Baseball Star-Turned-Pastor Suffers Critical Injuries, Loses Wife in Motorcycle Crash
Pastors Bryan and Lynn Koch, an influential ministry couple in Pennsylvania, were involved in a fatal motorcycle crash June 7 that left Lynn dead and Bryan in critical condition.
The couple was riding their motorcycle Sunday evening when an SUV veered into their lane and struck them head-on, according to investigators. The driver of the SUV, whose name has not been released by police, has also been hospitalized with injuries sustained in the accident.
The Kochs had served the congregation of GT Church in Spring Township, Pennsylvania, for nearly three decades. Bryan, a minor league baseball star in the 1980s, became a pastor at the church 27 years ago, while Lynn was ordained just last month.
“It feels almost unthinkable right now,” GT Church Executive Pastor Scott Kramer told local TV news station WFMZ. “It’s surreal for a church family.”
In addition to the couple’s three sons, Lynn is survived by two sisters. The family is joined in mourning by their congregants and the local church community.
“Their hearts are torn right now,” Kramer said. “We want anyone who is a praying person to pray for this family right now.”
According to a recently updated statement on the church’s homepage, Pastor Bryan is slowly improving, though he still has a long road to recovery ahead. In addition to donations to help the Koch family get through this difficult time, the website also solicits prayers for Pastor Bryan’s recovery and for the whole family in healing from the loss of Pastor Lynn, a loss that, by all accounts, has impacted people who knew and respected the Kochs across the globe.