A family of faith
Serving the Lord together
Trending
By Linda T. Gracey
For the Mirror
For the father, it is a blessing; for the son, a pleasure; and for the grandfather, it is an honor.
And, as they prepare to celebrate Father's Day, Pastor Gary Dull, his son, Chaz, and his father, Gorman, said they consider it a privilege to work together and serve God at the same church.
It's a destiny no one could have predicted.
Pastor Gary, whose two other sons also have taken on faith-related responsibilities, said he believes it is unique to have a father-son pastoral team at the same church. He said there are probably similar pastoral duos in America, but he is not aware of any.
Gary serves as pastor of Faith Baptist Church, 315 40th St., and his son, Chaz, came on board more than a year ago as associate pastor of children and youth.
Gary's father and Chaz's grandfather, Gorman, while not a pastor, also can be found close to the pulpit on Sundays. He has been leading the congregation in worship since he and his wife, Dorothy, moved to the area about 18 years ago.
For Gary, working with his father is a dream come true, and working with his son is an unexpected blessing. He explained that when he went into the ministry in 1974, he hoped that he and his dad would be able to serve together.
"I used to travel a good bit," Gary said, adding that he started out in evangelistic work. He saw his dad as the song leader and himself as the preacher as he shared the gospel message from church to church. And when it was possible, his dad, a known singer at the time, would join Gary on the road.
Originally from Mill Run, Fayette County, Gorman used to sing in a Southern gospel quartet known as the Country Churchmen. It consisted of Gorman, his brother and his two nephews. The group sang throughout western and central Pennsylvania, including concerts in Altoona.
At Indian Creek Baptist Church in Mill Run, Gorman served as director of music and already had years of experience working in the church's music department before moving to Altoona when he retired for the second time in 1999.
At Faith, he is chairman of the music committee, which meets quarterly to decide who will sing or play special music at services in the upcoming months. The songs are chosen by the director of music, and Gary gets a copy of the schedule and sometimes makes changes or suggestions.
"He's kind of the boss. We try to keep the boss happy," said Gorman, who quickly added, "he's pretty easy to work with."
Gorman said he is not involved in the day-to-day operations, but during Sunday services and Wednesday night prayer meetings, he puts the church in a worshipful mood by leading the singing. Sometimes on Sunday evenings, Gary's son, Mike, leads the singing. The chief operations officer at Fullington Bus Co., Mike also works in the Sunday school program and has a year of Bible college under his belt.
Gary pointed out that Chaz, who is 15 months younger than twin brothers Mike and Tom, is technically Mike's boss, because Chaz is in charge of children and youth at the church.
Tom, who has a master's degree from Baptist Bible College, is a captain in the Army. He also serves the Lord and is involved in his local church, Gary said.
All three have Bible training, Gary said, because he and his wife, Nancy, requested that their sons attend at least a year of Bible college after high school. After that, they were free to pursue any education or career of their choosing.
And while Chaz has dual roles in Mike's life, Gorman points out that Gary has dual roles in his life.
"Even though he is my son, I respect him as my pastor," Gorman said. "It is a joy to sit under his ministry. I learn from his teaching."
Gary said he and his father have a mutual respect for one another.
As a son, Gary said there have been times he has sought his father's wisdom on a matter, and his father has come to him for counsel on spiritual matters.
"It has been a blessing to be in ministry with him. It is nice to have my parents in the community."
Working alongside a son who lived out of the country for about 10 years is also a blessing for Gary.
Chaz, his wife, Kari, and their children lived from 2005-15 in Ecuador, where they shared God's love and planted churches.
Although he served on the mission field for about a decade, Chaz originally went to college to become a youth pastor after graduating from Keswick Christian School in St. Petersburg, Fla. After high school, he took a year off to work with youth at Clearview Baptist Church in St. Petersburg, where Gary served as the pastor for a few years before returning to Altoona. Chaz then attended Baptist Bible College (Clark Summit University) where he majored in Bible and minored in youth ministry.
He and Kari married about a week after graduation and settled in Hollidaysburg. He had no formal role at Faith Baptist Church, but helped out with the youth program and worked at James Industries.
"We were waiting to see what God had for us," he said.
Chaz said in 2001, he and Kari were helping out with youth during a missions conference at the church. One night they attended an adult session led by a missionary serving in Ecuador. He asked if there was anyone there who felt called to missionary service, Chaz said.
"My wife and I stood up, ready to go," he said.
After raising support and attending language school to learn Spanish at the Rio Grande Bible Institute, they moved to Ecuador where they held Bible studies in homes and worked with other Christian teams to form churches in Riobamba and Loja, Ecuador.
Back in Altoona, Faith was having a difficult time finding the right pastor to oversee the children and youth programs. Gary said the board had gone through about half a dozen candidates, but could find no one to fill the slot. During a discussion with one of the deacons, Gary said he asked him, "what do you think of Chaz?"
Gary emphasized that it was not his goal to have his son on staff, and his suggestion was his last involvement in the matter.
"I did not try to force him on the church," he said. "I told them, whomever you choose is fine with me."
Indeed, Chaz remembers going through a process that involved several steps and with each step requiring approval before he moved on. He interviewed with the head deacon, all of the deacons and the pastor. The deacons then presented him to the congregation where a two-thirds majority vote was required before he could take the position.
Chaz remembers his dad praying and wanting to make sure the assignment was what God wanted.
He said it is special for him and his family to live in the area and be part of the church. It also gives his five children opportunities to see and know their parents and grandparents.
"We really never thought this would happen. God let it happen," Chaz said.
For Gary, having his son as associate pastor allows him to do more.
In addition to being pastor of Faith Baptist Church, Gary is the founder of Way of Truth Ministries, a worldwide radio ministry which has other outreaches, including missionaries serving about a half a dozen countries as well as ministries to military personnel and others, counseling and educational programs.
He said he learned in 1978 when he took on his first assistant that having extra help does not give him more freedom, it gives him the freedom to do more.
It is also true in Chaz's case.
Gary noted that Chaz is not a novice. He said Chaz holds a master's degree and has had lots of experience on the missions field, where he also took on a lot of responsibility.
Because his ministry sometimes takes him out of town, Gary said it is good to know that Chaz is capable of dealing with concerns and serving in a leadership role.
"It's been very, very interesting," he said about working with his son. "It has been a pleasure. We think a lot alike. We act a lot alike."
Yet, Gary said they have different methods when it comes to preaching and teaching.
"We make a great team," he added about ministering with his father and son.
"It is one of those things only God can do," he said.