Wayne Williams, a well-known leader in Statesboro, has been making an hour-long commute at least three times a week to serve the residents of Gifford, South Carolina. Gifford has a population of 256.
Statesboro has benefited from the service of Wayne Williams for decades. He currently serves as a Statesboro Housing Commissioner and is the founder of Youth Career Camp, Inc., where he has provided world-class career and leadership training to youth and young adults for over 16 years. Pastor Williams also serves on the board for Feed the Boro and coordinates volunteers for their monthly food drops.
Many benefitted from his guidance as the founding pastor of Statesboro’s New Beginning Christian Outreach Church. He served there from 2012-2019.
Over the years, Williams has tirelessly sought ways to impact the lives of others saying, “All of it is God’s work to me.”
Gifford, South Carolina
But the folks in Gifford knew Williams long before Statesboro was a twinkle in his eye. Although Williams is officially from New Jersey, Gifford is the town of his birth. He spent every summer there when he was growing up.
While in Gifford, he got to know his extended family, which made up a large segment of the population. He also attended Long Branch Missionary Baptist Church.
It was a source of pride for Williams to know that his distant family member Nelson Williams, a former slave, was the first pastor of Long Branch just 21 years after the Emancipation Proclamation.
When Long Branch abruptly found itself in need of an interim pastor in 2020, it was Williams they called on. He began preaching and offering pastoral guidance and care to congregants beginning in January of 2021. After a year in that role, Williams was officially called to be the 16th pastor at the church. He was installed in February, 2022.
As Williams said in a Facebook post, “I had the honor of being installed as Pastor in my birth month, in my birth place, in the church which my ancestors birthed.”
Technology Helps Manage the Distance
One of his accomplishments since becoming the permanent pastor at Long Branch was to bring in an instructor from Statesboro, Minister Marie Williams. He brought her in to train his elderly congregation to use Zoom on their smartphones. Now Williams can better serve the congregation from his home here in Statesboro.
Now two states, Georgia and South Carolina, greatly benefit from the talent, compassion and generosity of Pastor Wayne Williams. Pastor Williams leads by example and makes a difference in every life he touches.