I remember the day that I trusted Christ as my Savior. Mr. Charles Faust, a faithful Sunday School teacher, had shared the Gospel with me week after week at Tenth Avenue Baptist Church. His passion for my salvation led me to accept the Good News and become a child of God.
Unfortunately, I rarely saw the same passion in church as I saw in that Sunday School class, and I soon became bored with church and began to drift. No matter where I attended church, the preachers seemed very proper but didn't seem to really captivate my attention. My life was beginning down a dangerous path that could have very well led to much heartache and sorrow.
I will never forget my first Sunday at Providence Baptist Church. I really didn't want to be there, in fact I hid in the car during Sunday School, but I knew I would have to go in for church since my family would be looking for me. When Bro. Hancock got up to preach, I was not initially impressed. He wasn't that big of a guy, but he had the heart of a lion. I had never heard anyone preach like him. He simply told it the way it was without decorating the message with religious and impressive language. The way he preached, it seemed as if he had been watching me all week and was telling everyone just how bad I had been living. I did not like him! Even though I didn't like him, I went back the next week so I could dislike him some more. Over a course of weeks God began to move in my heart.
It wasn't long before my family quit going to church, but the church van from Providence was always there to pick me up and carry me to church. I grew to love and appreciate the straightforward preaching of Bro. Raymond Hancock, and God used him to gradually help transform my life from a potential thug to a follower of Jesus. I cannot overstate the deep appreciation that I have for the ministry of Dr. Hancock and Providence Baptist Church.
At Providence I met my future bride, Sandy Wade, and Bro. Hancock conducted our wedding ceremony. It was under his ministry that God called me to preach and his signature on my Ordination Certificate is one of my prized possessions. As I sat and listened to him preach each week, I gleaned much on how to conduct myself behind the pulpit. In the years that followed, I would occasionally take some of my folks to hear him and they often commented that I had adopted much of his preaching style. I wear that as a badge of honor.
Yesterday Dr. Raymond Hancock won his battle with mortality and stepped into the presence of Jesus. He has graduated ahead of many that he influenced for the cause of Christ, but his dividends continue to grow as those whom he influenced are still serving Jesus.
Thanks for being there Bro. Hancock. Thanks for being faithful through the wonderful and the difficult times. Thanks for being a role model for me when I desperately needed one.
