Larry B. Pyle

Larry Boyce Pyle was born to Carrol and Rachel Pyle on June 23, 1947 in Sand Hill, Arkansas. His father worked in timber and was a deacon at the Sand Hill Assembly of God Church. His mother was active in the Women’s Ministry Council. Often growing up, his parents would host guest ministers that came through the area. He accepted Jesus as his savior at the young age of 10 and was filled with the Holy Spirit for the first time on a Sunday Night during a “normal” service at Sand Hill A/G.

Pyle grew up attending the Arkansas District Youth Camps. It was during an Arkansas Youth Camp that he was called into full-time ministry. Once during a camp service he was asked to sing a special, and the power of the Holy Spirit moved in a great way and the people responded to the moving of the Holy Spirit. After the service Maurice Lednecky, the District Youth Director, (then called DCAP) called Pyle into his office. Pyle thought that he had done something wrong and that he was in trouble.

Instead, Lednecky asked this question, “When are you going to give up?”

Pyle responded, “Give up what?”

Lednecky began to speak to Pyle about giving up his life to follow Christ in ministry.

Pyle’s calling was later confirmed while attending Southwestern Bible College in Waxahachie, Texas. The McDuff Brothers were conducting a revival in the chapel. Pyle left the service early. The Holy Spirit really began to move shortly after he left.

At about 10PM someone went to him and told him that he should go back to the chapel to see what going on, so he did. The moment he opened the door the Holy Spirit “blasted” him, and he fell under the anointing of the Holy Spirit. It was while under that anointing that the Spirit of God confirmed his call to preach and minister full-time. The following summer he and his roommate from Southwestern, Alton Garrison, began to travel and minister the Gospel. Pyle would sing and Garrison would preach.

While attending Southwestern, Pyle was a member of several traveling singing groups including the “Harvesters” and the “Master’s Four.” In the summer of 1967 the “Master’s Four” traveled to Orem, Utah to minister. There he met an Assembly of God minister’s daughter named Georgiann Clarke and began a long distance relationship. Two years later on December 12, 1969 Larry and Georgiann were married in Laramie, WY. They now have three children, Chris, Steve, and Aimee, and 9 grandchildren.

In 1968 Pyle served as Youth Pastor at Dardanelle First Assembly, and then moved to serve as Youth/Music Minister at Pine Bluff First Assembly from 1971-1972. In 1972 Pastor Tommy Parker from Russellville First Assembly hired Pyle as the Youth/Music Minister. Pastor Parker left a short time later and Pyle served as a youth pastor with Judge B. Lindsey until 1974. While at Russellville First Assembly, Pyle led the youth choir called, “The Messengers” to a State Championship.

In 1974, Pyle accepted his first senior Pastor position at First Assembly of God in Lakewood, CA. While there, Pyle also worked with the Trinity Broadcasting Network.

When Pastor Tommy Parker left in 1986, Russellville First Assembly called on Bro. Pyle to serve as Senior Pastor. At first Pyle was uninterested in returning to Russellville, and he told the church board that he would come a preach for a weekend but that there would have to be a sign from the Holy Spirit before he would consider accepting the position as Senior Pastor. When asked what this sign was, Pyle responded, “a 95% vote.” That Sunday night Pyle received a 98.5% vote. Pyle pastored Russellville First Assembly from January 4, 1987 until June 24, 1990.

In June of 1990, Pyle founded Life Center Church (now The Journey) in Russellville. In 2002, Pyle resigned from the Life Center to pursue other ministry opportunities and his son, Steve, became pastor of Life Center.

Larry Pyle presently serves as a Church Financial Consultant and as an adjunct professor for Christian Life School of Theology, located in Columbus, Georgia. He also conducts leadership conferences at the schools campuses in Romania. His teaching ministry can be seen daily throughout Romania and across Eastern Europe.

Pyle has authored one book entitled, STOP GOING TO CHURCH… The Dynamics of BEING the Church.

Bio by Ryan Morris

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