Kenneth J. Pell, lead pastor of the Broken Arrow, Oklahoma, First Church of the Nazarene, passed away suddenly October 25. He was 53.

“It is with deep sadness that I tell you that our pastor Ken went to be with Jesus tonight,” Church Board Secretary Cyndie Marshall said Sunday in a message posted on the church’s website and Facebook page. “As you heard earlier, he had been released from the hospital this afternoon and he and Vickie had gone to a hunting camp in Strang, OK. [Pell’s wife] Vickie reported that he appeared to be fine one moment and the next moment he collapsed and was gone.”

A native of Tulsa, Oklahoma, Pell had served at Broken Arrow First Church since March 2014. He previously pastored in New York (Potsdam), Maryland (Marley Park; pastoral service), and Oklahoma (Miami, Tulsa Faith).

Pell was a graduate of Free Will Baptist College, Olivet Nazarene University, Phillips Graduate Seminary, and Northwest Graduate School of Ministry.

Pell’s profile on the church’s website stated “his heart’s desire is to see Jesus’ church become the love of God in the world.”

He is survived by his wife of more than 30 years, Vickie, and two children.

Funeral services were held Thursday at Tulsa Central Church of the Nazarene. In lieu of flowers, the family welcomed gifts for something close to Pastor Ken’s heart – the outreach ministries of Broken Arrow First Church.

“Our church has a great history of coming together in times of loss and need and this is a time when we must bind together and support one another as we work through our own individual feelings of loss and confusion,” Marshall wrote. “Praise God that we know that Pastor Ken is certainly walking the streets of gold tonight and in fellowship with our Lord and Savior. I know that if Pastor Ken were here right now, he would tell us how much he loves us.

“Thank God for His everlasting love and grace.”

Prayer is requested for the Pell and Broken Arrow First Church families.