Trusting Christ as his Saviour, he was saved at the age of five in 1969. On July 25, 1979, at the age of 15, he surrendered his life to the ministry. After working his way through Christian school and graduating from Bible College, he returned to Glen Iris Baptist Church in Birmingham, Alabama where he interned and trained with Dr. Jack LeGrand.
After serving on staff at two churches and pastoring in Birmingham, Alabama, he came to Jacksonville at the invitation of Dr. W. A. McMillian and joined our pastoral staff in 1992. He would later become Pastor in 2000. He continued his education over the years and received his PhD in Biblical Studies in 2007.
He is passionate about worldwide missions and serves on the Board of Trustees at Baptist International Missions, Inc. He also faithfully serves on the advisory board of Bible Education and Missionary Services (B.E.A.M.S.) where he is actively involved in works both here at home and in various countries.
Pastor Kelley and his wife, Joy, met in Birmingham, Alabama. They have been married since 1984 and God has blessed them greatly. They have two children, Tiffany and R.J. Tiffany graduated from a Christian college and taught at a local Christian school. She and her husband Bryce, a U.S. Navy pilot, were married in 2015 and now have two daughters, Audrey and Claire. R.J. also graduated from a Christian college while serving at the church part time. In 2016, R.J. and his wife, Erin, were married. In 2019, R.J. began pursuing a career in finance.
