Soul's Harbor Church

In 1980, Sister Brenda Howard found herself without a church to attend due to some difficult circumstances surrounding the church from which she had been a member. She had been travelling twenty minutes to church but she believed that God would send someone to Shelburn where she lived.

Shortly thereafter, Reverend Roy Carmer came and started a home missions work. Sister Howard became a strong member of the church. Not long after the church was open, Brother and Sister Clarence Swalls also became faithful members. They held their first service on October 1, 1980 in the old Catholic church building. They named the church Revival Fires. They remained in that building until it was destroyed by a fire. They moved into the Community Building for awhile and rented the basement of the Christian Church so they could continue having services.

In 1983, Reverend Carmer left the church and Reverend Ronnie Nash became pastor. They were still without a building of their own so Reverend Nash began to make plans to build a church. They changed the name of the church to Apostolic Revival Fires. They purchased the land upon which the church now sits and built a little brick church.

In 1986, Reverend Nash decided to leave the church. He turned the church over to his brother, Reverend Robert Nash, who pastored until early 1989. He preached his last message as pastor on February 7, 1989.

That Spring, Reverend Rudy Thrasher became the pastor of the church. He changed the name of the church to Soul's Harbor Church. During his time as pastor, he saw many receive the Holy Ghost including 80 that were baptized in one year. He also rooted the church in many foundational teachings such as: the Apostolic Home, The Law of the Harvest, Trusting in God, Pagan Holidays, etc. He was also a firm believer in Christian education. He continued pastoring until the summer 1995.

On June 11, 1995, Reverend Bruce Campbell was installed as pastor. As a man with great vision, Reverend Campbell was constantly looking to improve the church grounds. He added a school to the existing sanctuary in 1996. A few short years later, the congregation outgrew the little brick church, and they broke ground for a new church on May 7, 2001. The lighthouse that stands near the road was also built in 2001. The first service to be held in the new sanctuary was on June 8, 2003. Reverend Campbell continued to pastor until May 24, 2007 when God took him home.

From there, the church was oversaw by two different pastors, Reverend Michael Couch (Winnsboro, LA) and Reverend Johnny Barnhill (Kelly, LA), until a new pastor could be installed.

Reverend Darren Thrasher was in the town of Bicknell, IN pastoring a small congregation at the time of Reverend Campbell's passing. Reverend Thrasher had been heavily involved around Soul's Harbor since his father, Reverend Rudy Thrasher, had been pastor. However, in 2001, Reverend Thrasher became an evangelist until 2004 when he became the pastor in Bicknell. After much prayer and counsel, Reverend Thrasher felt to become the pastor of Soul's Harbor. The congregation in Bicknell decided to follow him to Shelburn and the two churches merged in August of 2007 when Reverend Thrasher was installed as pastor.

Since 2007, Reverend Thrasher has diligently continued the vision that was handed to him from Reverend Campbell. Under the leadership of Reverend Thrasher, the church has built the LED sign, located near the church entrance; completed the concrete parking lot; repainted the lighthouse; completed the evangelist quarters; added Sunday School classrooms in the church; completed the church balcony; replaced the church roof due to storms; remodeled the fellowship hall, due to a fire in 2015; built an addition to the school and kitchen; remodeled the fellowship hall again in 2016, due to a storm; replaced the brick on the outside of the fellowship hall; built a new storage shed; replaced the siding on the church with brick to match the fellowship hall and sign; remodeled the church foyer; and repainted the back wall on the platform of the church.

Not only has Reverend Thrasher continued the vision of the church grounds but he has also continued to build upon the foundations of the doctrines that were preached by the pastors before him. The doctrines of faith, giving, holiness, trust in God, pagan holidays, the Apostolic home, etc. continue to be preached in our modern day. 

With over forty years as an established church in Shelburn, Soul's Harbor Church has seen many people come and go. However, the vision of the church remains that "the best is yet to come!"