BRUIN — The Rev. Larry A. Thompson of Oakland Township was installed as the pastor of the Martinsburg Church of Bruin, 128 Main St., during its Dec. 6 worship service.

Thompson, who has been serving as Martinsburg's interim pastor since July, described the church as an independent Bible-believing community.

The installation service was officiated by the Rev. Theo Edwards, a longtime friend and member of First Baptist Church of Butler, where Thompson and his wife, Darcy, have belonged for many years.

Thompson said the 25-member church was still having an in-person worship service at 11 a.m. Sunday as well as a 6:30 p.m. Bible study and prayer meeting.

He served as pastor of Mt. Pleasant Independent Baptist Church in Corsica for seven months in 2017 before returning to First Baptist in Butler, where he and his wife helped with the senior visitation ministry. They also conducted church services and Bible studies at New Haven Court and Alameda Gardens in Butler until the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic earlier this year.

“Darcy and I have grown to truly love the people here at Martinsburg Church,” Thompson said. “There is a good spirit here. With much prayer and an easygoing and loving approach, much can be accomplished.”

Thompson said: “My direction for the church is the mission statement of the church: 'Loving the people and preaching the Word.'”

“With this uptick in COVID-19, if you want to come to church, fine,” said Thompson. “If no one shows up, Darcy and I will be here and pray for folks.“We are currently planning for a Christmas Eve service. The tradition is to have an evening service, but we may consider an afternoon service,” he said.Thompson said he felt the call to preach the Gospel in 1967 at the age of 14, but did not yield to the Lord's call until many years later.After graduating from Butler High School in 1971, he enlisted in the U.S. Air Force and served on active duty from 1971 to 1975.Following his active duty, he joined the U.S. Air Force Reserve with the 911th Tactical Airlift Wing in Pittsburgh. He served with the 911th until his retirement in December 1991.Thompson then began working at Armco Steel in Butler in February 1979 and retired from Armco/AK Steel in January 2010.In April 1980, Thompson married the former Darcy Blair of Eau Claire. Shortly after their marriage, they attended and eventually joined the First Baptist Church of Butler.In April 2001, Thompson met with the pastor and deacons of the First Baptist Church of Butler to share and discuss his call to ministry from many years before.“I was completely self-taught,” said Thompson. “In the Baptist polity, if someone feels the call and has the ability to share the Gospel, that's enough.”He preached his first sermon in 2002 at Bible Baptist Church in Brownsville. The First Baptist Church of Butler licensed him to preach Sept. 4, 2004, and ordained him to the work of the Gospel Ministry Oct. 28, 2018, following a three-hour oral exam.“I've know Larry about 45 years,” said Pastor Dave Maitland of First Baptist Church. “I think he will do well.“He was ordained, and it's nice to see men go out and help the churches in our community,” said Maitland.For more than 18 years, Larry and Darcy Thompson traveled to churches throughout Western Pennsylvania where he ministered primarily in the areas of preaching and teaching on a fill-in basis.

Rev. Larry A. Thompson