Jack Fitzgibbons
Discipleship pastor
First Baptist Church
Cordele, Georgia, United States
1. Tell us about a moment in ministry where all hope felt lost, but then God did ___.
A few years ago, a student in our ministry was openly antagonistic toward the Christian faith, yet he faithfully showed up each week and often challenged me with tough questions like the reliability of the Bible. I wondered if someone with this many arguments would ever come to Christ. Before we moved away, he shared that he had begun reading the Bible consistently and that his heart had softened toward Christ. While I didn’t see him come to faith, I did witness God soften a hardened heart through His Word.
2. How do you discern God’s will for your ministry during stressful seasons?
During stressful seasons, I go back to God’s Word to re-focus on the real goal of ministry: helping students see the glory of Jesus and grow in love and obedience to Him. When programs or events don’t go as planned, I remind myself that those things aren’t the mission. Scripture also reminds me that the results are in God’s hands, not mine, which frees me to trust Him and stay focused on what matters most.
3. What have you done to build a Gospel Advancing volunteer or student leader team?
We’re still building our student leadership and volunteer teams, but we’re already emphasizing that every student is called to share the Gospel wherever they are. We’ve created an “evangelism corner” featuring the Dare 2 Share Cause Circle, where students write the names of people they want to see come to faith in Jesus. This space also includes evangelism resources like prayer guides for lost friends and family and Gospel booklets, serving as a visible, ongoing reminder that evangelism is central to our ministry.
