Wilbur Brannon, former director of pastoral ministries at the Church of the Nazarene’s International Headquarters, passed away March 29. He was 85.

Brannon was born April 26, 1930, to George and Eva Brannon in Junction City, Kansas. The family moved to Winchester, Indiana, where George pastored a Nazarene church. It was there the Brannons met fellow Nazarene pastor Fred Thomas, whose daughter, Grace “Betty” Thomas, would later become Wilbur’s wife.

Wilbur dedicated his life to Christ at 15 and began serving as an evangelist as a teenager in 1946. While attending Bethany-Peniel College (now Southern Nazarene University), he married Betty August 7, 1951. The following year he graduated with a Bachelor of Theology and continued traveling as an evangelist for the next nine years.

In 1961, Wilbur accepted his first pastorate in Seminole, Oklahoma. He went on to pastor Hot Springs, Arkansas, First Church of the Nazarene; Lansing, Michigan, First Church of the Nazarene; Orlando, Florida, Central Church of the Nazarene; Point Loma Church of the Nazarene in San Diego, California, and Liberty Towers Church of the Nazarene in Sacramento, California.

Wilbur became director of pastoral ministries in 1982, a position he held for nearly 20 years. During that time, Wilbur created Heartline, a counseling hotline for pastors, organized the Pastors and Leaders Conference (PALCON), and initiated the Breckenridge, Colorado, meetings that led to a revision of core competencies for pastoral education.

Supporting women in ministry was another major aspect of Wilbur’s tenure. Under his leadership, the Church of the Nazarene began a newsletter called New Horizons for women in ministry. He also helped establish the Wesleyan Holiness Women Clergy group and became the first denominational official to give them seed money. In 1994, the group held the first Come to the Water conference in Glorieta, New Mexico. The conference continues to be held every two years and now includes members of eight different Wesleyan-Holiness denominations.

Wilbur also held a Master of Arts from Ouchita Baptist and in 1996 he received an honorary Doctorate of Divinity from Nazarene Bible College. He wrote for various Nazarene publications, including the Herald of Holiness (now Holiness Today) and Preacher’s Magazine.

Following his retirement from the Church of the Nazarene’s International Headquarters, he moved to Hermitage, Tennessee, and taught at Trevecca Nazarene University.

Wilbur is survived by his wife, Betty, and son, Paul.