[Congressional Record Volume 165, Number 75 (Tuesday, May 7, 2019)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E545-E546]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




              IN HONOR OF REVEREND DOCTOR C. MEDLEY HAYES

                                 ______
                                 

                      HON. SANFORD D. BISHOP, JR.

                               of georgia

                    in the house of representatives

                          Tuesday, May 7, 2019

  Mr. BISHOP of Georgia. Madam Speaker, I rise today to honor an 
outstanding Man of God, a dedicated public servant, and dear friend of 
longstanding, Rev. Dr. C. Medley Hayes, who celebrated his 30th 
anniversary as the distinguished pastor of Greater Beulah Missionary 
Baptist Church in Columbus, Georgia on Sunday, May 5, 2019 at 3 p.m.
  Rev. Dr. Chester Medley Hayes was born in Miami, Florida and grew up 
in Alabama graduating from Warren Smith High School in New Brocton, 
Alabama. He earned his Bachelor of Ministry degree in 1984, his Master 
of Ministry degree in 1987, and his Doctorate of Ministry degree in 
1989. He was trained in Ground Surveillance and Ground Control Approach 
Radar through the U.S. Army and has 21 years experience in 
telecommunications. He founded and managed Companion Medical Equipment 
Company in 1994 and has been involved in Network Marketing with some of 
the strongest companies in the industry since he was 22 years of age.
  At the age of twenty-six, Rev. Hayes accepted his call to preach the 
Gospel of Christ beginning his pastoral ministry at Big Creek Baptist 
Church in Clio, Alabama, a rather small church that consisted of about 
seventy members. From there, he pastored Morning Star Baptist Church in 
Troy, Alabama, Saint Paul Baptist Church in Pinckard, Alabama,

[[Page E546]]

and Morning Star Baptist Church in Enterprise, Alabama. In 1989, Rev. 
Hayes was called to be the pastor and spiritual leader of Greater 
Beulah Missionary Baptist Church in Columbus, Georgia and he and his 
family moved to the Fountain City.
  For the past 30 years, he has served as a guiding light and beacon of 
hope for the congregation of Greater Beulah Missionary Baptist Church 
and the Columbus community. Rev. Hayes believes that you enter the 
church to worship, but you leave to serve. Therefore, his ministry has 
been to take the church and the teachings of Christ beyond the church 
building into the community and throughout the world.
  Outside of the church, Rev. Hayes has also proved himself a true 
servant of the communities in which he has lived. At the age of 26, he 
became the Chairman of the Coffee County, Alabama branch of the Alabama 
Democratic Conference, a post that he held for eight years. Years 
later, he was appointed by then Georgia Governor Zell Miller and later 
Governor Roy Barnes to serve on Georgia's Martin Luther King, Jr. 
Holiday Commission. Having seen issues arise with human trafficking, he 
was moved to open two group homes for girls. Because of his love for 
young people, he opened a counseling center called ``Mentoring Youth.'' 
As a result of his tremendous advocacy and support for the Columbus 
community, on August 8, 2017, the Council of the Columbus Consolidated 
Government named the intersection of 6th Street and 6th Avenue as ``C. 
Medley Hayes Way.''
  Always seeking to improve his craft in discipleship and Christian 
ministry, he has been a longtime member of the National Baptist 
Convention, USA; General Missionary Baptist Convention of Georgia 
(G.M.B.C.); Fourth District of G.M.B.C.; Mount Calvary Missionary 
Baptist Association; along with many other faith-based organizations.
  The great agricultural chemist, Dr. George Washington Carver once 
said that, ``How far you go in life depends on your being tender with 
young, compassionate with the aged, sympathetic with the striving and 
tolerant of the weak and strong. Because someday in your life you will 
have been all of these.'' Reverend Hayes has gone far in his ministry 
and in life because of his love for all people in the same vein as his 
Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ.
  On a personal note, Rev. Hayes has been a great friend and supporter 
over the many years I have known him. I value his wise counsel and sage 
advice. He never told me only what I wanted to hear, but always told me 
what I needed to hear. And for that, I am grateful.
  Reverend Hayes has achieved much in his life, but none of it would be 
possible but for the Grace of God and the love and the support of his 
wife, Stephanie, and their children, Leon, Lester, Tonya, Alyssa, 
Tiffany, and Sophia. Rev. Hayes is man of great accomplishment, an 
outstanding mentor, and a strong leader, but above all, he is a 
faithful servant of God.
  Madam Speaker, I ask my colleagues to join my wife, Vivian, and me, 
along with the congregation of Greater Beulah Missionary Baptist Church 
and the 730,000 residents of Georgia's Second Congressional District, 
in congratulating Rev. Dr. C. Medley Hayes on the joyous occasion of 
his 30th pastoral anniversary.

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