By James Thompson
During middle and high school, I usually spent a week of my summer vacation at Coastal Empire Christian Camp near Hiltonia, Georgia. That camp is the setting of some very special memories from my adolescence. It brought me together with teens from other church youth groups around our area for silly games, sticky s’mores, and serious spiritual formation.
The heat and mosquitos that the south-Georgia summers subjected us to don’t factor much into my recollection of that time, now more than a decade in the past. In my mind, those carefree days are drenched in nostalgia instead of sweat.
It was the people who made those weeks away from home special. When I arrived at camp, I suddenly had five youth pastors instead of one. There were thirty other kids my age instead of ten. Camp week took everything I loved about church and multiplied it, intensified it.
Unfortunately, I don’t often get to visit with old camp friends from back then, but occasionally I’ll reconnect with someone at a wedding or church event. More frequently, I’ll see an update on someone’s life on social media. Marriages, career moves, and newborn children pop up on my feed, prompting me to remember the good ol’ days and marvel at what God has done in these lives in the years since I was briefly a part of them.
I had one of those moments recently, but this one was different. From a Facebook post, I learned that Samuel Lilley, one of those old camp friends, had gone on to become an airline pilot. He had gotten engaged. He had maintained his connection with his childhood church and our camp. And he was the co-pilot on American Eagle Flight 5342, which on January 29 collided with a U.S. Army Blackhawk helicopter while on approach to Reagan National Airport in Washington, D.C. The tragedy left no survivors.
I had not seen Sam since our last week of camp together, but I still remember the way everyone usually reacted when he arrived or joined an activity. We would exuberantly call out his name, first and last, as if to announce that now the fun could begin.
My sister (who also attended camp) and I settled on “sweet and funny and kind” as the adjectives that best described the lovable guy that we looked forward to seeing every June. Everyone else looked forward to seeing him, too.
All of this fits with the tributes to Sam in the news. In an emotional interview on NewsNation, Sam’s father, Tim Lilley, shared that Sam was “living life to the fullest. He was a very kind man. He helped other people a lot. And he was just really happy.”
Tiffany Gibson, Sam’s sister, told the Charlotte Observer that he was “fun” and “adventurous,” and that as an uncle, he was “loved and adored” by her three children.
Both family members also mentioned Sam’s faith.
“He was a Christian, so that’s the best part of it,” Tim Lilley told NewsNation.
Sam’s belief was nurtured by his parents and the church he attended growing up, Coastal Community Christian Church in Richmond Hill, Georgia. After learning about the tragedy, I reconnected with several of my camp buddies who were a part of Coastal with Sam to talk about their memories of him.
Titus Snavely became friends with Sam in elementary school. Their bond was immediately strong, and it deepened over many years together in the church youth group. Titus remembers Sam going out of his way to make newcomers feel welcome, which was especially important since Richmond Hill is home to many transient military families.
“He was so involved in including everybody,” Titus recalled. “He was very good at sharing the gospel in that way, making people feel comfortable coming to church.”
One example of this was when Paul Keyes came to Coastal for the first time. A military kid, his family had just moved from Hawaii to Georgia, and he wasn’t excited about trying to make new friends.
“I remember my parents kind of dragging me to youth group because I didn’t exactly want to go as a new kid in a new city,” he told me. “I remember [Sam] … walking up to me and not really letting me not be his friend.”
Their friendship would grow and remain strong long after high school graduation. They both attended Georgia Southern University, where they were roommates, and they stayed in touch even after beginning their adult lives in different cities.
“It’s especially hard for me because earlier this week we were in [messaging and social platform] Discord talking about each other’s upcoming weddings,” Paul said.
Titus also remembers Sam being skilled at leading and bringing humor to Bible studies. At youth gatherings, the students would break into small groups to discuss the lesson delivered by Mark Andrews, then Coastal’s youth pastor. Sam usually led one of the groups.
“[Sam’s] group was the loudest one because they were just laughing so hard,” Titus told me. “He was just so good at bringing people closer like that.”
Titus paused and then added with a laugh: “I always was mad at Mark when he wouldn’t let me be in Sam’s group.”
For his part, Mark Andrews told me that Sam was an important part of his ministry at the church, starting before he even officially got the job.
Mark had applied for the youth pastor position, and as part of the interview process was asked to visit the church and give a talk during Sunday school. He remembers being nervous as he prepared for this audition, especially about an illustration he had planned which would involve participation from one of the youth group members. Because of Sam, though, he needn’t have worried.
“Sam shot his hand up … and was like, ‘I’ll be the participant,’” Mark remembered. “He made it fun … He made the class laugh. He made it alive, and it made me feel great. It made me feel alive. It made me feel like, ‘Oh, I think I’m doing a good job.’ And it was just Sam being Sam.”
That first meeting was the start of a close relationship. Mark quickly began to see Sam not just as a student, but also a little brother.
As the years went by, Mark says one aspect of Sam’s character really stood out. Both in the way he presented himself to others and how he navigated challenges or mistakes, Sam was unflinchingly honest.
“I think that’s why people really gravitated towards him,” Mark reflected. “I think Sam saw the real benefits of [honesty] and … saw the real goodness of the people around him, of the faith, [a] faith he shared.”
Mark, Titus, and Paul all talked about a seemingly daunting project that Sam took on as a teenager, and Sam’s father has mentioned it in interviews as well. Sam attended a Christian youth conference where the attendees were given a sealed challenge, which they could choose to discard or open. However, the conference speakers explained that they should only open it if they were prepared to follow through on the task, whatever it might be. Sam opened his challenge, which instructed him to raise $5,000 for a well-building project in Ndola, Zambia.
I suspect that many of the challenges opened that day remain unmet, but not Sam’s. With support and encouragement from his congregation, he raised every dollar. His efforts were even covered in a local newspaper.
“Whatever he felt called or motivated to do, there was nothing stopping him,” Titus said. “He was getting it done.”
In another stage of life, Sam brought that same tenacity to earning his wings.
Tim Lilley, himself a pilot, told CBS News, “As a follower of Jesus, someday I’ll be able to fly with Sam again. That’s the main thing that gives me any comfort.”
The families and close loved ones of those who perished in this tragedy are experiencing a pain that only people who have gone through this sort of loss can imagine. I’m grateful that those closest to Sam can find comfort in his faith in Christ.
Seeing Sam again would have been an absolute joy. After spotting him, I would have called out his name, first and last, just like so many of us used to do at church camp.
And one day, I know that I will.
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Sam Lilley’s memorial service was held on February 15 at Georgia Southern University’s Armstrong Campus in Savannah, Georgia.
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James Thompson is an international campus minister and a freelance journalist.
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