One Person Can Change Us All

One man’s obedience has impacted a whole community.

Skylar Holt
Jul 10, 2017 · 5 min read
Sunset above Friendship Baptist Church

Imagine this: you’re parked in the middle of a field sitting in the front seat of your truck. Feeling like you have nowhere to go, nobody to turn to, no other options. Feeling like it is your last resort, you deciding to end your life. Right there. Right then. You put the gun to the roof of your mouth and pull the trigger. Then, something happens. The trigger jams, and you get a sudden revelation that you are made for more. You have bigger and better purposes for your life. God has more in store for you. This is how Steve Keener felt.

Sometimes our lives can take the most unlikely turns, or at least that’s what happened to Steve Keener, or as I like to call him, Preacher Steve. Preacher Steve is a truly inspirational man with an exceptional testimony. I wish everyone could hear his full testimony in person from him, but that is sadly not an option. I will not do his testimony justice in my summary, but here is a brief description of Preacher Steve’s life.

Preacher Steve

From the beginning of his childhood, Preacher Steve was an outcast. His parents both moved to the United States from Puerto Rico, and his family was very poor which made him an easy target . As Preacher Steve grew older and went into high school, he found an interest in track, and this opened the door for him to go to college on a track scholarship he received. After his freshman year in college, his life took a major turn. He found out that his girlfriend was pregnant. He saw that his only option was to marry his girlfriend, who is still married to today, drop out of college, and get a job to support his family.

Things after this decision were very rough not only due to the rushed marriage, but also because his in-laws were very unsupportive of him and believed that their daughter deserved much better than what he could offer. A few years after his son was born, Preacher Steve was at a very low place, and in this low place, he made the decision to end his life. As stated earlier, his suicide attempt failed, and at that moment, he got a revelation from God that he has a greater purpose and calling, and he could not end his life. Preacher Steve soon after felt the calling on his life to become a pastor which is something he never saw himself doing. He has since then followed God’s plan for his life in obedience and faithfulness.

Preacher Steve lives in Warner Robins, Georgia, but his journey as a pastor brought him to a town called Bartow, Georgia which is a little over an hour and a half away from Warner Robins. Bartow in the epitome of a true small town having only one red light, one gas station, and one restaurant called The Bartow Café, and having a population of not even 300 people. Needless to say, Bartow is not a very populated, thriving city. That’s why it was so unordinary for Steve to be called here to be the pastor of a church called Friendship Baptist Church. The distance he drives to be the pastor at a small church in the middle of nowhere shows Preacher Steve’s dedication and obedience to God.

Fish Fry Fridays, All-You-Can-Eat

When he first began preaching in Bartow, he did not expect to stay for long, but now he has been the pastor for over sixteen years. Since he came to Friendship, the church has grown tremendously not only in the number of members, but also in the spiritual depth of those who attend. Through his lively preaching and personality style, he changed the small, typical Southern-Baptist church into a more contemporary style church that was completely foreign to any other church around. Since he has been here, my church has built a new church building as well as a new social hall. Now, my church is in the process of renovating the old church building. It is amazing to look at the transformation of the church over the last sixteen years that is all due to one man’s calling in life.

Picture of the old church (getting renovated)

Friendship Baptist Church has around 150 people in attendance most Sundays which is a rather substantial number coming from such a small area. Interestingly enough, there is a study that shows that a person can only maintain a social relationship with 150 people, and this is called Dunbar’s number. If one thing is true, it’s that Preacher Steve has a personal relationship with each member of his congregation. To use myself as an example, Preacher Steve has been like a spiritual father to me. He has been my pastor for the past 14 years, and I know he is somebody I can rely on to talk to or get guidance from.

From being the son of two poor Puerto Rican natives, an outcast as a child, college track star, college dropout, unexpected father and husband, a failed suicide attempt, and now the pastor of a thriving church in a dried-up town, Steve Keener’s life has made a complete 180, and while doing this, he has impacted the lives of many people. His life has changed my community, family, and myself personally. I am beyond grateful that God placed Preacher Steve in my life fourteen years ago.

Skylar Holt

Written by

Target rich environment || UGA '21

Commit to Serve

2017 UGA Freshman College — Service Learning

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