Albany Pastor Brian Howard gets aviation ministry, column off the ground in Albany
By Carlton Fletcher
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ALBANY — No one can accuse Beattie Road Church of Christ Pastor Brian Howard of not looking heavenward.
Howard, who came with his family to Albany from Jasper, Texas, a little more than six months ago, brought with him his “Soaring for Souls” aviation ministry, which flies Christians to other, sometimes exotic, locations to preach the word.
Howard will start sharing his thoughts on religion and “saving souls” this week with a regular column that will run in The Albany Herald.
“I’ve done some writing before when I was in Texas,” the Indiana native said. “I think this is something that will help move my ministry forward.”
Howard came to southwest Georgia on the advice of a friend who had previously moved from Indiana to southwest Georgia. Here, he said, he found what he hopes will be the perfect spot for his “Soaring for Souls” ministry. Howard actually conducted his first aviation mission trip, flying to some of the smaller islands in the Bahamas to spread the gospel through “door-to-door visits, preaching and teaching.”
“It was good to get the ministry off the ground,” Howard quipped.
Raised in Indiana, Howard earned a degree in Geography at Ball State University in the Hoosier State. He earned a master’s of Bible Study degree in Colorado and continued his faith-based study at the Florida School of Preaching.
The Beattie Road Church of God pastor said he put together the concept for his aviation ministry while in Texas but lacked the funds to bring it to life.
“It’s become a dream of mine to do that type of ministry,” he said. “But things just never worked out. We didn’t have the funds for the longest time, then when we got an airplane to use, COVID hit. But I had the time during COVID to get my pilot’s license. Dennis Dickey, an elder in our church taught me to fly.”
Howard took his ministry to British Columbia for a period before making the initial “Soaring for Souls” flight to the Bahamas on Oct. 1 this year. He flew out of the Dawson airport.
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