Helen Lorraine Ashmore

Helen loved God from a very early age, and at one point, she even considered becoming a nun. She became a Christian at 17 and preached at several different churches for many years before enrolling in Bible College in 1972. She graduated as the valedictorian of her class in 1975. While attending Bible College, she obtained her minister's license and later taught classes there.

In the same year she graduated, Helen married her husband, and they began their ministry together. She supported him with respect, encouragement, and prayer while ministering to their children. She served the church using the gifts that God had bestowed upon her and remained a faithful follower of Christ. In her vital role, she encouraged, prayed with, and supported her husband, who was entrusted with leading and shepherding their congregation.

Although her work was often unglamorous, it was meaningful, and its effects were felt throughout the many ministries they undertook. The first church they pioneered was in Belleville, Illinois, in 1976. They worked in a servicemen's home in Washington, where they started an extension of the Bible school, and later pioneered a church and Bible school in the Philippines.

Helen and her husband pastored in St. Louis, Missouri, and Tillicum, Washington, and they also served as associate pastors in Graham, Washington. They pioneered works in Panama, Central America, and Okinawa, Japan. Helen ministered alongside her husband both in the United States and abroad, never complaining about their sacrificial lifestyle, which often began their church plans from nothing.

When Jim became an assistant overseer, they traveled ten months out of the year for about twelve years, sharing the gospel across the country. Eventually, they moved to San Diego, California, where they pastored until Helen's death on October 20, 2024. Over her 55-year ministry, Helen embodied the values she preached and professed, and without a doubt, she was a beloved sister in Christ.