A pastor was seriously injured and his wife killed in a motorcycle accident in South Carolina on Saturday.

Tyus Butler, who has led the Labor of the Field church in Anderson since 2013, was airlifted to hospital and is now in a medially induced coma.

His wife, Anita, died at the scene, police said.

The two were riding a 2000 Harley Davidson which ran off the road and struck a guard rail. They were taking part in a 'Look Twice, Save a Life' event promoting safety on the road.

Assistant director of Labour of the Field, Tony Hawkins, told Fox that special prayers were said for the couple on Sunday and the congregation was struggling to deal with the situation

"We dedicated our services to Tyus and Anita," assistant pastor Vernon Bagwell told the Independent Mail.

"They have made it their lives' work to reach out to people no one else would fool with and try to bring them to Jesus Christ."

The church describes itself on its Facebook page as a "Missionary Church for our community. We help those who are dealing with addictions, are homeless, in need of food or clothing."

Bagwell said under Butler's leadership, the church has grown from a congregation of five people to more than 75.

It runs a soup kitchen and rehabilitation programme for men dealing with addictions.

"We have always believed in doing what we can to reach people with habits, hurts and hang-ups," Bagwell said.

"We have seen people who are homeless, who are taken over by drugs, who are practically behaving like wild animals. We have watched them become human again through the love of Christ, and Tyus and Anita have a lot to do with reaching those folks. They've never been afraid to go into dark places to reach people."