By Tanner Cade
Correspondent
At the beginning of the worship service at Trinity Church, Fulton, on July 30, senior pastor David Haynes called for Theodore “Teddy” Haffey to join him at the pulpit. Before overwhelming applause, Haynes presented a License to Preach certificate to 15-year-old Haffey.
“I shared with him that the license symbolizes his home church stands with him in his pursuit of God’s will,” Haynes said.
After Haffey preached for the first time during an evening service several weeks ago, Haynes wanted to make sure the church put their stamp of approval on what the Lord is doing in the young man’s life.
“It was important to me and the church due to its historical nature,” Haynes said. “It reminded me of when I was licensed to preach in the year 2000. It also reminded our church of other men who were licensed in previous years.
“If 100 years from now, someone reads the minutes of our church’s business, then it will show that Teddy Haffey was licensed to the ministry. Only the Lord knows where He will lead Teddy in the ministry. We are thankful to have a part in the process,” he said.
As the next generation of children are raised experiencing ministry in the church, Haynes notes Haffey’s unique interest in desiring more from Sunday’s sermons.
“Often after a service, Teddy would have a question or two,” Haynes said. “The questions he had were very in-depth. I noticed that he was studying and preparing for our worship services.”
According to Haynes, Haffey first made his call to ministry public at an evangelism event through Itawamba Association in Fulton, and soon thereafter made the decision known to his church.
“Without my mentors and teachers I never would have gotten such a deep understanding of God’s word, and without that I would never be able to preach,” Haffey said.
“Brother David [Haynes] has always encouraged me in all aspects of studying. Whether it be in my many questions or asking about roles in church leadership, he has always helped me feel comfortable and when I realized my calling he was right there to get me started.”
Licensing into ministry is well known within Baptist Life. John Pace, director of leadership development at the Mississippi Convention Board (MBCB) in Jackson, explained licensing a man to ministry “is the church’s tentative approval for a man to serve until he has proved himself to be qualified for ordination.”
Ordination is “setting apart a God-called man as a preacher/minister for a ministry calling and usually takes place when a minister begins serving in a ministry position in a church,” Pace said.
The action of recognizing a young man for ministry is a key focus for Shawn Parker, MBCB executive director-treasurer, as he initiates a season of “Calling out the Called” through a specific team at work at MBCB.
MBCB men’s ministry director Jon Martin is serving as the team leader for this initiative. “I think the consensus in Mississippi is that there are fewer pastors and more churches looking for pastors today than there were 30 years ago.
Giving young men the opportunity to preach, teach, and lead while they’re preparing to answer the calling that God has placed on their lives is important,” Martin said.
The commitment of seasoned pastors to recognize and mentor young men who are moving toward the call to preach is tagged by Martin as critical. “I think that image is a picture of what we must see in our churches today” Martin explained.
“It’s like passing the baton to the next generation, if it doesn’t happen we will turn around one day and find ourselves with fewer pastors to fill the pulpits in our churches,” he said.
The certificate presented to Haffey by Trinity Church reads:
This is to certify Theodore Haffey who has given evidence that God called him into THE GOSPEL MINISTRY was Licensed to preach the Gospel as he may have opportunity, and to exercise his gifts in the work of the Ministry by Trinity Baptist Church in Fulton, MS on the 30th day of July, 2023.
“At the moment I’m homeschooled, and once I finish my classes for graduation I plan to attend Blue Mountain Christian University,” he said. Blue Mountain Christian University, located in Blue Mountain, is affiliated with the Mississippi Baptist Convention.
“I want to follow God’s will for my life, and whatever that may be is what I’m trying to do,” Haffey said.
License to Ministry recognized in Madison County
Immediately following the Sunday at Trinity Church, another Mississippi Baptist church recognized a student in their membership.
Sunday, August 7, Broadmoor Church, Madison, concluded the morning worship service with a time to recognize Randall Lindigrin. In the planning for a busy Sunday, Pastor Josh Braddy made a point to make time to recognize him.
“We chose to celebrate Randall Lindirgrin at the end of our worship service to allow our entire church to affirm him and his call to ministry,” he said.
“We also wanted to remind our church that God still calls people into vocational ministry. The commissioning and prayer time was beautiful. Both Randall and our church family were equally blessed.”
Lindigrin stated to the Baptist Record he is “honored to have been licensed to the ministry by Broadmoor Baptist Church, and I am grateful for the support from the church members.”
Calling out the Called continues to be a leading initiative within the Southern Baptist Convention and Mississippi Baptists along with the Baptist Record will continue to make this a known topic in our state.
If your church is recognizing young leaders in their heart for ministry, please send a message to the Baptist Record or email msbaptist@mbcb.org
Cade is director of communication services at the Mississippi Baptist Convention Board. He may contacted at tcade@mbcb.org.
