MADISON TWP. — The Rev. Randy Wallace, his shirt draping off his withered body, stepped away from the podium, and slowly made his way to the front of the crowded sanctuary.

Once full of life and energy, Wallace, the man who carried the congregation to heavenly heights, was close to death — and no one knew it more than he.

It was Sunday, July 26, and Wallace delivered what turned out to be his final sermon.

The pastor of Poasttown First Church of God in Madison Twp., had battled a rare form of leukemia, and he took the opportunity to prepare his congregation for his death.

“It’ll be a payday for me,” he told his congregation. “Don’t weep over me. I have finished my race. That victory can be the best part of your life.”

Wallace, just days before his 51st birthday, died Monday, Aug. 10, at home surrounded by his family.

He was remembered by his family and church members for his tireless work in the church, his willingness to accept members, despite their baggage, and for owning Old School Construction.

Randy Wallace Jr., 27, said his father was a man of his word: “If he told you he’d be there, he was.”

When asked about the pressure of being a preacher’s kid, Wallace laughed: “It was a privilege being a preacher’s kid and having a dad like that.”

Rhonda Castle, a member of the church, said because Wallace was a recovering alcoholic and drug addict, he frequently weaved his mistakes through his messages.

“He never forgot where he came from,” she said. “He understood people.”

While Wallace became weak in his final days, spiritually he was stronger, Castle said.

“He had his ‘eye on the prize,’” she said. “He knew what was ahead and I’m sure he was sad to leave his family and his church, but he knew he was gong to be with the lord.”

Yvonne Brewer, another church member, said one of Wallace’s trademarks — mixing denominations — is coming true, even post death.

She said members of Berachah Baptist Church in Middletown have volunteered to purchase, prepare and serve the food in the Poasttown fellowship hall following Wallace’s burial on Friday, Aug. 14.

She called that gesture “one of the most fantastic things.”

She added: “I’m overwhelmed by the love that church is putting out.”

George Hollon, 74, chairman of the church board for the last seven years, said finding Wallace’s replacement will be difficult because he “reached out to everybody.”

Wallace served the Poasttown congregation for 16 years, following in the footsteps of his father Eugene Wallace, pastor from 1974-84.

Hollon called Wallace’s death “a tremendous loss for everybody.”

Sometimes the lightest person carries the most weight.

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