October 17, 2024
TUCKER, Ga. — Two months ago, Randy Kennedy was diagnosed with stage 4 mesothelioma and died surrounded by his family when he passed away on July 13, 2024.
Kennedy was an affable, winsome, and motivated person. He served in ministry for more than 50 years. He was the senior pastor in churches in Commerce, Dalton, Macon, and Perry. Earlier this year he concluded his ministry as interim pastor of Bethany Baptist Church in Snellville. Lisa, Randy’s wife, who sings beautifully, was an integral part of his ministry.
His passion for equipping pastors also took him to India, Honduras, Jamaica, and South Africa.
He once told The Christian Index, “I began preparing for the ministry at Columbia Bible College and cut my teeth on the preaching of Leonard Ravenhill, Stephen Olford, Manly Beasley, Vance Havner, and others.”
In 1993, Kennedy became the chaplain of the Atlanta Hawks and much of his life for the past 30 years has been involved in reaching athletes for Christ. He also served as the chaplain for the Georgia Force of the Arena Football League. For a number of years, he served as chaplain and player for the Sunbelt Senior Professional Golf Tour.
Kennedy once wrote a monthly article for the Hawaii Golf News and Travel entitled “Golf and God.” He was willing to go the second mile to win athletes to Christ, because he knew they had a large platform for sharing their faith. He explained, “Seeing athletes have a desire for Christ is very uplifting for me.”
Recently, he served as a chaplain for the Gwinnett County Police Department. He loved working with the officers and assisting families in need. Randy was ready to walk through any door of opportunity that would give him the chance to represent Christ.
He once remarked, “Watching God work outside the normal church setting and seeing God touch people where they are is amazing. I suppose I have what some would call a marketplace ministry. It is entirely different from ministry in the church. You can’t take your worship and church programming from an established church and try to impose it upon people in the marketplace.”
He once explained, “Years ago, Dr. O. M. Cates, Director of Evangelism for the Georgia Baptist Convention, spoke at a Pastors’ Conference and after a stirring message challenging his hearers to action, stated, 'Now is the time! We are the people! And this is the place!'"
Now God has provided Randy Kennedy with a new place – a place where he can spend all eternity praising God and interacting with his parents, Carl and Doris Kennedy, and a host of saints he has led to Christ.
His daughter, Vanessa, commented after his death, “My sweet daddy received his healed body at 4:56 this morning. I can only imagine how he entered heaven. I am sure he danced his way in and started worshiping as soon as he heard the music. When he met Jesus, I am sure he wept as he held onto him with all his strength. What a day he has already had!"
She continued, "Heaven cannot change the fact that I am still a daddy’s girl. I love him more than life and he has my whole heart. I am thankful for the time I was able to take care of him and hold him in my arms as he took his last breath."
He is survived by his wife, Lisa, his daughters Vanessa (Kevin) Basso, and Priscilla (Don) Raffield, grandsons Benjamin Johnson, Lawson Kent, Ryan (Arleigh) and Kayden Raffield, and great grandson, Wesley Raffield, Brother Marty (Cheryl) Kennedy, sister Carolyn Robinson and nieces and nephews.
The memorial service will be held Thursday, July 18, 2024, at 2:00 PM at Floral Hills Funeral Home and Cremation, Tucker, Georgia.
