When stores in Northeast Florida receive a delivery of Yulee BBQ Sauce they’re getting more than a collection of sauces and rub with tangy flavor perfect for grilling.
“They’re getting a chaplain and pastor,” said Jimmy Flanagan, creator of Yulee BBQ Sauce, who personally makes the deliveries to his customers.
Flanagan, pastor of Duval Station Baptist Church in Jacksonville, Fla., has taken his passion for cooking to create his own barbecue sauce, which he sells in local stores and uses as a platform for sharing the Gospel.
Flanagan said, “I could knock on doors, do outreach programs, but when I go with the barbecue sauce, it totally opens everything up for ministry and witnessing. It’s not about me at all and it’s not about the sauce, it’s about people and it’s about Christ.”
Growing up in Yulee, a rural bedroom community just north of Jacksonville, Flanagan relished helping his dad grill outdoors on the smoker or in a pit. He said those childhood experiences led to his love of cooking.
He’s been selling his sauce for five years and is now in 23 outlets in the Jacksonville area.
Flanagan says — “I pray before I make every delivery, that God will have His will with communications and relationships,” and he says its working because he’s made inroads with every customer.
He says — “I’m using sauce to reach souls.”