtful, gentle ways. Anyone who didn’t know him lost a chance to know a godly, humble man filled with the Holy Spirit, wisdom and love for everyone.

Brother Webb wore himself out under the heavy burden of the church, family and lost souls. Often while preaching, he would openly weep because his burden was so heavy for lost souls or in his own words, “souls that were out of the ark of safety.”

I am sure that there are still many faithful men of God in the world today, but I just wanted to tell you a little about this wonderful, godly man. In the last few years, his health prevented him from attending church as often as he would have liked but we always felt that he was our pastor.

His wife took on a lot of his responsibilities during the times he was unable with the same dedication and commitment he had.

Her last deed for him was to bring him back, for the final time, to the church he loved so dearly. Hundreds of people filled the little church to pay their last respects to a dear friend.

I would like to leave you with two ideals that Brother Kermit lived by. One was, “Don’t toot your own horn — leave that to others to do it for you.” The other was, “You preach your own funeral by the way you love.” We will always miss him. He was truly “our beloved pastor.”

Sister Joyce Estis, Member of God’s Holiness Mission Church