Redeeming hope

“Can I pray for you?” Pastor Garvin “Ricco” Floyd asked Jimmy Leach, who lives in a motel about 20 minutes north of Winchester, after he received his free pizza and soft drink.

Jimmy asked Ricco, the Pastor at Redeeming Grace Church of God, and the Kingdom Misson Outreach team to pray for his living situation and his children. As they prayed, tears filled Jimmy’s eyes. Then they filled Ricco’s.

As Ricco wiped his tears, Jimmy turned to him. “I love you,” Jimmy said, embracing each person in the team. “I don’t want to leave.”

Thirty years ago, Ricco’s life looked completely different. Since taking over Redeeming Grace Church of God six years ago, he has used his past experiences to work to better his community.

When Ricco was 24, living on the streets, making his money selling drugs, he found out his girlfriend was pregnant. Nine months later, Garvin Ricco Floyd Jr., called J.R., was born. Four days later, he passed away in Ricco’s arms due to an oxygen deficiency.

“When my son passed away, I was . . . I was just lost.” Ricco said. “And then God sent me an angel.”

The same year, Ricco met Marria, now his wife of 32 years. When he asked her on a date, the only place she would go to with him was church.

Today, most of his days start at 5 a.m. when he helps Marria wake his two grandchildren up for elementary and middle school. Most days, he is either at the church or praying over the sick at the hospital, returning home at 3 p.m. to get his kids off of the bus.

Everywhere Ricco goes, he is approached for a prayer or advice or to reminisce.

While he greets everyone with a smile or a laugh, his life doesn’t come without challenges. He is constantly problem-solving, bridging social gaps as a Black pastor in a predominately white community, talking through issues at school with his children in the backyard and finding the time to do what he loves most, giving back to the homeless.

“When my son died, I think it was the end of myself. I didn’t like where I was born or what I was becoming,” Ricco said. “If it wasn’t for J.R. dying, and that happening in my life, I would have never looked at my life.”