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Our eyes are not only a tool for seeing, but they are also a powerful means of communicating the depths of one’s feelings. Beyond their role in vision, our eyes can act as a window to our soul, reflecting the rich array of emotions that make us human. They reflect love, show joy and excitement.

Today, someone can see because the decision was made to donate Pastor Marvin Slagle’s eyes upon his death to a person that needed eyes that could see. Not only did his family donate his eyes, but they donated tissue, skin and bone from his body.

Several years ago, Pastor Slagle needed a kidney to live, and a lady in his church at Heartland Fellowship Church in Elizabethton, Alisha Pritchard, rose to the occasion. Because of her generosity, the pastor was able to share many more years of life with his family and friends. Now, his compassion has led to healing the lives of others through eye and tissue donation.

Pastor Marvin Slagle, 76, died March 22 after suffering a heart attack and spending a few days in ICU. He was ordained a licensed minister in 1970 and served for 33 years as senior pastor at Heartland Fellowship Church in Elizabethton. He also served as a chaplain at Sycamore Shoals Hospital.

Prior to coming to Elizabethton to serve as pastor at the Church of God of Prophecy, the forerunner of Heartland Fellowship, Pastor Slagle had ministries in Hobart, Indiana; Bozoo, W.Va.; Chapman, W.Va.; and Benton Harbor, Mich.

His wife, Sara, shared that her pastor-husband loved people. “He never met a stranger. He would welcome new ministers, often young men, into our home, and he would pour the Scripture into them and nourish them with his love. With him, everyone else became first. He enjoyed visiting people and getting to know them. Surely, he had a pastor’s heart,” she shared.

Pastor Slagle often shared his favorite Bible verse, Proverbs 3:5-6, with those he came in contact with: “Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and do not lean on your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make straight your paths.”

He often followed up by saying, “Allowing God to be your guide begins with a commitment to trust. God cannot lead you where you will not follow,” shared Sara.

One of Pastor Slagle’s favorite church groups at Heartland Fellowship was the Thrive and Visitation Group for people 55 and up, whose mission was to visit people and minister to them.

If you were a stranger when Pastor Slagle met you, it didn’t stay that way long, as he made it his mission to not only meet you, but get to know you and share Jesus with you. Numerous times, he visited the Star to bring church news, and always he shared the message of Jesus before he left.

Sara shared that when her husband’s health failed, he knew he was going to have to retire, “but he never quit visiting.”

“Pastoring was his heart. He wanted to go and serve where he was needed. When we first came to Elizabethton, we pastored at Church of God of Prophecy, and we only had 18 or 20 members. But God blessed, and we sold that property along with the parsonage and moved to Highway 91, where we built Heartland Fellowship, which has a much bigger membership,” Sara shared.

“We had a wonderful life in Elizabethton. I wouldn’t trade it for anything. It was such a joy to be in His house,” said Sara.

She noted that one of her and Pastor Slagle’s most cherished experiences was a few years ago when seven churches came together to have a Thanksgiving meal at First Christian Church in the downtown. “It was a beautiful and cherished time,” she said.

Pastor Slagle and Sara were the parents of a daughter, Rachel, who with her family lives in Arizona, and a son, Kevin, who with his family lives in Elkhart, Ind.

Pastor Slagle was laid to rest March 28 in the Washington County Memory Gardens.

A fellow pastor and friend, Travis Tyler, wrote on Pastor Slagle’s tribute page: “Marvin carried a gentleness and humility that always pointed others to Christ. He spoke with wisdom, but never to impress. He listened deeply, prayed faithfully and encouraged freely. In every hospital hallway and patient room, he brought the comforting presence of Jesus. His love for Sara, his family, his church and the Lord’s work was evident in every word and action. Though I’ll miss our talks and the steady presence of a faithful brother, I rejoice that Marvin has finished his course and now beholds the face of the Savior he served so well. I am a better man — and a better minister — because I knew him. ‘Well done, good and faithful servant.’”

Somewhere, a donor has the eyes of Pastor Marvin Slagle. Our hope is that through that person, Pastor Slagle’s eyes still radiate warmth and care.