Middle Georgia church fills the gaps in a ‘broken’ coronavirus testing system in GA

Willie May, a deacon at Community Church of God, wanted to get a test for the COVID-19 virus, but at the time, the Macon-Bibb County Health Department was not testing people without symptoms.

Jason McClendon, the pastor of Community Church of God, started organizing testing in Middle Georgia through a lab from Atlanta.

May was able to get a test at the church, and he tested positive.

“I had no symptoms or anything, and I would not have known anything if it hadn’t been for the testing that was provided, that we provided, that I was positive,” May said.

McClendon ran into the same issue with the health department that May did, and he wanted to find a way to provide drive-thru testing in different communities in Middle Georgia.

He reached out to MAJL Diagnostic lab and started organizing testing events for the lab to come and test whoever wanted one, he said.

“We felt that it was a humanitarian aid issue,” McClendon said. “It just made sense to try to help our community that way, especially when we have that resource available to us.”

Standing in the gap

Because the coronavirus outbreak was impacting all of Middle Georgia, McClendon said he wanted to have testing in different neighborhoods, so he partnered with other churches, such as Saint Paul AME Church, Bibb Mount Zion Baptist Church and Fellowship Bible Baptist Church in Warner Robins.

Crystal Headspeth received a COVID-19 virus test on Aug. 5 at the Community Church of God, and although she said she doesn’t believe she’s been around anyone with the coronavirus, she wanted to be tested to make sure. The testing at the Community Church of God was the only place she knew to get a test, she said.

“It was horrible, but I’m just glad I was able to get it,” she said. “I work around a lot of people. I work in a public environment, so I just want to make sure I’m good for myself and my children and my family.”

Testing challenges

The church has faced challenges with providing testing, McClendon said, mostly in reference to people getting their test results back.

They started testing so many people that the lab started getting overwhelmed with the amount of tests to process, McClendon said.

They had to start scaling back testing in order for the lab to get caught up, but McClendon said the lab still gives a wait time between 7-10 days for people to get their results.

MAJL Diagnostics is responsible for getting the results back to the people they test, and the tests are free to the patients because either insurance or the government covers the cost through the CARES Act, McClendon said. However, the church doesn’t receive any of the funding because they are simply organizing the events, he said. MAJL Diagnostics receives the payment for the testing.

People don’t realize that the community does not have the infrastructure setup to test everyone, McClendon said, but they are doing the best they can.

May said he believes it is the church’s responsibility to fill in the gaps when people are in need and provide the services and support they need.

“All we tried to do was to help and offer a service that was not there because the system is broken, and it’s like trying to plug holes into the dam,” McClendon said. “All we’re doing is trying to do what we can as an American citizen. We tried to be responsible and help where we could.”

Continuing to minister

Community Church of God has organized around 25 testing events, and they have also had several food and goods giveaways.

“We’ve always been involved in the community and also seeing the poverty that exists in our area we felt that the ministry still needed to go on,” McClendon said. “A lot of people are underemployed and because of the economy and the pandemic, things have been really tight, and on this side of town a lot of people were in peril.”

The church has also faced its own challenges with having to close its doors because of the coronavirus outbreak.

“I just felt it would be irresponsible for me to open the doors because I just do not want to be responsible for somebody dying because they wanted to come to church,” McClendon said.

However, the church is still providing Sunday sermons and communicating with its members through their Facebook page.

The community response to the church’s ministry has been very appreciative, McClendon said, and he believes their efforts have spurred other organizations to help their communities and neighborhoods, he said.

“I’ve always taught and I believe that the most important thing for us to do is to be the church, and the Ministry should always continue when we walk out the doors,” McClendon said.

This story was originally published August 14, 2020 at 7:00 AM.