CAMDEN COUNTY, Ga. – Two days after a shooting in Camden County left a pastor dead and his grandson in the hospital, community and church leaders spoke with News4JAX about the kind of man he was and how they want others to remember him.
Joe Clark, also known as “Pastor Joe,” was shot and killed on Sunday afternoon in a gated community, Deerwood Village, near Harrietts Bluff Road. No arrests have been made in connection with the shooting.
Clark served as a pastor at First Baptist Church of Harrietts Bluff in Woodbine, where he was known as a “faithful man of God.”
“I want people to remember him for all the good he did without asking for anything. In return, he would give his heart, give himself,” George Gross, deacon at First Baptist Church of Harrietts Bluff, said. “He would be there for people, and the world’s a lot darker without him.”
Marcos Bosque, senior pastor at the church, said Clark’s mother works in the children’s ministry.
“He seemed to be just an upstanding guy every time I met with him and talked to him. He’s really good character. He’s a family man. He loves the Lord. And so hearing this whole thing just breaks my heart,” Bosque said.
Bosque said he never thought something like this would ever happen to Clark.
“I would never imagine that Joe would be in a confrontation that would create a problem like this. This was not a he’s not a confrontational person. You know, as I look at it, I don’t think that he would have done anything to create a situation. I don’t think he could harm a flea. He really wasn’t that guy,” Bosque said.
Dan Woldren, a deacon at the church and Clark’s Sunday school teacher, said Clark quit his job as a truck driver to dedicate more time to his family and the church.
And he was already making a huge impact on the young men in the community.
“He had a big effect on them, which you know, he helped them come to know the Lord. And when you have somebody that big effect in your life, and then all of a sudden they’re gone. That’s going to affect you greatly,” Woldren said.
On Monday, Camden County deputies said the investigation was still active and investigators were reviewing multiple security camera videos from the area.
“This footage will play a key role in helping us understand the events that occurred,” the sheriff’s office wrote in a press release.
Bosque said he has been in contact with the sheriff’s office and is hopeful the community will get answers.
“I spoke to Sheriff Cheney, and he told me, be assured that we’re going to do everything we can to investigate the situation, and I’m confident that he’s going to do a good job. I’m not worried about it. He’s a man of his word. He’s a man of integrity,” Bosque said.
Gross said he wants people to remember Clark for being a light in the community.
“You have people when the road gets tough and suddenly they disappear, and you have people that when the road gets rough, stand by you, pick you up, support you, help you. Do whatever they can to help you. That is the type of human being Pastor Joe was,” Gross said.
Funeral services for Clark will be held at 1 p.m. on Saturday and it will be open to the community.
