DECATUR, Ga. (BP)—The passion of pastor and church planter Emory Berry Jr. to serve the educational community has its roots in his second grade public school teacher decades ago.
Berry, who has a doctorate in theology, had started Lillie Courtney’s second-grade class at Palmetto Elementary School in Pinecrest, Fla., as the lowest-ranked student in reading comprehension.
“This teacher could have easily labeled me and put me in special classes, remedial classes, but she made a personal investment,” said Berry, founding pastor of Courtney’s The Favor Church. “I guess she saw there was potential, but I didn’t have the skills. And she worked with me and worked with me.
“When I finished second grade, I was still in a reading group by myself, but now I was in the highest reading group. So, I experienced incredible gains in my literacy because this teacher invested in me,” she said. “I know the power of educators. She helped give me a hunger or a taste for success.”
Berry counts nearly 20 active and retired educators and school administrators among the approximately 100 worshipers who attend The Favor Church, which Berry planted at Easter. They include his wife Julie Ann Berry, who is assistant director. The church sees the three local public schools in its community as a mission field.
“We’re really loaded with people who have worked in the education system,” he said. “They have a great passion for education.”
Kitchen organized for educators
Emory Berry, founding pastor of The Favor Church in Decatur, Ga., buys church cooking supplies for the staff at Mary McLeod Bethune Middle School. (Photo submitted)
On Aug. 5 at Mary McLeod Bethune High School, Berry and a group of church volunteers hosted a cookout for the school’s 100 teachers and staff members, cooking and serving food, encouraging educators and sharing literature about the church. The outreach spurred motivational conversations, Berry said.
“I wish more churches would do this,” Berry quoted Bethune teachers as saying. “Some said, ‘I want to bring this to my church.’ Everything from that to, ‘You know, I’ve been looking for a church house.’ A couple of people opened up about some personal things, already you know, ‘If you don’t mind, could you pray for me?'”
On July 16, The Favor Church hosted a back-to-school cookout and celebration for area elementary through middle school students, with hot food, snacks, bounce houses, a DJ, games and giveaways including about 200 backpacks of school supplies. Donations from church members and supporters in six states and Washington, D.C., funded the outreach, Berry said.
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During the 2022-2023 school year, the church will host free weekly tutoring classes at the church in various subjects, using retired educators and professionals from applicable careers. Church members will volunteer as literacy coaches or book buddies at the local elementary school to improve literacy and provide outreach to teach parents how to better equip their children for educational success.
Berry is also teaching the church’s youth to see school as a mission field where students can build relationships, share Christ, invite classmates to church, and model Christian behavior that resolves conflict and discourages harassment
“School is a mission field where they can interact with their peers and learn to relate to each other in ways that may not be consistent with how the world teaches,” Berry said. “It’s a great way to share Christ with your friends, so it’s an evangelistic opportunity.”
After launching this past Easter and meeting at no cost on the Greater Fellowship Missionary Baptist Church campus, the church can use more resources for outreach.
Invest in children’s future
Churches have opportunities to invest in children’s futures and help them succeed, thereby giving them platforms to share the gospel, Berry said.
“We want the community to know that we are invested in their future, especially the children,” Berry said. “We’re invested in their families. Second, we want to be, obviously, the hands and feet of Christ. We’ve been blessed and we want to be a blessing.
“That is where our name (rests). The Church of Favor, where we are experiencing God’s favor and sharing God’s favor.”
Because students excel, “their trajectory can be more positive, where they can go on to do something meaningful because they were academically prepared.”
Berry often tells the story of her second grade teacher Courtney, who still lives in South Florida. During her childhood, she was her Bible studies teacher at Second Baptist Church in Richmond Heights in Miami, Florida.
“Mrs. Courtney was not only my second grade teacher in public school, but I saw her on Wednesdays at Bible study.
As motivation for learning the names of the books of the Bible, memorizing scriptures, and telling Bible stories and parables, Courtney offered what Berry calls “60 Big Cookies,” because they came to 60 per package.
“For us kids, you would have thought they were double-stuffed Oreos,” she said. “We wanted to master these books so we could get some of these cookies.”
Berry describes his mother Julie Lynette Berry as an “advocate for education” who “has been a positive force” in his educational philosophy, but also credits Courtney as part of the foundation that helped him succeed.
It is among the prestigious Dr. Martin Luther King International Board of Preachers at Morehouse College, is pursuing his second doctorate and has just published his latest book, Facts About Favor: Principles That Will Change Your Life.
“All of this is possible because I had a second grade teacher who didn’t allow me to be left out, but invested in me,” she said. “And thanks to God, I have been able to touch thousands of lives. But if she hadn’t made that investment, I don’t know, my life probably would have taken a different trajectory.”
