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| Johnny and Cooper |
Actually Johnny and the Hensley family go back farther than that, to around 2009 at another church. The church was a new launch and we knew many of the people starting out with the church. One Sunday we found out who the 'new youth pastors' were going to be. One of the young men was Johnny. He and another young man would be "tag-teaming" the youth pastor duties. And I don't know why but the person introducing them was poking fun of Johnny's name. Weird, isn't it , the things you remember some days?
Well it didn't take long for our daughter to be a youth regular and she got to interact with Johnny quite a bit. This interaction continued even after she was out of the youth department and had gotten married. (more on that to come)
We felt completely at ease with Johnny in the role of youth pastor and he eventually was the primary youth pastor/leader. He and his wife took Carol and Cooper under their wings, and they always had a great time doing things with all the youth. I will always be grateful for her to have had such a godly and personal friendship with Johnny and his wife at such a crucial time in her life.
The first time I knew that Johnny Byrd was a special person was when he called me one day around lunch and said he wanted to tell me something before I heard it from anyone else. The news he relayed to me was that he had resigned from being the youth pastor at the church we were attending at the time. I sat and cried on the phone as he told me this. I told him that I knew Carol and Cooper would be devastated. He assured me that he would try and keep up with them and still be there for them if needed. There are not many 20 something year old youth pastors who care about their youth and their parents like Johnny does.
You know what though? God had plans that we were not aware of at the time, and it wasn't long before Johnny and his wife were attending church where we had just started attending as well. At Northridge Community Church (in the first campus years, Brad Olin was the youth pastor. ) It was not hard for Carol to make friends with the young people there and also with the leader and his wife (Brad and Amber). She and Cooper went on a mission trip to Atlanta with that youth group, and I think it really impacted both of them.
It wasn't long before our main campus had secured a building to be remodeled and become the second campus in Johnson City. We decided we would start attending this second campus because we knew the new campus pastor, Chris Miller from many years back. No one is counting are they? Good, then I will go on.....
Well, God in his wisdom and goodness, and just mind blowing wisdom would provide, Johnny Byrd, the family pastor position at the campus we were attending. So we were back together again and very happy to have these 2 godly men that would serve in leadership positions as we remodelled a used bowling alley into a church!
During this time, Carol graduated from high school, and she and Cooper felt that their relationship was growing and they got married the summer after she graduated and moved to Gatlinburg TN to start their own business. They just thought they were getting away from everyone else (not really) because Johnny Byrd had a part time job in Gatlinburg on the weekends so that he could be at church on Sundays for the youth. So when he was on his weekend job, he would usually see Carol or Cooper, depending on their schedule of who was working that weekend. He could also take an occasional item to them and saving us shipping costs! So thanks you to Johnny for serving in a dual function for us at that time.
Carol never got to see the 'new church campus' we were working on. She died in a tragic incident at their workplace on February 27, 2013. She had not been feeling well and passed out and fell head-long into a glass display case and a big piece of glass severed her aorta. She and Cooper had only been married 7 months when this happened. We were devastated, and so was our church family and many other organizations. But so many of our friends, family and church covered us in prayer and love, and somehow we made it through this unthinkable tragedy.
Johnny had a group of grieving youth to try and console and yet he gave a beautiful eulogy at Carol's Celebration of life on Mar 3, 2013. He did an amazing job telling all the people who came to the service, just what an amazing young person she was. I can never thank him enough for the kind words he shared that day about our daughter. You could tell that they had a special bond and that is why I am writing about him here.
I have heard Johnny tell his own 'God Story' and at a time in his life when he needed someone to give him hope his youth leader was able to help him find his purpose in life. I thank God that his path crossed Carol and Cooper's lives and let them know that God always was in control, but Momma still wanted to know how they were doing!
Well , a couple of weeks ago, Johnny gave me news about a new opportunity for him, and I cried again. But this time there is good news in what he told me: He will still be at one of our campuses, just not ours., as a campus pastor. It is taking me a while to process this but I can see how God has been moving in his life up to this point. Johnny is going to be a campus pastor at the Springbrook campus beginning late March/early April of this year! When I stop to think about Johnny's life --I can see how faithful he is to his God and how God has been investing in Johnny Byrd's life. The only advise I can give to Johnny is just stay goofy, give your worries to the LORD, and keep letting God lead you and mold you into the man he wants you to be.....in this church...at this time...for His glory!
I will be praying for you and your family Johnny.
And know that I love you friend,
Judy Hensley2/25/2020
