The Rev. Wiley Perkins celebrates 80th birthday, 40 years at Samantha Freewill Baptist

By Brandy Chandler

With nearly his entire 80 years spend being dedicated to God, the church, and his family, a Highland County pastor is celebrating a life spent doing the work of The Lord and glorifying His name. 

As he celebrated his 80th birthday on March 10, the Rev. Wiley Perkins also celebrated that more than half his life he has been doing the Lord's work as a pastor, with 40 years spent at the Samantha Freewill Baptist Church.

"I believe The Lord led me here," Perkins told The Highland County Press. "God had called me to be a pastor, and I had not been satisfied being an evangelist. I had been praying for a church, and I know God really wanted me to come here." 

He had been preaching at a church in Springfield in Clark County in the early 1970s when he did a few revivals at the Samantha Freewill Baptist Church, located near the intersection of U.S. 62 and state Route 72 in Samantha. 

"I felt called to preach as a kid," Perkins said. "Then I felt He called me to pastor later in life. If God calls you, he'll be with you. That's the only reason I would have done it. Pastoring is not the easiest thing in the world, but you have to go the way The Lord leads you." 

In December 1971, the Samantha Freewill Baptist Church was changing pastors and considering Perkins for the post. 

"It was a hard situation, and I was driving down from Springfield, and I remember praying and weeping and crying, and I pulled over to the side of the road," Perkins said. "I opened my Bible and The Lord laid this on my heart: 2 Chronicles, 15:7, 'Be ye strong therefore, and let not your hands be weak: for your work shall be rewarded.'

Reading the passage from his well-worn, well-read Bible, Perkins gets emotional. 

"I tell you this to glorify The Lord," Perkins said.

So Perkins became the pastor, and within three months, they had broken attendance records at the church. 

Every weekend for 10 years, Perkins, his wife Beverly, and their two sons, Jeffrey and Jon, traveled from Springfield to Highland County. For Jon, he said it was the only way of life he'd ever known. 

Perkins was born in Paintsville, Ky, and moved to Ohio when he was 18-years-old. After working for 30 years with Cooper Industries in Springfield, Perkins retired in 1982, and the family moved to Highland County. 

"You keep doing it because you know you're pleasing God," Perkins said. "That's how you keep on keeping on. I love the Lord, and that's why I keep doing it. And I love the people." 

In January, it was 40 years that he was at the church, and Perkins said that he'll stay, "As long as The Lord leads me, or the people put up with me." 

The church held a carry-in dinner on March 11 to celebrate their pastor's birthday and his 40 years behind their pulpit. 

Perkins said that he when it comes to weddings, funerals and baby dedications, he has performed "hundreds of each," including one busy day when "we were trying to get the casket out the back door as a wedding was coming in the front." 

"I always say the only difference in weddings and funerals is that during your wedding, you can smell the roses," Perkins said with a laugh. 

His son, Jon, said that Perkins is famous for his anecdotes and sense of humor when it comes to performing weddings. 

"Some people say they want him to do their wedding just because of the sayings he has," Jon Perkins said, including his infamous quip of, "If anyone knows why these two should not be joined, speak now or keep your mouth shut." 

In counseling young couples prior to the wedding over the years, Perkins said that he always asks the same first question: "Do you love her? Could you not live without her?"

"Because if a marriage isn't based on love, I say it's like sleeping between two pieces of sandpaper: Every way you turn it hurts," Perkins said. "But if you love each other, you can make it even if you're living in a shack by the railroad tracks." 

When it comes to his own 42-year marriage to his wife, Beverly, Perkins said that he had prayed the Lord would send him a good woman.

"I had been praying for the right one. I had prayed for a wife who would love me the way I am," Perkins said. 

One Saturday night, while preaching at a church song festival in Springfield, he met Beverly. 

"After church, I went to Frisch's for a piece of pie, and she was there with her friend," Perkins said. "I really got to know her after that, and then I knew I'd marry her." 

Pulling out a family portrait from the 1970s, Perkins noted how much their appearance has changed, and said, "She's a beautiful girl in that picture. She's still a beautiful girl." 

Perkins said his advice for people, whether they're getting married, going to church or interacting with people in any way, is a simple statement from the Book of John.

"Love one another," Perkins said.