Zion Hill Baptist Church elects Sawyer new pastor
The Rev. Timothy W. Sawyer has been elected the new pastor of the Zion Hill Baptist Church in Jeannette. Sawyer is employed by the Good News Jail & Prison Ministry and is the chaplain at the Washington County Correctional Facility in Washington. He plans to remain at WCCF as chaplain while pasturing Zion Hill.
Sawyer is the son of the late Rev. William A. Sawyer, who pastured the Mount Olive Baptist Church in Uniontown. His mother, Geraldine Sawyer, resides in Masontown.
Sawyer was licensed at the age of 17 and ordained at the age of 19 by his father. He is the former pastor of the Triune Baptist Church in Wilkinsburg.
He is a 1977 graduate of the Uniontown Area High School. He is currently enrolled in the master’s of ministry program at the Andersonville Theological Seminary in Camilla, Ga.
Sawyer was formerly employed as a security police officer at the Westmoreland County Juvenile Detention Center in Greensburg. He also worked for Allied Security of Pittsburgh, holding the rank of captain, where he handled and supervised accounts as well as security personnel, in the areas of downtown Pittsburgh, UPMC, Carlow College and the Oakland area of Pittsburgh. Sawyer has also worked as a chaplain for the Pennsylvania Department of Corrections at SCI-Somerset in Somerset.
Sawyer is active in the community. He is a certified member of the American Association of Christian Counselors. He is a member of the board of trustees for the Westmoreland County Community College in Youngwood and serves as the chairman of the facilities committee. He also serves on the board of directors of the Westmoreland County Community Foundation and serves on the grants committee. Sawyer has also served on the board for the Westmoreland/Fayette Council of the Boy Scouts of America.
He resides in Jeannette with his wife, Donita, and son, Justin.