Local

Church mourns Gaston Co. lay minister killed by lightning strike

DALLAS, N.C. — A Dallas man was killed Saturday after he was struck by lightning on the Blue Ridge Parkway at the entrance of Mount Mitchell State Park.

Scott Pasour, a lay minister at Venture Church and owner of Pasour Auto Repair, was riding down from the peak of Mount Mitchell around 1 p.m. with two other motorcyclists when they stopped on the Blue Ridge Parkway at the entrance of the park to put on rain gear, according to friends and park officials.

According Channel 9's partners at the Gaston Gazette, the other men reported that they did not see any lightning or hear any thunder in the area until witnessing a bolt come down and strike the helmet Pasour was wearing.

Pasour was flown by helicopter to Mission Hospital in Asheville, where he was pronounced dead.

The lead pastor at Venture Church, Austin Rammell, opened Sunday’s service by saying his missed his friend.

“It's a huge loss from a leadership standpoint because he was so engaged in that role, but it's a bigger loss from a relationship standpoint. That's my friend,” Rammell said.

Pasour worked as a lay minister at the church, meaning he didn't get paid for his services.

His family said he was a giving man eager to share the word of God with others.

Pasour was also passionate about riding motorcycles and often used that time to minister to other riders.

"Scott Pasour loved Christ. He loved the church. He loved his family and he loved people," said Austin Rammell, pastor of Venture Church in Dallas. "I just don't know of any other way to describe him.”

Pasour was active in the Dallas community and was well known for a Tuesday night Bible study he would hold at his shop that attracted other motorcyclists.

The two other men with Pasour were not hurt.