FLINT, Mich. (BP) – Derrick Watkins has always had an eye for building things up.
When he was much younger, Derrick’s mom thought she knew the best route for her son. It’s a plan most parents would push. But for Derrick, it wasn’t the right one.
“She would say, ‘You better go to college,’” said Watkins, pastor of Jachin Baptist Church. “But I knew college wasn’t for me. Eventually, I dropped out of school.”
Before you get the wrong idea, Watkins (who would get his GED later) was a smart kid who actually made pretty good grades. He was just eager to get into the world.
“I wanted to be an electrician because I had an uncle who worked as a handyman,” he said. “I liked to see things completed, to take on a task or project and finish it.”
It’s a desire he’d carried for a while. At 12 years old, he asked his mom if the basement could become his bedroom.
“She said, ‘Boy, I ain’t got no money for that,’” he shared with BP. “I said that if she bought the materials, I could build it. She agreed to that, so I went to the local supply store and asked questions. That’s how it started.”
Watkins, 54, sees a lot of starts, and finishes, these days through his ministry that trains boys and girls in skilled trades. It’s become a conduit for others to join in, due to both the value of the ministry and the trust people seemingly can’t help but have in Watkins.
It takes eight years and 12,000 hours to become a master electrician. Watkins conquered that, and in 2017 felt called to start a church. He was sent out by his home congregation – Central Baptist in Flint – to do so. At the same time, he launched Active Boys in Christ (ABC), which has since come to include girls, and framed it to teach the skilled trades within a mentoring community where Jesus is at the center.
“We run a four-week program in the summer that introduces youth to the skilled trades of electrical, plumbing, carpentry, STEM and the culinary arts,” he said. “We include a character skill of biblical principles like integrity, honesty, self-respect, compassion, self-control – things like that. It’s a complete program.”
To date, about 550 students have gone through the program. Those aged 7-17 participate, with 16-24-year-olds taking part in a work placement program. About 50 volunteers include junior tradesmen, licensed journeymen and chefs.
Watkins met one of the latter while working an electrical job. Conversation turned to the program, and the chef drove the hour or so from Detroit to check it out. He continues that commute as an instructor.
The program changes focus to keep things fresh. One year, participants constructed sheds that were then sold. For another, a STEM emphasis led students to build a construction course and assemble a robot. They then navigated the robot through the course.
Participants include his and his wife Christine’s children and grandchildren. Others have entered a trade, with one at his previous company. Those who have gone to college or entered another field thank him for the time spent learning valuable lessons.
Before launching his own company five years ago, Watkins had built a comfortable life as an electrician with a larger company. When he became a pastor and started ABC, that company wanted to be a part of it. His startup included a hefty financial blessing from his former workplace, which was far from the last group or individual to do so.
“The Lord showed me favor in people trusting me,” Watkins said. “We make those connections with different people and organizations. One of them donated $150,000 toward our mission, which helped us get our building.”
The ABC Youth Training Center is set to have its grand opening on June 18.
In addition to the skills training, Jachin members help tutor students throughout the school year. Seven times over the last five years, area homes that had fallen into disrepair were bought by ABC, renovated and sold at a low cost to a family committed to living in the community. Send Relief’s 2024 Serve Tour included Flint, with participants working alongside Jachin Baptist Church members and ABC volunteers.
“We try to be part of our community as a church,” Watkins said. “That’s why the houses we renovate are in our zip code, within about a half-mile of the church. We’ve improved the neighborhoods in our area. Property values have gone up significantly. It’s been a blessing to help the youth and do things like this.
“We’re a diverse church in a diverse area. The Lord has blossomed us like that. We’re not a huge congregation, but we have faithful members supportive of our vision.”
Michigan Baptists State Executive Ed Emmerling was on the Serve Tour and has seen the church’s impact up-close.
“I’m blown away by how God is using this congregation to impact an entire community,” he said. “I’ve toured two of the homes they are remodeling right now and seen five others that have already flipped and now have families in them. One of those families was sitting on their porch, and it was such a blessing to see them enjoying this home and finding out that they now attend Jachin.”
Watkins only takes a salary from his company, donating his time as a pastor and ABC director. It’s time well spent, because he sees the effects on someone becoming familiar with a circuit breaker, how to install a drain-waste vent, how to square and level properly, work with a CAD program or learn the difference in sautéing, braising and searing.
“You see a change in their behavior and the respect they give others,” he said. “It builds a lot of confidence in them, to start something and see a completed project.
“It inspires them to know that if they can do this, there are other things they can do.”
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