The Revd Timothy Brett Evans: 1938-2026
'Tim was like a stick of seaside rock, with the name of Jesus running through him'
Tim was born in Broadstairs, Kent, to Christian parents. As his father was a minister of the gospel, the family moved frequently. This disrupted the education of Tim and his three siblings, but it also meant that he saw firsthand what a life of Christian service looked like.
He became a Christian at the tender age of eight, saying a simple prayer of repentance and asking Jesus into his life while kneeling at his mother’s knee. The conviction that Jesus was his Saviour never left him as he served the Lord for 80 years. Despite life’s hardships and sadness, Tim’s faith remained rock solid. He was like a stick of seaside rock, with the name of Jesus running through him.
When Tim was 12, he asked to be baptised but was told he was too young. Undeterred, he asked again at 16 and was baptised in an outdoor baptistry, publicly declaring his faith in Jesus as his Saviour and Lord.
Leaving school at 14, Tim eventually went on to complete his National Service in the medical corps of the RAF. On the first night in the dormitory, he knelt down to pray by his bed; his fellow servicemen learned from the outset that he was a Christian.
In the early 1960s, after much prayer, Tim entered Bristol Bible College to train for the ministry. 1964 proved to be a significant year: he married Irene at Burlington Baptist Church and began his first pastorate at Swaythling, Southampton. Thus began decades of faithful Baptist ministry. He spent seven years at Swaythling, moved to Wealdstone, Harrow (1971–77), and then to Woodside, Norwood (1977–94). Tim gave himself steadily and sacrificially to preaching Christ and shepherding God’s people. During these years, the couple were blessed with three daughters: Alison, Sarah, and Rachel.
In 1993, having accepted a unanimous call to Acomb Baptist Church, York, tragedy struck. Irene, having just posted the acceptance letter, collapsed at home and was called home to be with the Lord a few days later. After only two weeks away from the pulpit, upheld by his faith, his church, and his family, Tim courageously returned to preach. Great grief, greater faith.
Nine months later, he was inducted at Acomb. The Lord richly blessed the following six years. The church had been through struggles, but through the faithful preaching of the word, divisions were healed and spiritual growth occurred. In 1996, the Revd Iain Collins officiated at our wedding, and Tim gained a teenage stepdaughter, Libby. We continued running Alpha courses from our home in Bishopthorpe. Each course brought much fruit as the Holy Spirit was poured out, resulting in conversions, baptisms, and new church members.
Leading up to retirement, Tim moderated Priory St Baptist Church during an interregnum and became heavily involved with the Yorkshire Baptist Association (YBA), serving as chairman of the YBA Ministry Group for many years. Tim, alongside the Revd Ernie Whalley and others, introduced a Care Covenant for ministers and churches, a peer support team, and retreats for ministers’ spouses. Aware that some ministers in Eastern Yorkshire were isolated, Tim also established the Eastern Fraternal, serving as its secretary for many years.
We joined York Baptist Church in 2003. Tim’s major roles included preaching, encouraging others in their faith, supporting a house group, and serving on the prayer team. He also led a post-Alpha house group in Bishopthorpe for ten years, which only concluded when the pandemic began.
Tim was a very creative and practical man who could fix or build anything. He was an expert in wild orchids, travelling across Europe in a camper-van to photograph them and delivering lectures on his finds. He was also an accomplished woodturner, setting up a club in York that has been running for over 30 years.
For the last 18 months of his life, Tim was looked after in a care home. During his final illness, as Alzheimer’s took its toll, he bore it steadfastly without complaint—faithfully committing his life into the hands of the Jesus whom he served unstintingly. He died on his 88th birthday, having lived a life worthy of his calling.
Wendy Evans