Wise County Messenger

Popular Categories

No categories found.

Fitch to finish pastoral tenure after 21 years


SAYING GOODBYE – Bill Fitch, pastor of Hilltop Assembly of God in Boyd, will preach his last sermon Sunday after serving as pastor for 21 years. Associate Pastor Ken Harris was elected last Sunday to fill the vacancy. Messenger Photo by Micah McCartney

For Hilltop Assembly of God in Boyd, one thing has remained constant over the past two decades – Bill Fitch serving as the pastor and preaching on Sundays and Wednesdays.

However, like the seasons, things tend to change over time. Fitch will preach his final sermon Sunday, ending his service to the church after a 21-year tenure.

“I’ve been in full-time ministry for around 40 years,” Fitch said. “I’m not retiring. I’m stepping back to let someone else take over. It was a hard decision to make, but I really feel this was the right decision for me and for the church.”

Fitch began pastoring in 1974 by starting Calvary Temple in Streetman, where he stayed until 1976, when he became the pastor of House of Prayer in Lindale – later changing the church’s name to First Assembly of God-Lindale.

After nearly four years in Lindale, he left the church and headed to lead First Assembly of God in Teague for two years. Fitch came to the Metroplex area in 1982 as the pastor of Azle First Assembly of God and stayed there for 18 years before taking the pulpit at Hilltop in 1998 after the resignation of Rudy Alderete.

During Fitch’s time as Hilltop’s pastor, the church moved out of its 2,025-square-foot building and constructed a new 7,040-square-foot, two-story building that includes a 300-seat auditorium, church offices and meeting room.

The new building was dedicated in late 2002, while a remodeling project of the church’s older building completed in 2014 created a new fellowship hall and classroom area.

“With the new building, we were anticipating growth, but we didn’t know how it would eventually grow,” Fitch said. “We had a lady at the church, Oleta Hale, who envisioned our church as a spiritual hospital sitting on this hill. We stood on that believing that God would bring people in. Since then, we’ve seen a steady growth in attendance, we’ve seen people healed and we’ve seen what I would describe as miracles happening in the church.”

Although not wanting to retire from ministry, Fitch said he began feeling the need to pass the torch of the pastorate to another.

“About three years ago, I began looking for an associate pastor to help with all of the church responsibilities,” Fitch said. “It was just getting too much for me to handle the day-to-day duties of being a pastor. We had several come on board, but I didn’t feel the Lord put it in my heart to have them come back.”

Fitch later became acquainted with another pastor, Ken Harris, who was on the pastoral staff of Life Fellowship in Hurst in February 2017 and began discussing adding Harris as Hilltop’s associate pastor.

“Ken and I were introduced by a mutual friend, Chresten Tomlin, who was holding a revival. Ken was one of Chresten’s musicians,” Fitch said. “Through that, we developed a friendship and eventually named him as our associate pastor in September 2019. Since he’s been on staff, I’ve seen the church grow more and have new excitement.”

After announcing his resignation to the church, Fitch put forth Harris’ name to the church board of deacons for consideration to fill the pastoral vacancy.

“I knew I needed to step down and let a younger man take the helm and run with it,” Fitch said. “I don’t think the church really wanted me to step down, but I knew it was time. However, I knew that Ken would be the right man for the job.”

Harris was approved by a unanimous vote of the church’s members during an election Feb. 16, becoming the fifth pastor in the church’s history.

“The Bible tells us that on the Day of Pentecost, the disciples were of one mind and in one accord,” Fitch said. “With the unity of this church and its members, I believe it’s about to really take off, in terms of growth. It’ll be a gradual process, but I can’t wait to see it happen.”

According to Fitch, a solid spiritual foundation has been poured at the church due to the faith and works of several members who have since passed away. He believes the new pastor will be able to continue building on that foundation.

“I know the Lord builds on a solid foundation,” Fitch said. “You can’t replace the great men and women of God that we’ve had in the past, but there are several who currently attend the church that are the new spiritual pillars. Through their strong foundation and by the cooperative pulling together of the church, it will grow each of the church’s different areas – adult, youth, children, and men’s and women’s ministry.”

As he prepares to step down officially as pastor, Fitch said he has high hopes for the new pastor during the next chapter of the church’s history, saying he feels the church will be lead on the proper course set by God.

“To build a church takes more than good preaching,” said Fitch. “It takes someone who will work with the people and get them involved – stirring every pot. I don’t know exactly what Ken has in mind, but I trust him. Only God knows what’s going to happen in the future, but I believe this church is in the best of hands.”

Hilltop Assembly of God was established in 1977 in the home of E.R. and Ruby Lewis, then known as Lighthouse Assembly of God of Paradise. The church became affiliated with the Assemblies of God in 1988.

Leave a Reply

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.