Lyle Williams was born on October 25th, 1947, in Huntington, Indiana, and he
accepted Christ as his Lord and Savior at a young age. His father was a banker,
and Lyle and his family were part of the Wesleyan Church, which eventually
merged with the Pilgrim Holiness Church. Lyle would often tell me how grateful
he was for his spiritual heritage and the Christian home he was raised in. Lyle
served as a pastor in small Midwest churches before he and Linda moved to
Southern California in 1981 and planted a church in the city of Placentia with
the Christian and Missionary Alliance. In 1988, the family moved to Santa
Barbara, where Lyle continued to work with the CMA denomination. The
denomination decided to sell an apartment complex it owned, along with a
church building, to the Chinese Evangelical Free Church. The plan was to then
take the proceeds from the sales of these properties and use them toward starting
and planting a church. Lyle applied for this position as a Church Planter but was
not accepted. As Lyle shared this with me all these years later, he expressed
how deeply hurt he was in not being able to plant a church in a thriving
community like Santa Barbara. Lyle and Linda began to search for other places
to serve the Lord. During these years, in order to make ends meet, Lyle drove
the airport shuttle, installed washers and dryers, and cleaned office buildings.
When it was clear it was time to leave Santa Barbara, Lyle took a position at the
First Baptist Church of Lakewood, and served in various roles for several years.
Lyle then worked for a Christian counseling ministry in Orange County,
California. It was through these counseling sessions with pastors and ministry
workers that Lyle and Linda felt the call to encourage and help pastors. It is here
that the vision for Fishbowl Ministries began—to bring encouragement, hope,
and friendship to pastors and people in ministry to finish the course of their
ministry strong and to finish well.
Lyle went home to be with the Lord on March 31, 2025, which is Linda’s birthday.
The family said that Linda received the best birthday present when she was reunited
with Lyle in heaven. Linda passed away five years earlier in 2020.
Lyle and Linda Williams are the very cornerstone and foundation of Fishbowl Ministries.
It was through a Christian counseling ministry that the Lord put on Lyle and Linda’s
hearts a deep desire to have a ministry that solely focused on that—bringing hope,
encouragement, and friendship to people in ministry to finish strong and finish well.
Together, they birthed “Fishbowl Ministries,” and through the years, this ministry has touched
hundreds and even thousands of lives. We exist to edify, build up, and encourage
pastors and people in ministry. Pastors, ministry workers, worship leaders,
Christian camp directors and their families across America have been impacted
by Fishbowl Ministries! Lyle and Linda gave us this beautiful platform to laser-
focus on pastors and people in ministry, and to uplift them. The entire Fishbowl
Staff is literally “standing on the shoulders of Lyle and Linda Williams”. We are
merely carrying out their vision of being “a pastor to pastors.” I know that the
entire Fishbowl staff is so deeply grateful to Lyle and Linda for their great
insight and hard sacrifice in establishing this ministry. We will always honor
them, remember them, and strive to do our best to forward the vision of this
amazing ministry!
In many of my conversations with Lyle, he shared with me his desire to expand
our staff and bring on more people to be a part of Fishbowl Ministry. This is our
desire also. Are you a seasoned pastor or ministry worker who would like to
explore this possibility? Or do you know of a pastor or ministry worker who
would really thrive being a part of Fishbowl Ministry? Please contact us on our
website or me at michaeldelamarian@gmail.com or on my cell # (707) 845-8877.
I would love to dialogue with you regarding this possibility!