Stevie Franks and his family joined us back in April as our new youth minister and quickly fell into place working with the students and parents in our church. Most of you have probably met and talked with Stevie at some point over the last few months, but in case you haven’t, here is a little introduction. Stevie grew up moving around the state but settled in the Jackson area and called it home while he attended Mississippi College. There, he met Haley in the fall of 2014, and they got married in July 2017. He attended New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary, where he obtained a Master of Divinity. They have two sons, Judah and Abel, that I’m sure many of you have played with at Lunch Break and on Wednesday nights.

Since Stevie has been with First Baptist for a few months, it felt weird to do a spotlight piece to “get to know him.” Instead, I thought we might just check in and see how things have been going with him and the youth ministry and what plans he has for the future of our students at First Baptist Starkville.

You got your MDiv from New Orleans, but you didn’t focus on youth ministry there. Have you always felt called to youth ministry?

No, I feel the ultimate calling to pastor. But I love youth, and I see it as pastoring, just to a different group. Honestly, that was the hard part about making the decision to come here. I had almost gotten to the point at Grace City (his previous church), where my next move would probably be to pastor. Not to say that coming here to First Baptist was a lateral step by any means, obviously, because it is doing youth ministry on a bigger scale. It is very different because the group is much larger, and I have to lead differently with different responsibilities. I’ve told Haley I feel like I’ve already learned so much here that will prepare me for wherever God might lead me to pastor down the road. I know a lot of times, people view being a youth minister as a stepping stone to becoming a senior pastor, but I see the need for good youth ministers when 66% of active youth go to college and leave the church, so if there aren’t youth ministers that are really investing in the lives of teenagers, there’s not going to be a need for senior pastors once they’re adults because no one is going to be there.

What were your expectations in moving from leading the youth ministry at Grace City to First Baptist?

When I got to Grace City, there was no youth ministry at all, and it was really hard to build that up. Before COVID, we were at around twenty-five students. It was a very diverse group, and of that group, there were about 14 schools represented. It was unique because the kids that we had really wanted to grow in their faith. You couldn’t just hide in the crowd; you had to be engaged and active. Whereas in a bigger ministry, it’s easier to do that. So I knew coming here that I was following Neil, who was a really awesome student pastor. When he emailed me about the job, the first thing I told Haley was, “You know, Neil’s probably the most well-respected youth guy in the state.” So, he had a very good reputation, and the church had a very good reputation, so I knew I was walking into a very healthy situation. That also brings high expectations, but some of that was eased by Neil still being here and getting to work with him. I got to learn from him, but Neil and I are so different.

Having been here since April, what has been the biggest pleasant surprise that you’ve experienced working with our youth group?

I think that the people here at First Baptist Starkville are just genuinely kind. I mean, obviously, you’re going to have groups of people like that at every church. So far, everyone that we’ve come across here has been so loving to my family and to my kids. I mean, it’s so fun watching the youth on Wednesday nights holding Abel and playing with Judah. I remember our first Wednesday night when we were visiting, Ms. Becky Armstrong played basketball with Judah in the gym for like thirty minutes while we were having to mingle. So just seeing everybody in the church, just their genuine care for me and my family.

What is one topic or book of the Bible you’ve always been excited to teach?

Not just because it’s coming up, but the series I’m going to start in February with the youth, I did it at Grace City the last two years, but it’s on gender, identity, sex, the whole gamut. One of the reasons why I enjoy doing it is because every year, I get to read new books in preparation for it and grow my knowledge in this area. With this coming series, I’m starting with the biblical foundation on sex and identity, why it’s good, and the parameters God placed on it. Then we can build on that foundation to talk about the issues our students deal with on a day-to-day basis. As for a book of the Bible I’ve always wanted to teach on, I’ve always wanted to do a series on Revelation. Maybe not verse by verse, but going through the different stages that the book presents. And really, it’s because I think so many students are just like, “I don’t understand it, so I’m just going to avoid it or just read the easy passages.” So that one, and something I’ve talked to Pastor Andy about a little bit, is doing a series on what makes us Baptist or why are we Baptist, like what does that distinction mean. You know, for me growing up, and for most of these kids, it’s just where our parents went to church, and so they’re Baptists, but why are we?

Now that you’ve been here and seen how things are done, what are you excited to put your Stevie spin on?

I think one of my biggest heart cries is reaching our community and seeing our youth group look more like the schools in our community. I think the students we have coming in, a lot of them, are very strong in their faith, but I want to see them live out their faith in their schools and invite their non-believer friends and share their faith with them. I can’t wait for the overall church to see someone go from being a visitor to being active, to following Christ and being discipled. That and doing more for us to love on our community—living sent right here in Starkville. That’s a big passion of mine, seeing the church living that out. Not just with international or even domestic missions but right here with the people that we see every day of the week. I mean, for Thanksgiving, I challenged our kids to bring $5.00 to our Wednesday night Thanksgiving meal, and I used it to go buy 5 $100 Kroger gift cards and went to five elementary schools and gave the principal the gift card so they could single out a family in need for Thanksgiving to give it to them. Seeing our students be able to be a part of that and develop a heart of service and love for others is huge.