Samuel Reed

Samuel C. Reed was born in Muskogee, OK, December 4, 1932.
Raised on a wheat farm in Galesburg, Kansas, "Sammy" learned quickly to work hard on a tractor and to bring in the family's wheat harvest.

In high school, Sam excelled as a basketball player, making the varsity team as a freshman. People came from counties away to watch his exciting play.
Through his involvement in his church youth group, he gave his life to Christ.

Sam's aspirations to take his basketball career to the next level came to an end when he made it through all but the last cut on the Kansas State University basketball team. Seeing this as God's will to attend Bible College instead, he set his mind to drive to Joplin, MO, to enroll at Ozark Bible College (now Ozark Christian College). Driving through all of the small towns along the way, he slowed to a crawl at traffic lights, determined not to allow his wheels to stop turning until he arrived at the college.

At 18-years-old, as a freshman at Ozark Bible College, he happened to pass Nadine Branson in the stairway and turned to watch her walk by. At the same, she turned to watch him as well, and conversations led to dating.

Sam began to preach on weekends in the small town of Thayer, about an hour away, while continuing to attend classes at OBC during the week.

At 21, after three years of dating, one night while watching airplanes take off and land, Sam proposed to Nadine and she quickly accepted. Shortly thereafter, Sam earned his pilot's license and honed his knack for looking beyond the horizon, and discovering that the things that bring the most joy sometimes involve taking a few calculated risks.

Sam and Nadine were married on February 20, 1954, and three months later they graduated together from Ozark Bible College. After the wedding they moved from Joplin to Thayer and continued to minister for two years. During those two years, Sam tried to convince Nadine that his side jobs of crop dusting and delivering newspaper bundles from the airplane were to bring in extra money. However, there was never extra money, and she knew it was strictly for the fun, based on his constant grin.

In 1956, two opportunities in San Antonio, Texas, presented themselves. The newly opened Southern Christian College needed a Bible professor, and First Christian Church needed a pastor. In typical fashion, Sam took on both roles and became respected in both arenas.

With First Christian Church established and growing, a new church on Ben White Blvd. in Austin, TX, was in need of a pastor. After prayerful consideration, Sam and Nadine accepted the call and began to pastor at Southwest Christian Church, starting a journey that would last for 27 years. During that journey, Sam used his gift of teaching and his ability to simplify difficult Biblical concepts to win others to Christ and, once again, bring in the harvest. Teaching Old Testament history, Speech, New Testament, Greek, and Hebrew, he was able to bring the Bible to life, and countless souls have been won because of his humble obedience. Somehow, during this time he managed to earn his interdisciplinary doctorate in Greek, Hebrew, and Ancient Civilizations from the University of Texas.

In 1991, Lincoln Christian College offered him the opportunity to teach in a classroom setting and the challenge of training young, new ministers was too strong to resist. He and Nadine said tearful goodbyes to their dear friends at SWCC and moved to Lincoln, IL. This began another successful adventure for Sam, but after only 3 years in Lincoln he was diagnosed with a mysterious and debilitating condition. As the pain from his feet advanced up into his legs, he begin to have to need powerful pain medications, and those soon robbed him of his ability to stand to lecture, or to focus on the challenging material.

In 1995, Sam and Nadine returned to their home in Austin, TX, into the loving arms of their former congregation at Southwest Christian Church, now on Old Manchaca Rd., where he worshipped faithfully until suffering a massive stroke on July 9, 2013.

At 9:47 p.m. on Monday, July 22, Sam stepped into eternity into the arms of the Savior he served so faithfully all his life.

The family wishes to express our heartfelt gratitude and love to the precious staff and body of Southwest Christian Church for the love and support shown to Sam and Nadine, and pray that God will continue to use you to bring in God's harvest.

Matthew 9: 35 - "Then He said to His disciples, 'The harvest is plentiful but the workers are few; therefore, pray earnestly to send out laborers into His harvest."


Sam is survived by his wife, Nadine Reed, son Kenny and his wife Amy and their daughter Kathryn and sons Caleb and Samuel; son Kevin and his wife Deana and their children Hunter and Sierra; son Kirby and his wife Sunny and their children Gwen, Claire, and Race; daughter Lynette and her husband George Hoyt, and their children Kristin, April, Allison and Bo; daughter Lavonne and her husband Marty Hill and their children Heather, Jonathon, and Hayden; and two great grandchildren, Thomas and Zelda.


Memorial Service:
Saturday, July 27, 7:00 p.m.
Southwest Christian Church
10500 Old Manchaca Rd.
Austin, TX. 78748