Pastor Jerry C. Lighting
Pastor Jerry C. Lighting attended West Fulton High School where he was outstanding in the 400-meter and cross-country track, soccer, running back in football, and ROTC. He received numerous awards for soccer (Outstanding Player-Coach), track (400-meter State Champion, City Championship, and Most Valuable Runner), and ROTC (Best Dressed Cadet). His outstanding abilities in sports earned him scholarships for colleges such as the University of Michigan, Auburn University, University of Tennessee, and Boston College. He is a 1979 graduate of West Fulton High School.
Pastor Lighting received his call into the ministry in 1980. He was ordained and licensed in 1982 by the late John Edward Jones of Greater Fair Hill Baptist Church. He began his study of Theology in 1982 at Carver Bible College.
He began as Youth Minister at the Greater Fair Hill Baptist Church in Atlanta, GA (1980-81) followed by five years of service at Wilkes Chapel Baptist Church. His passion for serving God and compassion for reaching peopled resonated deeply with him as he served as a counselor to underserved young men at Enman elementary school and community outreach work in the Perry Homes community in Atlanta. This earned him the Outstanding Young Men in America award for community service in 1983.
In 1988, Pastor Lighting began serving as Associate Pastor at Smith Chapel Baptist Church in Musella, Georgia with the late Pastor F.R. Strickland. In June of 1994, he was called to pastor Smith Chapel Baptist Church where he served faithfully. He submitted his resignation to Smith Chapel on February 17, 2000. On February 20, 2000, through divide intervention, Total Grace Baptist Church was organized by Pastor Lighting. He was elected and served one year as Vice President of the Georgia Baptist Missionary Convention at the November 2005s annual session.
Pastor Lighting’s enthusiasm, compassion, and leadership abilities have assisted him to build trusting relationships with not only Total Grace members but with other pastors and churches in the Middle Georgia area. Pastor Lighting is married to the lovely first lady Carrie Lighting and has one beautiful daughter, Jerrica.