His formal name is William C. Pate Jr., but – at his request – church members simply call him Bill.
William C. Pate Jr., pastor of Tucapau Baptist Church in Startex, sits at the wheel of the 2011 Toyota Camry presented to him upon his retirement on Oct. 2 after nearly 30 years of service.He is revered by his congregants and by others who know him for his hearty laugh and contagious optimism. They also admire his devotion to the ministry, knowledge of the Scriptures, and his enthusiastic involvement in their lives – whether it’s sharing the joy of a newborn or newlyweds, or the illness or death of a loved one.
Pate, 65, retired Oct. 2 from Tucapau Baptist Church in Startex (Spartanburg County Network) after delivering his final message as pastor. Having arrived in 1982, his tenure fell a few months shy of 30 years.
Over that span, Pate saw many accept Christ through his sermons, hospital visits, ordination of numerous ministers, and in short-term mission work – both on home and foreign soil.
Pate also oversaw several expansions of the church. He blended Tucapau’s ministry with other pastors and their churches – regardless of denomination, race or nationality – in joint fellowship and community outreach projects.
Pate’s late father, Rev. W. C. Pate Sr. (affectionately known as “Pa Pate”), would be proud. The elder Pate served the church from 1944-1947. Founded on Feb. 18, 1898, Tucapau has approximately 630 members.
Pate’s entire family was on hand for the Oct. 2 morning worship service, which featured a baptism, guest speakers, special music and a video of scenes spanning the past 29 years that often brought tears to the eyes of those sitting in the packed sanctuary.
Pate was also presented a box of letters written by church members and a plaque declaring him “pastor emeritus” before he was led outside to a 2011 Toyota Camry that the church presented to him.
“One of the greatest privileges of my life has been to be your pastor for the past 29 years – I love you all,” said Pate, who read a passage from the prophet Joel during his message. Joel 2:28 states that “your old men will dream dreams, your young men will see visions.” Pate explained that the Friday before his final service, he had a dream in which the late L.A. Erwin (a highly-regarded former pastor of Tucapau) turned and regarded him with a smile. “All he did was look at me very briefly and smile,” Pate shared. “He didn’t say anything, but his smile seemed to confirm my work at Tucapau was done – as if to verify what the Lord had already told me.”
The next pastor of Tucapau will be a younger man who takes the helm in November. “I know brother Eric Nixon is God’s man to be the next pastor of Tucapau,” said Pate.
Pate plans to retire to his family home in Black Mountain, N.C., and spend more time with his daughter and two grandchildren. Many church members and volunteers have pitched in to make it an easy transition via repairs, renovations and moving furniture.
Before serving at Tucapau, Pate was pastor for nearly 13 years at Peniel Baptist Church in Tryon, N.C. He is a graduate of Columbia Bible College and the International Bible Seminary, Orlando, Fla.