HICKORY, N.C. (ABP) — Baptists in North Carolina reacted with shock to the apparent suicide Sept. 27 of a well-liked pastor active in denominational life.
Sandy Ridge Baptist Church leaders said Pastor David Treadway, a member of the Baptist State Convention of North Carolina board of directors, "succumbed to the disease of depression."
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David Treadway, pastor of the fast-growing Sandy Ridge Baptist Church in Hickory, N.C., was found dead in his car by his wife as she was leaving for church on Sunday morning.
According to the Biblical Recorder, police were investigating the death, but a note recovered at the scene indicated that Treadway died by his own hand.
The newspaper said that Treadway, who had been pastor at the nearly 900-member church about five years, told the congregation several months ago that he was being treated for depression. Church leaders issued a statement saying their pastor "succumbed to the disease of depression."
Treadway was a member of the board of directors of the Baptist State Convention of North Carolina, a 100-member body that acts for the convention between annual sessions, and chairman of the business services committee.
Comments on the Biblial Recorder website remembered Treadway as someone who went out of his way to be friendly and supportive of other ministers.
A posting on the Sandy Ridge Baptist Church website thanked readers for "continued prayer and support during the loss of our pastor." It urged continued prayers for Treadway's widow, Melissa, their two children and his father and said funeral arrangements would be posted as they become available.
In the most recent church newsletter, Treadway wrote of his excitement about "what God is doing" at the church, including Reflection Church, a contemporary-worship congregation that launched as a church plant Sept. 1.