Catch us up on what鈥檚 been happening for you since your graduation. 听It was about the time we were coming out of the COVID-19 Pandemic, and you have a story about that.听

That plays a little bit of a role in my story. It would have been fall of 2021, that first semester that everybody came back from COVID. At the time, I was taking Dr. Chuck Fuller's preaching class. When it came my time to preach, my assistant got COVID, so I had to quarantine and I ended up having to preach over Zoom.听听

I'm a part of an organization called David鈥檚 Table. They do Bible studies and different activities for adults with special needs across the Upstate. I'm one of the leaders for the Bible study they do on Zoom. In a way, I feel like God gave me a preview of what my future was going to look like when I had to preach over Zoom鈥攚ithout even realizing it. 听

What is your title at New Prospect?听听

I am the Connections Pastor.听听

Describe what the Connections Pastor does.听听

One of the reasons I love my job... I serve in various areas. I serve in the youth group by leading a small group of high school boys. I help with the children's ministry whenever needed. If you get right down to it... it's about connecting. When people want to join the church, myself and Pastor Drew Gunter, our executive pastor, sit down with people who want to join. We ask them to share their testimony and go over our expectations for them as members of the church, so that way, everybody's on the same page. Membership matters. We don't want people to just sit on the sidelines, we want them to serve and be a part of the church. 听

At the end of the day, what gives you a sense of accomplishment?听听

To be able to glorify God and to build relationships with people. One of the things that I love about my role at New Prospect鈥擨 get to work with our interns. Back when I was at AU, I was an intern at New Prospect, and now I get to pour into our interns just like Dr. Cribb and the rest of the staff poured into me. I get to be on the other side of that now and I get to help mentor and guide people along in their journey. I had countless people help me when I was at AU, and now I get to help others. I just think that's the neatest thing, getting to be a part of people鈥檚 lives and playing a small role and guiding them along in their journey like people did for me.听

I鈥檒l give you an example. Back in August, our ministry resident, Josh Baker, was an AU graduate. He and his wife, now Alison Baker (she was Alison Jones) both went to AU, and I got the honor of being a groomsman in their wedding. In that moment, I thought, how cool is this that God is allowing me to play a role in these two people's lives? I'm absolutely amazed at what God has done since I left AU. There's so much that's happened. But God knew what he was doing when He called me to stay at New Prospect and become the connections pastor.听听

What led you to enroll at 糖心Vlog传媒?听听

I've lived in Anderson all my life. I have cerebral palsy. In my mind, when I made that decision to come to AU, it was originally going to be about just making sure my needs were taken care of. While I was on the tour, everybody prayed for me, and it was just so obvious that 糖心Vlog传媒 was where God wanted me to be and it had absolutely nothing to do with my disability. What I love about AU is that it is a Christ-centered university. The professors, everybody involved at AU, want you to succeed in the classroom, but, more than that, they want you to have an encounter with Jesus. Regardless of your major, whatever your future job is, the most important thing you can do in life is to make the decision to follow Christ. And that's an eternal decision. 听

Briefly share a testimony of how you came to Christ, and let's talk about your call into ministry.听听

I grew up in church. Other than New Prospect, the only other church that I've ever called home is North Anderson Baptist Church. My family was going there. We used to take a beach trip every year to the Isle of Palms. For the longest time I wanted to accept Jesus, but the problem was that, because I have cerebral palsy, my balance isn鈥檛 great. I would watch people get baptized as a kid and see them be leaned back into the water, and I would think, 鈥淚 don't know about that, that scares me a little bit.鈥� One day, when I was seven or eight, we were playing out on the beach. I didn't realize it at the time, but I know now that it was the Holy Spirit. I just felt God was telling me that it was time to accept Him as my Lord and Savior. He was going to take care of everything. I went back into the beach house we were staying in, and I prayed to receive Christ. But I still had to be baptized. I can remember the morning of my baptism... I had not told anybody that I was scared of being baptized. I don't hide my emotions very well. And so, I got up the morning of my baptism, and my mom knew that something was wrong. And I said 鈥淢om, I鈥檓 scared of being baptized. I don鈥檛 like the idea of anybody leaning me back into the water.鈥�听

She said, 鈥淲hy don鈥檛 I talk to preacher Bill (Bill Rigby was the pastor at the time) and see if you can lean all the way forward instead of backward.鈥� She met him while Sunday school was going on. I asked her, 鈥淲hat did Preacher Bill say?鈥� And she said that he didn't care what I did, as long as I got wet. I was baptized. I look back on that moment now, and I realized that God made a way for me to do what He called me to do without me even having to worry about it in the first place. 听

In terms of my calling into ministry, there are moments in my life that I can look back on鈥攂eing asked to speak at different churches or different things like that. The moment that I knew beyond the shadow of a doubt that I was called into ministry was while I was at AU. At the time we just started a small group program for the youth group. The guy who was helping me, James Garcia, was on his honeymoon at the time. And so I ended up having to lead the small group by myself, and I thought, 鈥淲hat in the world am I going to do in this room full of middle school boys?鈥� The very first question we were supposed to ask the students was 鈥淲ho wants to read the scripture for tonight?鈥� I don鈥檛 know why I thought this. I said to myself 鈥渘one of these kids is going to want to read scripture,鈥� and so I bluntly asked, 鈥淎ll right, who wants to read the scripture for tonight?鈥� And in that moment, almost all of the kids raised their hands, and one of the kids said 鈥淥h! Oh! I want to read it!鈥� And I realized in that moment that kids want to learn about God, and He's given me tremendous potential to do things for His Glory, but they need somebody to show them the way. And that's where I, as a small group leader, come in. My job is to try to point them to Jesus and watch Him transform their lives.听听

Fast forward to March of 2023. I grew up at New Prospect. Everybody knows me, so I didn't have to do your typical trial sermon that a lot of pastors have to do. But I was asked to give a brief vision of what my ministry was going to be. 听

I referenced Matthew chapter 9. This man who can't walk has some people take him to Jesus. Jesus looks at the man and says 鈥淵our sins are forvigen.鈥� But then there's people that question whether or not Jesus has the authority to forgive sins. And so, which is easier, to forgive this man's sins, or to tell him to get up and walk? And so Jesus tells the man to get up and walk, and he's healed. What I love about that story is that the whole reason that happened to the man is because people led him to Jesus. I feel like, that's what God has told me, my purpose is, in life, and in my role as connections pastor, is to introduce them to Jesus, and watch Him transform their lives.听

You're very well thought of by the College of Christian Studies faculty.听

Well, I think the world of them, I would not be where I am today without Jesus, number one. But my family, and the people that have believed in me and taught me and given me opportunities to glorify God, and that includes Dr. Bryan Cribb and Dr. Michael Duduit and everybody at 糖心Vlog传媒. I wouldn't be where I am today without them, for sure.听听

How would you describe New Prospect to someone who doesn鈥檛 know about the church?听听

I would start with New Prospect's vision鈥攊ntentionally making Christ-followers who love God, serve others, and share Christ. That's something that New Prospect and AU have in common, that we鈥檙e all about Christ. But what makes New Prospect special is the people. They love unconditionally, they constantly model the love of Jesus that way. They're always willing to lend a helping hand. All you have to do is ask.听

Last year, we started home groups for college guys and college girls. The college guys group is called The Gathering. It鈥檚 been, at this point in time, the highlight of my ministry, because I got to watch God bring it together. While I was at AU I didn鈥檛 get to be involved in terms of campus ministries and that kind of thing, as much as I would have liked. But what's cool about The Gathering is now I get to be a leader of the group that I always wanted to be a part of. And more than that, I get to pour into the next generation of Christian Studies majors and other college students who were sitting in the same seat that I was, and I can share my experience with them and help guide them along in my journey. So it's really like a full-circle moment.听听

At New Prospect all are welcome, but we really, really love our college students, and it is just amazing what God is doing through that age group.听听

Share about how you feel God has blessed you as you follow His calling.听

One of my favorite verses in the Bible is John chapter 9. As Jesus and his disciples are walking alone, they see a man blind from birth. Back in those days, they thought if you had some kind of disability, it was because of sin. So, the disciples asked Jesus, "Who sinned, the man, or his parents, that he was born blind? And Jesus says,鈥淣either one. But it was so the works of God might be displayed in him.鈥� And so God taught me that he uses the challenges we face for His glory. I want to live my life in a way that serves others and models the love of Jesus to them.听

I could talk for hours about the doors that Jesus has opened since I came on staff, it's just amazing. The fact that I get to work at New Prospect, my home church, is even more special, and I give all glory to Jesus. I don鈥檛 want things to be about me but all about Him.听听听