VALDOSTA — About 15,000 people are expected to gather April 28 in the field across from Sam’s Club for the Fourth Annual Community Day, an event where free food, clothes, medical care, eye exams and glasses are given to the poor. The organizer of the event is a personable and humorous country boy preacher, Jay Watkins, pastor of Redland Baptist Church in the Rocky Ford community. But, for goodness sakes, don’t give him any of the praise. In fact, according to member Vickie Edwards, he told his congregation, “If any of you are doing this for your own glory and praise, then don’t do it.” The humble, self-effacing pastor so wants to give all the glory and praise to God that it was like pulling teeth to get him to do this interview.

“I’m a behind-the-scenes person,” he said. “I like to do the work.”

And what work, indeed, God has tasked him to do!

In addition to the previous three Community Days, there was Camp Rock last summer at Camp Tygart for 150 first-graders to rising sixth-graders who were from high-risk environments or who couldn’t afford to go to camp. Most importantly, 88 of those children, a few who said they had never been to a church service, professed faith in Jesus Christ as their Lord and Savior at the event hosted by the Valdosta Baptist Association. And that was followed by Christmastime at Camp Rock, a day of fun and food for about 1,000 foster children and foster parents from 13 counties in South Georgia. Valdosta’s First Baptist partnered with Redland Baptist Church to host the camp.

About 1,000 people have professed faith in Jesus Christ since Community Day was begun in 2008, Watkins said. The event came about after Redland’s annual mission trip to Mexico with a group called Mexico Medical Missions was blocked by danger from a drug cartel.

“Every door we tried to get open to do international missions was closed,” he recalled. “Our youth pastor, Jim Vaughan, now our senior pastor, said, ‘If God isn’t opening any doors internationally, let’s do it locally — like what we do in Mexico.’”

Thus, the first Community Day was held at Clyattville Park almost four years ago.

“This was the year the economy was tanking,” Watkins said. “We thought there was so many people who had lost their jobs, had lost their ability to provide for their families, (so we said) ‘Let’s just have a whole day of free fun, free food, free medicine to help the community meet their immediate needs due to the recession.’ Our goal was to show them that through Christ their needs were being met.

“We thought at the most we would serve would be around 500. We had a team of eight or 10 physicians and dentists and 20 or so nurses. We got local community churches (from the Valdosta Baptist Association) involved with about 200 volunteers. We ended up serving 3,500-4,000 that

 day. It was so fun. Praise the Lord.”

As he looked out over the crowd who attended, Watkins told Mike Broadwater, VBA associational missionary, “This is what heaven is going to be like — every color, every (economic level) was there that day. We led over a hundred to the Lord. During the next year talking to Mike Broadwater and other pastors, we decided to make it an annual event to move from community to community to show the love of Christ through meeting their needs.”

The second Community Day in Cook County in 2010 was attended by about 8,000 and the third last year in Brooks County by about 10,000, according to the officers who parked the cars.

“Over the three years, between 800-1,000 people accepted Christ,” Watkins said.

Last year, 950-plus volunteers, more than 20 physicians and 30 or 40 nurses participated in Community Day.

“It is the hardest work our churches have ever done, but the most rewarding,” Watkins said.

“After our first Community Day, our church saw the need for helping the children in our community. A year later, we started Redland Performing Arts School. We wanted to give the children and their families a venue to do things the economy might have taken away from them, and children in high-risk environments would thrive if we could teach them a talent or an art while nurturing them in their relationship with Christ. We have renamed the school Redland Academy, and we teach ballet, guitar, wind instruments, beginning band, theatre, and equestrian classes.”

Soccer, basketball, piano, arts and crafts and cheerleading are also taught on Wednesday nights. There is no charge for any of the activities. The 350 children who attend are also fed a meal. Redland Academy directors are Shane and Julie Padgett, who have master’s degrees in music education. Shane is also Redland’s minister of music.

“I have an excitement about getting things started, but it’s done by the people,” said Watkins, who began his ministry 14 years ago this April at Redland.

He was quick to point out, “Every idea doesn’t work out. Every day isn’t a good day. It’s just knowing in our mistakes and failures that God will see us through.”

Born in 1971 in Valdosta, Watkins grew up in the Rock Ford Road community and attended Lowndes High School. He didn’t become a Christian until his early 20s.

“I was not a moral person. I was not a good person. I wasn’t to be a preacher. I had a lot of baggage. I had to learn how to be a Christian. I had to learn to trust a God who is bigger than (I am). I was shy. I still don’t like (public speaking).”

But a few months after he gave his life to Christ, God called him to be a preacher of His word.

“I remember the night I surrendered to the ministry — how profound it was. I just knew it was what (I was supposed to do).”

His first sermon was not memorable.

“I preached a hard seven minutes and couldn’t figure out how to end the sermon. I said, ‘I’m through now.’ It was a total disaster. My knees shook. But it got easier.”

He served as a bi-vocational preacher, working also as a paramedic, until he became Redland’s full-time pastor in 2003. Attendance has doubled from 250 to 500 in the last three years.  

Watkins met his wife, the former Sandra Reichert of Quitman, who accepted Christ the same night as he did, and they were baptized together.

“We wanted children immediately, but a while into our marriage, we found out we weren’t going to be able to have children,” Jay said.

Trying to adopt was “trying,” he said as they spent seven years of ups and downs in the process, including traveling to Michigan and Florida to meet birth parents.

“Our first adoption was a little boy, Bryce, but a few days into the adoption, the birth mother changed her mind. We were devastated. (At) a church service on a Sunday night that year, ... we were testifying in church, and my wife and I publicly cried out to God for some understanding, for some strength for our family,” Jay said with tears in his eyes.

The service lasted 2 1/2 hours.

“It was one of the most intimate times in church with people praising God. A lady gave us a book called ‘A Blessing from Above.’ She dated it. Nine or 10 months from that church meeting, we received the call for our first child. That was when God really saw our heart.”

Their four adopted children are a little United Nations with a multi-racial child called Hope, Hispanic twins named Faith and Grace and a Caucasian son named Luke, who was born last year. Their faith would be tested when Faith was 6 weeks old when she became sick instantly.

“The pediatrician told us that she had a condition called dextrocardia (a congenital defect in which the heart is situated on the right side of the body), and chances were she wouldn’t live but a few more weeks. My wife broke down and so did I ... I was in shock.”

Watkins woke Brian Gay and Clay Parker in the middle of the night to pray for Faith.

“They got down on the floor and began praying for us.”

On the ambulance ride to Medical College of Georgia in Augusta, the paramedics had to stop at a small hospital, where cardiac stimulation was done on Faith and she was life-flighted the remainder of the way to Augusta.

“In Augusta, they stabilized her and found it was a bad virus called RSV, and because she was premature and had no prenatal care, she was compromised.

“We later found out (Faith’s) condition was not as severe as originally diagnosed. It was a high to low point God brought us through again. He didn’t leave us.”

After about two years of seeing a cardiologist in Augusta, she was pronounced “totally well,” he said.

Another crisis for the family came more recently when they learned their home is sitting on a sinkhole. They had to move out immediately for their safety. It was then Jay found himself on the receiving side instead of the giving.

“Jay has sought to help children and families, and when his home is threatened to fall into a sinkhole, the church and those he’s ministered with over the years have rallied to help his family,” said Drew Boswell, First Baptist minister to children and families.

“Redland and First Baptist have raised money to help with the cost of moving the house, and members will help with replacing drywall and construction needs.”

And Jay has not missed the lesson.

“It’s real important to learn to give, but when it is your turn to receive, it’s important to understand God always provides,” he said.

As for the future, Jay has been led by God to envision another project. He had purchased family land, but several years passed before God revealed His plans for that property.

“One day, we hope to have a place where kids from any background or families can live. God has laid it on my heart. If I had a dream, it would be a place to do Camp Rock year round and offer a place of permanence for children in crisis and families in need.”

Jay said he wants to give his children “a legacy of ministry — not just passing land from one generation to the next. I believe God wants us to be stewards of our property, and nothing is without purpose.”

The pastor has been talking with attorney Patricia Karras, among those spearheading Camp Rock of Georgia Inc., as well as Pastors Phil West and Mac Weaver of Valdosta’s First Baptist Church, which built and supports an orphanage in Venezuela.

“We have been working on this project for five years ... a place for children to be safe and have fun,” Watkins said of his property. “The first level would be a campus where children can experience farm life, animal care, swimming ... a camp environment.

“We would like to eventually build places where families in need could live there to help break a cycle ... eventually a place where kids called unadoptable could live and call home and have the quality of life every child deserves.

“I’m just waiting for God to open the doors to do what He wants to do. I just know if you will open your heart to Christ, He will show you His work to be done. I tell my church we only have a little time to do a lot of good.”

Those who want to help in any way may contact Pastor Jay Watkins at 561-0824.

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