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Each Thursday morning at 7 a.m. sharp, a group of young men
gather in a Madison home for breakfast and fellowship. In a weekly
Bible study led by Sam Kelly, tenth, eleventh and twelfth grade
students spend a half hour or so together eating breakfast and
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sharing the Word. It’s a special time for Kelly, who says the
gatherings are the highlight of his week.
Kelly always enjoyed being involved with baseball and other activities
with his son, Sam Clayton. “We have two wonderful daughters, Maggie Kate
and Anna Claire, and we love them to pieces,” says Kelly. “But the Bible
studies are a way to keep me connected with young men.”
On October 30, 2011, the Kellys lost Sam Clayton when he died in a
tragic one-car accident on I-55. Sam Clayton and two of his close friends,
Walker Kelly and Mason Wilbanks, were headed back to Ole Miss to attend
church services with their Kappa Alpha pledge class when their car left the
road and all three were killed.
“The following spring I started a little Bible study with some of Anna
Claire’s friends,” says Kelly. Today the Bible study is attended by boys from
Madison Central, although Kelly says that boys from other schools are
welcomed. One of the moms coordinates with other moms to schedule
meeting places. “We travel from house to house,” explains Kelly. “I have all
the boys on a group text, and I text them on Wednesday evening and tell
them where to meet the next morning.”
The topics are often dictated by what’s happening that week. “Unfortunately,
many of these boys have been affected by the death of classmates due
to accidents, drug overdoses or even suicide. We talk about that, as well as
about things like drinking and girls. I try to tie a scriptural reference to what’s
happening in their lives that will plant seeds. That’s what I like to think is
happening, that we are planning seeds that they’ll remember down the road
when they are confronted with various situations.”
From time to time, Kelly will teach from a book, including Make Your Bed:
Little Things That Can Change Your Life…and Maybe the World by Admiral William
H. McRaven (retired). “We’ve walked through that book and a couple of
others. I also teach a life group at Broadmoor, and often, when studying to
prepare for that class, I’ll find things I want to share with the boys.”
An average of 15 boys attend the Bible study meetings each week. “I’m
real tickled by that number,” says Kelly. When the group first started there
were 25 to 30 attending, but by the end of the school year, it had dwindled
down to eight or ten. “It’s hard to get senior boys to get up that early by the
end of the school year,” laughs Kelly. “But this year, the number has been
consistent, and I don’t anticipate that changing too much.”
The group meets throughout the fall and spring semesters and takes the
summers off. Because of the popularity of the group, Kelly’s wife, Kim, began
a Bible study for girls three years ago that meets on Wednesday mornings at
7 a.m. “It’s been something that means a lot to her as well,” Kelly says.
For more information on the Bible study, Kelly invites high school boys to contact him
via email at skelly@brunini.com.
Hometown MADISON • 31