TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (WCTV) - Maranatha Baptist Church sits among the fields of Plains, Georgia.

Its sanctuary fits a few hundred people

And for close to 40 years, the pews were packed most Sundays, but it wasn’t just church members.

Instead, thousands of people would come from all over, including Tallahassee, to hear a former U.S. president teach Sunday school.

Former Raa Middle School teacher, Terry Collins, said he first hear about President Jimmy Carter’s Sunday school lessons while teaching 8th grade history in 2010.

“I wanted to go. Then, I thought, ‘well, why don’t I just take some kids with me, and it grew from there,” Collins said.

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The trip wasn’t mandatory. Instead, for nine years, Mr. Collins invited students and their parents to caravan with him.

The group traveled the two-and-a-half hours from Tallahassee to President Carter’s hometown of Plains.

“We had to leave so early because people line up to get into the church. And at a certain point, they would turn people away. So, people would show up at five or six in the morning and wait in line to get in this church,” Kristie Teal said.

Kristie Teal and her daughter went with Mr. Collins group in 2019, the last year President Carter taught Sunday school.

“I remember Miss Pam, at the church, told me, she said, she warned me a little bit and said, ‘when you see President Carter, he’s going to be a lot more frail than when you saw him six months ago,” Collins said.

But Mr. Collins said age and health didn’t stop President Carter that day.

“We actually sat in the choir loft behind the president, and he referred to us. Someone was talking to different people out in the audience, ‘where you from?’ and someone said something about ‘well there’s a whole group behind you,’ and he said, ‘oh I know them, they’re all from Tallahassee,” Collins said.

Also, in attendance that day was Mrs. Carter who Kristie said provided one of her favorite moments.

“He was talking about Habitat for Humanity and giving some statistics about how many houses they had built. Of course, the church was quiet. We were all listening to him and then we hear this voice, and it was behind me, and it said, ‘well Jimmy.’ Jimmy! I’m thinking in my head, who is calling President Carter “Jimmy.” Like oh my goodness! Well, it was Rosalyn. And she had called out from the congregation to correct him on something he said. And I just remember that being the sweetest moment,” Teal said.

After church, those in attendance were able to get their picture taken with the Carters.

But on their last visit they had a special surprise. The church allowed Mr. Collins, his students and their parents to wait out front to greet the Carters as they walked in.

“The kids were just in awe that they got to see three of these big black Tahoe’s pull up and the president gets out,” Collins said.

You can imagine the initial draw to Maranatha was probably to see a former president in person.

“They’ll always remember they met the president,” Collins said.

And while that did get people in the pews, Teal said while talking about his faith and life, all of that seemed to melt away. And eventually, you really were just listening to a man, everyone there, called “Jimmy.”

“He was just so approachable, and we keep using the word “real,” but that’s what he was. Just a real, super kind, relatable guy,” Teal said.

Mr. Collins said seeing President Carter in his element was an incredible experience that he’s glad to have shared with his students and their parents.

“I’m not sure with the changing times, other presidents will ever be able to do that,” Collins said.

President Carter taught Sunday school more than 800 times, bringing in thousands of visitors over the years.

People who knew him said seeing him at church definitely showed the two sides of his life.

They said yes, he was the president, so there was a secret service at the church, and you did have to go through security. But once inside, it really was just a man, from Plains, sharing his faith and life journey with others.

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