Everyone has a unique story to tell. How someone handles the challenges they face in life reveals their character and is a reflection of who they are. Early in life Tim Earnhardt was exposed to a lot of drama and tragedy that no child should suffer. The story of what he endured and how he triumphed is truly an inspiration to individuals in all walks of life.

Tim was born in Dallas, TX. Within a couple of years his family moved to Coweta, OK. At the age of four or five he accepted Jesus as his Lord and Savior. His parents were youth pastors. On the surface it appeared that everything was fine, but behind closed doors his parents were constantly fighting.

While in kindergarten Tim’s mother started leaving the family at home to attend parties and engage in an ungodly lifestyle. Later that year after his parents had a huge fight, his mother took him, his older brother and sister to Lincoln, AR where his mother’s boyfriend was. By now he was old enough to realize what was going on. His parents divorced and his mother married her boyfriend, who became the first of four stepfathers Tim would have.

The next eight years were filled with chaos and pain. His family lived in many different places in Oklahoma and Arkansas. In the first grade Tim attended four different schools. He remembers that in grade school his first stepfather taught him how to drive so Tim could drive him home when he was drunk. There were a lot of illegal drugs in the house and marijuana was grown in the closets. Though they were very poor they always seemed to find enough money to have parties. Many times there was not enough food because his mother and stepfather would trade food stamps for cash to buy alcohol and drugs. His stepfather was abusive and there was always fighting, which caused a constant atmosphere of fear.

One of the places they moved to was Tishomingo, OK. Tim remembers while living there that a tornado was coming directly towards their house. Even though he was young and did not have much knowledge of the Word, he prayed and the tornado lifted and went over the house.

In the third grade they moved back to Lincoln, AR where his best friend was the son of a Baptist preacher. Tim often went to church with him. Over the years, even though his mother was living out of God’s will, the children were always allowed to attend church.

A couple of years later Tim was climbing a tree. He reached for a limb, fell and was knocked unconscious. After slipping in and out of consciousness, he remembers waking up to his stepfather trying to push him out of the hospital bed and telling him to “be a man.” The police arrived and put his stepfather in handcuffs. Tim had a dislocated collarbone, was paralyzed from the waist down and could only talk in a whisper. He was sent home for lack of insurance and did not receive any further medical treatment. He was confined to his bed with no hope of ever walking again. Tragically, since he was often left home alone, he would crawl out of bed and pull himself across the floor to get around the house. During this terrible time his biological father never came to visit him. Tim remembered hearing in church that Jesus heals and decided to believe for his healing and that through faith he would walk, run, and play sports again. In nine months he was miraculously healed and restored.

During the sixth grade Tim and some friends walked to an old house to play in the barn. They went swimming in a pond and started throwing mud at each other. Then they decided to go into the house to take showers to wash off the mud. One of the boys was a troublemaker and Tim’s mother had specifically warned him not to spend time with him. While they were in the house this boy started knocking holes in the walls and the rest of the kids, except for Tim, joined in. The sheriff caught them, took them to the police station for questioning and put them in a glass room to see how it felt to be in jail. Then everyone was sent home except for the boy that instigated the vandalism and Tim, who was innocent. They were taken to a juvenile detention center and his mother and her boyfriend eventually came and took him home. Even though he did not do anything wrong, Tim remembers the shame and regrets not listening when his mother warned him to stay away from the troublemaker.

During the sixth grade, Tim was baptized in the Holy Spirit. Then in the eighth grade Tim told his mother that he was tired of her lying, marijuana abuse, and partying and that it was time he moved in with his father. Tim says that getting away from that lifestyle was one of the best decisions he ever made. He spent the next couple of years adjusting because for the first time he had stability in his life.

While a sophomore, he fell under the power of the Holy Spirit during a church service and the desire to be a youth pastor was birthed in him. He decided it was time to make a difference and the next day started taking his Bible to school. To his surprise he noticed that the other students respected his integrity and the fact that he stood for something.

In 1997 he had a vision that he was called to be a youth minister. During the vision the Lord showed him where he would preach for the first time and told him he would have a healing ministry. In 2001 he enrolled in RHEMA Bible Training Center where he became an assistant in the Junior High ministry and later a School of the Bible teacher for the eighth grade.

In 2003 Tim graduated from RHEMA. That fall he had a dream that he would be the youth pastor at the church where David Emigh was the pastor. He saw himself preaching there and the Lord gave him the title to his first message. He did not know who David Emigh was, but a month later he heard that Word of Life where David Emigh was the pastor was searching for a youth pastor. Tim interviewed for the job and preached at the youth group a couple of times and was offered the position. On February 21, 2004 he became the youth pastor at Word of Life.

As a result of the tribulation in his early years, he has an ability to relate with youth in similar situations. His experiences allow him to give the guidance that he never had and so desperately needed at that time. Consequently, he now has a significant impact on the lives of others for the glory of God.

In spite of his many hardships growing up, Tim attributes the fact that he survived and was victorious to being led by the Spirit and relying on gifts from God. His life is a living testament to God’s promise that “I will never leave you nor forsake you.”

Tim and his wife, Nicole are youth pastors at Word of Life in Sand Springs and are LMFI members. You can contact them at tearnhardt@wolonline.net.