Earl Lewers, 79, of Greenville, who led his church in the late 1970s to become the first African-American congregation to join the Greenville Baptist Association, died May 26, 2018.

Lewers was a pastor for 42 years and retired in 2008 as the founding pastor of Open Heart Baptist Church, located in the Dunean section of Greenville. In 2000, Lewers was elected moderator for Greenville Association, becoming the first black pastor to hold the position within the South Carolina Baptist Convention. His story was told in a 2008 Baptist Courier article.

Lewers attended Morris College in Sumter, S.C.

Survivors include his wife, Ruby Edwards Lewers, nine children, 12 grandchildren and 12 great-grandchildren.