Rather than a sad farewell to a beloved pastor and his family last Sunday morning, voices were raised in praise and celebration at Real Life Church to honor the service of Bishop Wes Hardin and his family.

Hardin and wife Sheila have been married for 19 years and have three daughters, Paige, Alex, and Rachel.

Hardin has served as pastor of the church for 13 years and recently announced his intention to leave his position. He clarified his plans to the congregation Sunday morning stating that he is not stepping down as pastor but is stepping into a national and international ministry.

In addition to a love offering collected at the Nov. 25 service, Hardin was presented with the keys to his dream car, a restored 1969 Z-28 Camaro, by members of the congregation.

When Hardin started with the church, it was located on Shurling Drive and was known as Shurlington Church of God. The church moved to Jones County and built a new complex with the name of World Vision before it moved to its current location, which almost sits on the Bibb-Jones county line.

The Bishop told the congregation that its new pastor will be Bo Turner. Hardin said he will remain a member of the church and will assume the role of Turner’s senior advisor.

“I’ve known him for 15 years. We want to show the community how a church makes a transition in a biblical way,” he said.

Hardin said he has been a pastor for 15 years. He is originally from Bainbridge and became a Christian at age 24.

“God has been with me since that day, but I’ve not always been with him.”

Hardin said a few months ago the Lord spoke to him about a new ministry, and at that time he started preparing the church for its upcoming transition.

During his last sermon as the church’s pastor, Hardin recalled his beginning with the church, which had few people. Real Life has approximately 1,200 who attend its two morning services each Sunday.

“When we started, no churches in this area were diverse. We tore down those racial and denominational walls,” the pastor said. “There were no women in leadership roles of the church. We tore down those walls too and established the first female elders here and maybe anywhere.”

Hardin said many churches never let anyone receive forgiveness for divorce, drugs, or other mistakes.

“We’ve torn those walls down. We believe if God forgives you, you are forgiven and you go on from that place.”