QUITMAN — Located in South Georgia just west of Valdosta, this is an unhurried town with a rich history, a heritage of community spirit, and an abundant supply of appeal for the outdoorsman. Strategically positioned on Main Street in the heart of the county seat town is First Baptist Church. The church has become a vibrant fellowship of faith under the leadership of their young, affable pastor, Marty Carnes.

Carnes, who once served the church as the youth minister, was called back to the church two years ago to become the pastor. The love relationship between the pastor and the people is obvious, and the church has begun to experience steady growth since the arrival of Carnes.

The worship services at First Baptist are well ordered, well planned, and mostly traditional, but when Carnes enters the pulpit to welcome guests, lead in prayer, or preach the message there is great energy, enthusiasm, and a sense of anticipation that suddenly permeates the worship center.? On Sunday morning, Jan. 28, the worship service was progressing with its usual well-ordered, uninterrupted flow of music and prayers when suddenly things dramatically changed. Carnes was reading his scripture prior to preaching the morning message when he heard a disturbance in the choir behind him.

“I heard one of the choir members calling my name and asking me to stop what I was doing,” Carnes recalls. “I looked up and saw a couple of people standing over on the right side of the church. Mr. Lee Roy Wilcox appeared to be the object of their concern. He was still in a seated position on the pew, but clearly unconscious and unresponsive.

“I was very concerned, because I knew that he had a history of heart problems. I feared this was heart related and very serious.

“After surveying the situation from the platform, I alerted the congregation that Mr. Wilcox was apparently having a problem. I then led the congregation in prayer and afterward asked everyone to be in personal prayer for him.”

Carnes explained, “Some of the men in the church gently removed Wilcox from the pew, laying him in the aisle. They could tell he had no pulse and was not breathing. The church sat in stunned silence. Some were crying, others had a concerned stare, but all were praying.

“I saw one or two of the children in tears,” Carnes stated. Throughout the years Mr. Wilcox has been a faithful bus driver for the children’s ministry and for our school.

An alert member had called 911 and everyone waited for the paramedics. Two registered nurses, Jill Trest and Julie Wingate, were present and began administering cardiopulmonary resuscitation. Trest was kneeling by Wilcox, performing chest compressions while Wingate administered mouth-to-mouth resuscitation.

Trest commented, “When I got to him there was no pulse, no breathing, no heartbeat. He was gone, and he would not have survived the ordeal if he had been at home.”

The rapid response of the heroic nurses revived Wilcox and by the time the paramedics arrived six-to-eight minutes later he was breathing on his own. In fact, the amazing event at First Baptist Church in Quitman that Sunday was a miracle – a resurrection miracle.

Wilcox, a member of First Baptist for 35 years, described his near-fatal experience by explaining, “I was standing and singing the congregational hymn when I began to feel dizzy. Then it felt like someone was standing on my chest. I got my nitroglycerin tablets out and only remember taking one. The next thing I remember was going across the bridge to the hospital in Valdosta.”

Ten days after his medical emergency the 77-year-old was back for the church’s winter revival. His sense of humor had not been dampened by the experience.

“The worst thing about the whole incident is that I cannot remember one thing about the young lady who gave me mouth to mouth resuscitation,” Wilcox remarked.

Wilcox also told Carnes, “I had to have a medical emergency to get you out of a jam. I could tell you didn’t have your sermon ready and I didn’t want you to stand up there and not have anything to say.”

With tongue in cheek the pastor has indicated, “From now on I will let Mr. Wilcox know ahead of time that I am prepared to preach.”

Carnes added, “By the grace of God we met this need without a problem. The nurses administered CPR and brought him back. Thankfully, no one panicked. It seemed as if it were just a drill, because, in reality, it went that smoothly.

“However, I think we now realize the importance of having an organized and planned approach for when this kind of thing happens in the future.”

Immediate church plans are to purchase a defibrillator and organize an emergency response team. The team will be comprised of medically trained professionals as well as others who are equipped to administer CPR. Plans also include having a designated person with a cell phone with the assigned responsibility of calling 911 in the event of an emergency.

“I didn’t preach that Sunday, but God’s presence could be felt in church that day,” said Carnes. “Our fellowship was drawn together through this experience. The outpouring of care, concern, and prayer touched many people. I believe this test of fire refined our congregation and now we are a stronger fellowship.”

 

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