Greater Mount Pleasant’s Jenkins leads a life of service
How Bishop Billy Jenkins Jr. spreads the word of God is not by spoken word, but by actions.
“You can tell them what the word says, but I think living it out is my philosophy,” Jenkins said. “Showing people that you really care, the ones that allow you to get close enough to understand that the God in each of us shows out. I can tell you, but I can show you more than I can tell you.”
Living it out, he does. Throughout the years, Jenkins has noticed that even those who attend church on Sundays still might have nowhere to turn for guidance or help in the world. To resolve this matter, he and his wife Cynseria began Nowhere2Turn Ministries in 2006.
Nowhere2Turn Ministries is a nonprofit organization dedicated to helping those who have lost hope or don’t know who to turn to.
“We kind of use that as a stepping stone, so when people who are in the church or outside of the church get to a point, and it’s sad we get to that point, they feel like they have nowhere to turn. It doesn’t always have to always be about God so much, but just being able to uplift my brother and sister and say ‘it’s going to be alright, we’re going to make it through this,’” said Jenkins Jr.
Not only does he work with his congregation at Greater Mount Pleasant Baptist Church and Nowhere2Turn Ministries, but Jenkins Jr. and his wife Cynseria do prison ministry and have done so for over 20 years.
“We’ve done that for Lee Arrendale State Prison for about nine years down there, and she is currently the Chaplain over at Whitworth State Prison in Hartwell, Ga. So, we’ve been involved in prison ministry for about 20 years now,” Jenkins said.
Though he has had an incredible career in ministry, he said this was all an unexpected journey led by God.
“I had no idea that I would end up doing what we’ve done and end up being fire chief or end up being a minister and all, but by God’s guidance and my obedience, not that I got everything right, I think it probably is to the point where we are now where we can love people and feed and do what we do.”
Raised in the church
Jenkins grew up in the Cleveland area with the Rev. Billy Jenkins and his mother, Betty Jenkins. His dad was the pastor of St. John Missionary Baptist Church and owned a car repair shop downtown.
His grandparents lived in Sautee Nachoochee, where he attended church when not at St. John. In 1973, he attended the Bean Creek Church with his family and was baptized at 10 years old in the creek behind the church.
“My dad was a pastor for about 44 years, so I guess that’s kinda my upbringing with him. I’ve seen him build his own business, and he ran it for a lot of years,” Jenkins Jr. said. “Back in those days, in the ‘69s to ‘70s, that was really something significant for someone of a minority to be able to do that. I saw that, and that instilled in me how much he helped people.”
Jenkins followed in his father’s footsteps, coming out of Shady Grove Baptist Church in Cornelia in 2003 and preaching everywhere from Murphy, Andrews and Franklin in North Carolina, to settling at his home at Greater Mount Pleasant Baptist Church in Clarkesville.
“My wife and I came out of Shady Grove Baptist Church where our bishop there is Ernest Burns and Mother Vanessa Burns. But that’s the church we came out of. I guess the gift was given to me before, but I received my license there in 2003 when we were in Shady Grove,” Jenkins said.
Today, he leads his own congregation at Greater Mount Pleasant, just like his father before him. Sundays in the pews with the Jenkins family leading the worship are filled with love for the neighbor and the Holy Spirit, not to mention the vocals and prayers.
“I guess it’s something that I can go back to my dad and my mom that they instilled there, because my dad was the pastor there at Mount Pleasant,” Jenkins said. “I have seen the care that he took, and it was instilled in me to do the same, to basically pick up the mantle and kind of follow in his path.”
Greater Mount Pleasant Baptist Church has a small congregation of about 25 to 30 people, and most, if not all, are on a first-name basis.
“We welcome anybody to come. Sometimes being off the main line you don’t get as many people that you might like to reach out to,” Jenkins said. “We’re a little big church in a rural location, a little church doing big things.”
He hopes for more for his congregation in the future but is proud of the people who worship at the Lord’s house.
“I hope for the future that more people will realize that we are there and that God’s presence is definitely in the place, not only the building but in the people,” he said. “My big hope is to allow God to really change people’s lives in a big way.”
Setting a new record
On Thanksgiving Day, the Jenkins family of Greater Mount Pleasant Church, Sam Negron of Prince of Peace Church in Baldwin and many other volunteers came together to continue a tradition of delivering and serving hot meals at the Cornelia Community House to those who requested them.
A new record was set that day, with 770 meals being served or delivered in just four hours, beating last year’s number by 170 meals.
“The Thanksgiving meal program was really mind-blowing. Some of the volunteers have been with us for a while, and some were new and came along. I thank God for those volunteers,” said Jenkins Jr. “Everything ran smoothly, and I think it was probably the smoothest it has ever went. It was outstanding.”
This year’s sponsors were Greater Mount Pleasant Baptist Church, Nowhere2Turn Ministries, Prince of Peace, McGahee Griffin & Stewart, Rustic Rebel, Shear Perfection Salon, Wolf Creek BBQ and Hillside BBQ.
Wolf Creek and Hillside BBQ prepared 35 turkeys while volunteers prepared stuffing, green beans and mashed potatoes.
“The thing is we don’t push religion, even though we come together as believers and we come together as the three churches, we don’t push religion on anyone,” Jenkins said. “I’ve had folks say ‘this is a perfect opportunity to get up and do a word,’ and I said we are not going to do that. The reason being is if someone opens the door about God, we will step in. But other than that, we’re going to show you what it means.”
The new volunteers have inspired Jenkins and the team, who are optimistic about 1,000 meals for next year’s Thanksgiving meals program.
“I know we’re not the only ones that feed people on Thanksgiving, and I thank God for that,” he said. “We’re not in a competition; we’re just there to do good and give what God would have us to do. We’re just thankful for all of the volunteers that come out with the mind to serve.”
Chief Jenkins
Since 2018, Bishop Billy Jenkins Jr. has served as Cornelia Fire Chief, seeing the best and worst days of humans’ lives.
His becoming a fire chief was through an unexpected series of events that have shaped who he is today.
“I went through a divorce in the 80s and ended up getting involved with the fire department in Cleveland in ‘89. Then, I moved to Cornelia and was able to continue that with the Cornelia Fire Department. I never thought that I would be in the place that I am now, but I feel that God has put me in this place, and I am very grateful to be here,” he said. “I’ve had some good days and some bad days through it all, but I wouldn’t trade anything for my journey.”
Working his way up from being a full-time firefighter in Cornelia in 2000, he got promoted to the fire marshal’s office, where he performed inspections on commercial buildings to ensure they were up to code. Jenkins Jr. worked in the fire marshal’s office for 17 years before getting promoted to assistant chief and finally fire chief in 2018.
His perspectives have changed significantly during his time as a firefighter and now as chief.
“I’ve learned that you have to be kind and personable but also be stern and straightforward with some things,” he said. “When someone has lost their homes or have died right in front of you, I think it gives us some testimony to tell someone, be a witness to someone, or be encouraging to someone. You have to be careful how you show them that, but there are ways that you can help people understand that you really care for them.”
Throughout his tenure, and despite all the good and bad days, he still thinks the most inspiring people he sees are the men on his crews and surrounding crews who help people every day.
“One of the things that really inspires me, is to see the men and women that have their boots on the ground, that run the calls; they don’t mind helping each other,” said Jenkins Jr. “Just seeing them go out call after call, whatever it may be, just doing what they do best for that person.”
He said firefighting has an art to it.
“There’s a calling for that. To go into a burning house and save what you can, whether life or property, and walk out when you know you’ve done the best you can do,” he said. “We all stand together to do our job and do what we do.”
Jenkins wants everyone to follow their dreams, no matter how obscure they might sound or how many people doubt the goal.
“I encourage any man, woman or young person to follow whatever their dreams are and don’t allow anyone to say that you can’t be what God would have you to be,” he said. “There are so many folks that try to kill the dream, and if you have been given the opportunity to follow your dream, I encourage you to do that.”