Living Sent in Jackson, MS

Serving First Baptist Jackson

by Zach DePriest

I graduated high school in May 2015 and made it up to Starkville in August for the fall semester. Before I ever even graduated high school, Neil Tullos, who was the youth minister at First Baptist Starkville at the time, had reached out to me to see if I wanted to be a college leader for the 7th-grade boys’ Sunday school class with Mr. Michael Robinson. Before I even got to Starkville, you were pouring into me.

I like to think that I would still have been at church each Sunday and actively serving had Neil not texted me, but this intentional step of asking me to be a small group leader helped hold me accountable and played a large role in my spiritual formation as a college student.

After spending the year as a small group leader, Neil asked if I would be his summer intern since Mark Young was preparing to leave for Virginia to be a Student Pastor up there. That summer would change the course of my life and the rest of my time in Starkville.

Serving as an intern helped me connect more with the church. Serving as an intern, I got to interact with all of the students and form incredible friendships with them, their parents, and so many other members of the church. It was during the summer after my freshman year that I was called to ministry. We took our Odyssey summer trip to St. Louis. I consider that trip to be one of my favorites and think back on how the Lord used it to help redirect my life. Sitting in a hotel conference room on July 21, 2016, I knew God was calling me to ministry. There wasn’t a doubt in my mind. It was the strangest but most fulfilling feeling because I knew for certain that is what the Lord was leading me to do.

The problem, however, was that I came to Mississippi State for engineering, and I’m hardheaded. Leaving engineering meant I would lose my scholarships, and I did not know if that would mean I would need to change schools or what the future meant for me when it came to finishing my degree. Thankfully, the Lord opened the door for me to stay at Mississippi State where I would graduate with a finance major and a minor in religion. I was blessed to even have several First Baptist Starkville church members as professors.

It was in being called to ministry that I understood God’s bigger purpose for me being in Starkville. I thought it was to major in engineering, but it was really to learn from Neil and to be poured into by all of you in preparation for me to work in ministry. As that summer came to an end, Neil asked if I would like to stay on as his year-round intern, and I said yes without ever having to even really consider it. I knew being an intern would help prepare me for ministry and would mean I would be able to be poured into in a unique way by the church. I will never be able to fully express how much it means to me that you would love a college student the way you loved me.

From mission trips to Puerto Rice, Belize, and Mission First in Jackson, I got to see firsthand what it means to lead by serving. One thing that is truly special about First Baptist Starkville is how you love and invest in the next generation and provide them opportunities to serve even when they are young. The church sees the next generation as part of the church now, and not just the future church. You challenge, lead, and equip all age groups to live sent.

When I graduated college in May and then left Starkville in August of 2019, I was sad, not because I was leaving college, but because I was leaving you. But I was also full because of how you poured into me. I then began my first full-time ministry position serving as Youth Minister at FBC Meridian. No one had any way of knowing in the fall of 2019 that the world would completely change come the spring of 2020. Ministries changed, the way we communicated and learned changed, and how we did just about anything else in life changed. As difficult as all of that was as a young youth minister still trying to learn the ropes of full-time ministry, I was able to lean on experiences and conversations from my time at First Baptist Starkville as I navigated my way through. More than just leaning on the past, I was able to talk to many of you during that difficult time to get words of advice. Even after I was no longer in Starkville, you were still investing in me.

After almost two and a half years serving in Meridian, the Lord opened the door and led me back to my home church at FBC Jackson to be the Student Pastor, where I have now served for a year. Many of the core values we are implementing in our ministry are things you instilled in me. When I think about First Baptist Starkville, a few words that come to mind are intentional, missional, relational, and disciple-making. Those are the same things I want to be said of any ministry I am a part of. Wherever I am in ministry, the great thing about First Baptist Starkville is that I know you are there with me. You helped shape me into who I am and continue to support me. I will forever be grateful for my time at First Baptist Starkville and for how you invested in me then and still do to this day.

You helped me to live sent.