By ROGER ALFORD and HENRY DURAND, The Christian Index
ALPHARETTA, Georgia — A missionary with the North American Mission Board died when his small plane crashed in the Appalachian foothills in northern Georgia on Thursday.
Clint Clifton, who served on the organization’s church planting staff, returned to his home in Virginia after attending a meeting at NAMB headquarters in Alpharetta.
The National Transportation Safety Board, which is investigating the crash, said the plane, a Piper PA-28-180, crashed near Dawsonville.
NAMB President Kevin Ezell announced Clifton’s death in an email to his staff on Friday.
“We are shocked and heartbroken by this news,” said Ezell. “Please keep Clint’s wife Jennifer and their five children in your prayers. Of course, everyone at Pillar Church, the church he founded, was also hit hard by this news.”
Pillar Church pastor Colby Garman said the news of Clifton’s death triggered “a tidal wave of grief”.
“There are some moments in life that are so terribly difficult that they seem impossible to express,” Garman said in a Facebook post. “We are in one of those moments as a church.”
Garman said Clifton is a great pastor and an even better husband and father.
“He was a special person who we will miss so much,” Garman said. “It is impossible to imagine Pillar Church without his unique passion and joyful presence.”
Ezell said God gifted Clifton in many ways.
“He had the heart of a pastor and was a talented church planter with a passion for reaching people for Christ,” said Ezell. “He loved what we do here at NAMB and put his heart and life into it. We already miss him and he leaves a void that cannot be filled.”
Ezell called on NAMB staff to pray for Clint’s family and close friends.
“Let’s all take care of each other as we go through the sadness and shock of this moment,” he said. “Nothing can prepare you for news like this, but we have a Savior who will carry and sustain us in the days to come.”
Dawson County Sheriff Jeff Johnson told the local paper on Friday that the 911 dispatcher received a call shortly after 9 a.m. Friday about the plane crash near the Shoal Creek Wildlife Management Area.
Johnson told the Dawson County News that the plane went down Thursday night. The exact time was not given.
