Key Lay Leaders of First Christian, Evansville, Die in Plane Crash

First Christian Church in Evansville, Ind., suffered the loss of three key lay leaders in a plane crash last week in Montana.

Tim Arnold, Grant Weythman, and Allen Eicher were flying in a small plane toward Pinehaven Christian Children’s Ranch in Montana as part of a volunteer missions team when they struck a power line and crashed.

According to the Courier & Press, Weythman and Eicher were elders at First Christian, and Arnold was a former elder. They were headed to the children’s ranch to repair broken machinery.

“They were very much what we call shepherds—trying to make sure everybody is taken care of and needs are met,” Matt Silen, discipleship and outreach minister at FCC, told the Courier & Press.

“At almost any event that we had, they had some part in either helping set up or helping execute it.”

FCC issued this statement: “Tim, Allen, and Grant would want everyone to know that Christ is Lord, that God is sovereign and that our only hope is found in a personal relationship with Jesus Christ. While we experience the pain of loss, we do not grieve like those who have no hope (1 Thessalonians 4:13-18).”