WATCH: Pastor Jarvis Wash of R.E.A.L. Church Discusses Protest Set for Rockledge Saturday
By Space Coast Daily // June 6, 2020
SPACE COAST DAILY TV
SPACE COAST DAILY TV: Pastor Jarvis Wash stopped by the Space Coast Daily-Friday Night Locker Room Mike Erdman Cadillac Studios in Merritt Island to talk about today’s current events nationwide and how they impact Brevard County.
BREVARD COUNTY, FLORIDA – Pastor Jarvis Wash stopped by the Space Coast Daily-Friday Night Locker Room Mike Erdman Cadillac Studios in Merritt Island to talk about today’s current events nationwide and how they impact Brevard County.
Pastor Jarvis Wash speaks about the protest planned for Rockledge on Saturday and gives his take on what is going on in the nation.
In his journey, Wash has met much personal tragedy. During the time Wash worked as a youth minister for an Orlando church, his 19-year-old son, Brandon, was shot and killed when he stepped out of the Wash home to confront an assailant brandishing a gun at another individual.
Brandon’s younger sister, Demetria, was by her brother’s side when the murder happened.
“I was trying to save other youths, but I wasn’t able to save my son,” said Wash.
The R.E.A.L. Church, which stands for Reaching, Equipping, Affecting Lives for Christ, is not just a traditional church.
“Our doors and hearts are open to everyone, not just to those who go to church,” said Wash.
Wash is not content with just winning souls for Christ, but also wants to help anyone who seeks him to gain empowerment through education, jobs and better living conditions. Wash not only pastors the R.E.A.L. Church, but he also pastors the entire community.
SPECIAL PLACE FOR TEENS
Through the R.E.A.L. Church, Wash has launched initiatives such as the SPOT, or Special Place for Teens, where youth in crisis are provided a safe haven where they can be mentored, tutored and receive life skills training.
On Friday nights during the summer, Wash scheduled special events at the Joe E. Lee Community Center, located at one of the county’s biggest pockets of poverty.
Dances and basketball tourneys, coupled with a hearty dinner, kept the kids on track and away from the streets. The program has evolved into an afternoon program that provides mentoring, tutoring in a home-away-from-home atmosphere. The program was replicated in September at Gardendale Elementary.
He sits on boards that include Brevard Juvenile Re-entry, Youth Promise and “Stop the Killing and Start Living” movement in Cocoa and is a certified chaplain through the Department of Juvenile Justice and Goodwill Industries International.
The Central Florida Humanitarian honor is only one of many for Wash, who received the Criminal Justice Award from the Florida Council on Crime and Delinquency and was one of the Four Under 40 Award honorees from LEAD Brevard.
Wash’s reach goes well beyond the scope of a couple of programs. He is a pre-and-post HIV counselor who has formed partnerships with local doctors and local HIV and AIDS testing centers.
“We don’t want to be just a community, but rather, we want to be the church for the community,” he said.
