Last week, I returned to Athens, Georgia, to celebrate the life of the pastor of my youth, the Rev. Dr. Winfred M. Hope, who shepherded Ebenezer Baptist Church West for 40 years.

For my generation, those who grew up during the 1970s and ’80s, it was what I call the golden age of church. As a child, church worship and fellowship were significant cornerstones of my upbringing. One of the things I always looked forward to during the Sunday morning services was the choir processional, where Ebenezer choir members, decked out in their burgundy robes, marched down the aisles singing Albert A. Goodson’s classic hymn “We’ve Come This Far by Faith.”

The Rev. Hope began a remarkable faith journey in 1979 when he came to Athens with his wife, Betty, and daughters, Helen and Tracey. I was a bright, rising fifth grader and was instantly drawn to his dynamic personality and good-natured sense of humor. He had a jovial laugh and a heart of tremendous compassion for his congregation. He was just 34 when he took over the pastorship of Ebenezer, and he immediately began to impact the community.

As a young minister, people were drawn to the Rev. Hope’s vibrant style of preaching that made the Word of God come alive. The pews were packed to capacity, and his sermons made you feel like you were in a Bible study session due to his unique teaching style, in which he used demonstrations. Like Christ told parables to explain the principles of the Kingdom of God and practical, righteous living, the Rev. Hope employed creativity in his Sunday morning messages using simplistic household items. For instance, he would display a bottle of Joy dishwashing liquid to describe how the joy of the Lord is our strength or how, as James 1:2-3 says, we should “count it all joy when (we) fall into divers temptations” because “the trying of (our) faith worketh patience.”

The Rev. Hope also had a demonstration using a bag of Red Delicious apples to explain the importance of our covenant relationship with God through tithing. He would take out 10 apples and select one to represent the 10th of our gross income we should cheerfully give to God’s house. These demonstrations that illustrated sound biblical doctrine planted a firm seed in my early walk of faith.

I was asked to reflect on the Rev. Hope’s legacy during Ebenezer’s musical tribute to him. I mentioned one of my fondest childhood memories: being selected at 11 to represent the church at the General Missionary Baptist Convention in Georgia, where I placed third in the children’s oratorical contest speaking on the topic “Abiding Peace for a Restless Youth.” The Rev. Hope was stepping into his role as the new dean of the GMBC and blazing a path to become a renowned preacher at a state and national level.

Another great attribute of the Rev. Hope’s character that I and others discussed was his attentive dedication to his members. He provided a consistent, prayerful presence when relatives became ill, and he drove great out-of-state distances to funerals. He showed up at hospitals when babies were born. He reached deep into his pockets to help single mothers and mentored University of Georgia students.

Ebenezer has a membership of over 200, but the Rev. Hope found a way to make a meaningful, personal connection with his flock, embodying what a committed servant-leader should be, as described in 1 Peter 5:2. This scripture instructs pastors to “feed” the people of God, “taking oversight thereof, not by constraint, but willingly.” The Rev. Hope was more than willing to serve with sincere benevolence, endearing him to many.

As he has now been laid to rest, I will greatly miss greeting the Rev. Hope on my home visits to church. I will miss his hugs and charismatic chuckle when he teased me about being a Buckeye since I grew up a UGA fan in Athens. I will miss his words of encouragement, as he was extremely proud of my accomplishments in higher education and as a writer. Most of all, I will miss his warm and loving smile that was a reflection of the agape love of Christ, drawing many to the Lord during his devoted tenure in ministry.