Bishop Jay C. Kelly

Weldon, North Carolina
Bishop Jay C Kelly, 97, beloved husband, father, pastor, evangelist and a pillar of the Church of Christ Holiness Unto The Lord, transitioned from earthly labor to heavenly reward on Tuesday morning, January 14, 2025, at 1:14 a.m. in Weldon, North Carolina. Bishop Kelly was born in McIntosh (now known as Midway) Georgia on March 30, 1927 to the late Bishop James and Mother Pearl Kelly. He was the third eldest of 11 children.
Bishop Jay C. Kelly received his early elementary education up to the 5th grade in Holmestown, Georgia. Once he moved to New York, he attended New York City night school where studied Spanish and Tailoring, which afforded him the opportunity to make his own suits. When traveling to North Carolina, he attended Halifax Community College in Weldon, North Carolina where he received his GED during his senior years. He also studied at the International Seminary in Orlando, Florida and received his Bachelor's degree. Because of his extensive biblical knowledge, he was offered an Honorary Doctorate degree and an opportunity to start a Bible college. He refused this honor due to his belief in earning his degree.
As a young boy, he was employed at Hardwick Construction Company, located in Fort Stewart, Georgia. At the tender age of 14, he gave his life to Christ in a revival conducted by the late Mother Elizabeth Smith of Brooklyn, New York. At the age of 18, he joined the United States Navy. After he moved to New York, he was employed at a cinder block factory as a machine operator where he remained for 18 years. However, in 1964, Elder Kelly and his nephew, Ivory Kelly, opened their own dry-cleaning business. By the grace of God, the business blossomed; his brother, Jimmie, joined them over the course of a 10-year period. They were operating in three different locations across Brooklyn, New York.
While he was stationed at Camp Earle in Monmouth County, New Jersey, he could always be found in a Pentecostal church. As such, he would always visit New York City, and it was there that he met and fell in love with his sweetheart, Mille Ann Eason. They later married on August 10, 1947 in Brooklyn, New York. The Lord blessed them with four beautiful children, Diann, Marleen, Edith, and Darrell. He and his family attended the Church of Christ at 38 Osborne St. where he served as a Deacon for nine years. In 1954, Deacon Jay C. was called to the ministry and later ordained to the office of "Elder," in the Lord's Church, during the Church of Christ Holiness Unto the Lord, General Assembly in October 1956 in Savannah, Georgia.
In 1958, Elder Jay C. Kelly launched his first mission on 116th Street in Harlem, New York. The Lord blessed this congregation. As they grew, they later moved to 2040 Madison Avenue and today (known as the Redeemer Church of Christ) located at 1841 Bathgate Avenue in the Bronx, New York. This was just the beginning as Elder Jay C. Kelly went on to build churches throughout the Kingdom of God.
In the early 1960's, Elder Jay C. Kelly became afflicted with tuberculosis and was later hospitalized. But, through the ministry of Apostle Arturo Skinner, God miraculously healed him. The doctors were astonished and the ultimate report was that God had given him a "brand new spine." It was at that time, that he acquiesced, submitted to the call of God and availed himself as a vessel, to be used of the Holy Ghost, to bring healing and deliverance to the lives of men and women throughout the Kingdom of God.
As time progressed, Elder Jay C., at the call of God, entered full time ministry. Herein, he gave himself continually to prayer, fasting, and the deep study of God's Word. He was known across the Church of Christ as a dynamic preacher, revivalist and evangelist, anointed with the gift of healing. Throughout his ministry, God used him mightily and the "anointing" filled the house when he prayed for the saints in the "Prayer Line." From the time he entered "full time ministry," he dedicated his life, traveled the East Coast of the United States and conducted healing crusades and revivals (many of which were held outdoors, under tents) as long as his health and strength permitted.
At the peak of his ministry, he went about breaking ground and establishing churches. He began traveling to North Carolina when a lady named Ruth Scott came to visit her parents in New York. Her parents were members of the church in Harlem, where Elder Jay C. pastored. Once while visiting the church, God healed Sis. Ruth of a paralyzed arm. As a result, he began to visit North Carolina more frequently. After being locked out of one particular church, the saints gave him the permission to conduct services in their homes.
In 1961, one of saints, in the person of Sis. Yarborough, availed her home and Elder Jay C. in his usual form, conducted a "prayer line" on her front porch. The people of God were piled up in the streets, slain by the power of God. Shortly thereafter, he and the saints of God, began holding services in a storefront church on Wilkins Street in Roanoke Rapids, North Carolina. Meanwhile, the Lord continued to bless Elder Jay C., and the saints were able to purchase a cornfield; the Lighthouse of Deliverance Church of Christ No.1, Roanoke Rapids North Carolina, where Elder James T. Easter serves as the pastor, sits on this property today.
As time progressed, Elder Jay C. set his heart to establishing a ministry in New Jersey. After the assassination of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., on April 4,1968, many homes, businesses and churches, including the mission launched by Elder Jay C., were destroyed in the riots. Several years later, Elder Jay C. led of the Lord, launched another mission on Farmer's Blvd., in Springfield Gardens, New York. This church went on to become "The Lighthouse of Deliverance" Springfield Gardens, New York.
Following the soul of Bro. John Moyd, Sis. Ruthie Moyd gave a portion of her personal property on which the St. Mark's Church Pineville, South Carolina was built and established. Later, he answered the call to begin a church in Magnolia, North Carolina following the soul of Sis. Mary Farrior Gibbs. Elder Jay C., Elder Gibbs and Deacon James Carr banded together and set a course to purchase a property in Wallace, North Carolina. This church is now known as the Lighthouse of Deliverance Church of Christ, Wallace, North Carolina.
Upon returning to New Jersey, Bro. Spencer and Sis. Deadra Hubbard asked him to come to south New Jersey. He was given permission to use a church in the area. They were blessed to purchase the property and established yet another Lighthouse of Deliverance, today, located at 2739 West Bangs Ave. in Neptune, New Jersey.
Elder Jay C. Kelly's labor in the body of Christ is not limited to the planting of churches but he also spent decades in revivals and crusades, preaching under the anointing of the Holy Ghost, and birthing men and women into the Kingdom of God. Many throughout the history of the Church of Christ considered him as their Father in the Gospel. He was known as "God's Man of Faith and Power" and for how the power of God fell when he descended the pulpit, conducted a prayer line, and laid hands on the saints. In later years, he was elevated to the Office of "Bishop" in the Lord's Church, with an Honorary Distinction.
After the demise of his first wife, Sis. Millie Ann Eason Kelly in May of 2004, after 57 years of marriage, Bishop Jay C. Kelly married the lovely Lorraine Roberts in November of 2004. Together they labored in the Kingdom of God and continued to travel throughout the Church of Christ conducting healing and deliverance crusades. They ultimately relocated back to Bishop Kelly's hometown in Midway, Georgia, where he later went on to become the pastor of Kelly's Temple Worship Center in Savannah, Georgia.
Several years later, Bishop Jay C. retired from pastoring Kelly's Temple in Savannah, Georgia and moved to Roanoke Rapids, North Carolina. In 2019, Bishop Kelly retired from pastoring Lighthouse of Deliverance in Roanoke Rapids, North Carolina and turned the reins over to his spiritual son, Elder James T. Easter.
We will never forget him, his love for preaching, and the example he set in terms of what it means to exemplify "sacrificial servanthood." His favorite songs, "I Saw the Light", "How Great Thou Art" and "Somewhere To Lay My Head", will linger in our hearts for ages to come with visions of him preaching atop pews, "laying hands" on the saints, and declaring them "healed by the power of God."
Bishop Jay C. Kelly was preceded in death by both of his parents, Bishop James and Mother Pearl Kelly; his eldest daughter, Diann Williams; all of his siblings: Gertie, James, Jr. Ernest, Nathaniel, Naomi, Mary, Robia Lee, Samuel, Katie and Jimmie Lee; nephew: Ivory (raised as a brother); and niece: Elizabeth (raised as a sister).
Today, he leaves to cherish his memory, his wife of 20 years: Lady Lorraine Kelly; three children: Marleen Hall and Edith (A.S.) Lewis, both of Jamaica Queens, NY, and Darrell Kelly of Brooklyn, NY; five grandchildren: Katina Skinner, Shirah Hall, Angel Lewis, Malik Kelly and Tarik Alfred; five great-grandchildren: Brianna Brewer, Kyle Hall, Makenna Hall, Desiree Hall, Brielle Sansouci; foster child: Vadim Ally; nine stepchildren: Joyce (Cefus), Dean, Anthony (Shakina), Danny (Geraldine), Annette, Sandra (Kevan), Jennifer (James), Christer (Roger), and LaTonya (Reginald); two nieces (raised as sisters): Jackie (Joe) and Wilhelmenia (Nathaniel); seven sisters-in-law: Mollie, Ernestine, Iona, Loretta, Mary F., Ella and Lula; one brother-in-law: Overseer Rufus Houston; two God-brothers: Cain Richardson and Samuel Brown; two God-sisters: Juanita Johnson and Curley Walthour; two God-daughters: Almeta Flowers and Valerie Williams; a special family that he adored and one that he loved down through the decades, the Hawkins Family: Lettie, Wanda, Nesi and Keith; and a host of nieces, nephews, cousins, church family and friends.
A visitation for Bishop Jay C. Kelly, will be held on Saturday, January 25, 2025, beginning at 10:00 AM at the Emmanuel Worship Center at 1101 Stiles Avenue, Savannah, GA 31415. Immediately following the visitation, service will start at 11:00 AM. The Interment and Repast will be at 1140 Holmestown Road, Midway, GA 31320.
These professional services have been entrusted to H D Pope Funeral Home, 520 Smith Church Road, Roanoke Rapids, North Carolina 27870.
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