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Youth minister starts FBC duties

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Campbell Terry was recently hired to be the youth minister at First Baptist Church and he began his new duties on Sunday, Sept. 2.

When asked how he ended up as the new youth minister at FBC, Terry did not hesitate with his answer.

“This job?” Terry said. “It was God!” 

Jeff Turner, pastor at FBC, has known Terry for several years, ever since Turner was the youth pastor in Odessa and Terry was one of the high school students in his congregation.

Since then Terry graduated from Odessa High and started college at the University of Texas of the Permian Basin as a full-time student, majoring in psychology and communications. And Turner is now pastor of the First Baptist congregation.

“Jeff invited me to join them in Glorieta to help out with camp this July,” said Terry. “I thought that I was just going there to help ride herd on a youth group and spend some time with a bunch of kids in need of a shower. But it turned out to be a soft job interview, although I didn’t realize it at the time.”

Terry later deduced that several of the Albany group, including some of the students, had figured out that he was being considered for the youth minister position while they were still at summer camp, although he had not thought about it. 

After camp was over, Turner asked Terry to submit a resume, and an interview was held in August.

“I knew right away that if I got the job offer, I was supposed to take it,” Terry said. “God had already put that in my heart, and my parents and I had discussed it. I knew this was where I was supposed to be.”

Terry has listened for God’s instructions most of his life, though he wasn’t always as sure that he was ready to follow wherever that led.

“I was raised in the church,” Terry said. “My parents took me with them to the Baptist church from the time I could walk.”

Terry accepted Jesus as his personal Savior when he was seven at a camp his grandfather had started.

The young Christian was back at camp the following year.

“I felt a call to the ministry one night, so I put out a fleece,” he said. “I prayed, ‘if I’m supposed to, then tomorrow have them call me on stage to tell them about how my grandpa started this camp.’ I didn’t really know anyone at camp that year, so I didn’t figure it would happen.”

It did. 

The next day, much to his surprise, Terry was asked to tell the story. But he wasn’t sure that he was ready to give up his childhood dreams of playing professional sports.

“I though maybe God would forget about my calling,” said Terry. 

Through grade school and junior high, Terry said he just “kind of coasted” in his walk with God. 

“But God didn’t forget,” Terry said. “And then, when I was in high school, Jeff said, ‘You believe. Now you need to take the next step and get serious about it’.”

Terry chose psychology as his career field because he can use that to minister to others.

He plans to continue working on his degree online.

“I want to be able to have my office open and eventually help out not only youth, but also adults,” said Terry.

For now, the FBC youth minister is focusing on local youth.

“I want to plug into current programs where we are already reaching kids,” he said. “I plan to teach Bible study in a small group format, where we can take them to the next step if they want to go there.”

He also has some new events in mind, including “a life-sized angry birds game” for the youth.

“I fell in love with the members of the youth group while we were at Glorieta,” he said. “I want to be in Albany as long as I can be, and watch them grow in their walk with Christ!” 

Terry moved into FBC housing and likes what he has seen of Albany.

“Leaving my family for the first time, I found another family here when FBC welcomed me with open arms,” he said.