Washington County Enterprise-Leader
Youth Pastor Builds Relationships
BRANDON BURKS HAS BEEN A YOUTH MINISTER FOR 13 YEARS
FARMINGTON — Brandon Burks, youth pastor for First Baptist Church in Farmington, had his tangled beard long before the Duck Dynasty fo lks became famous on television.
“I started that fad, not them,” Burks said one afternoon in the youth building at the church on Rheas Mill Road.
However, his beard is now gone and his students were not too happy, he said, when he decided to shave it off one Wednesday night at church. Right now, he’s saving the leftovers and plans to give it away as a door prize. Amazingly, Burks said, some of the kids want it.
Burks, 33, came to FBC Farmington last June from Graves Memorial Baptist Church in North Little Rock.
He has been in youth ministry 13 years, also serving at First Baptist Church in Mayflower.
Burks said he became a Christian at the age of 14 and at 16, felt God calling him to do more and surrendered to full- time ministry.
He learned about the Farmington position through Scottie Johnson, the former youth pastor at FBC Farmington.
Johnson encouraged him to apply for the job but Burks said his mother passed away in January 2013 and that put things on hold for a while.
He then received a call from a member of the church’s personnel committee, asking him to submit his resume.
“We both felt like God was calling me and here I am,” Burks said.
Burks said his youth pastor growing up at Spring Creek Baptist Church in Benton influenced him as far as how he runs his youth ministry in Farmington.
“He was very relational,” Burks said. “He built rela- tionships more than just being some guy who gets up there and talks on Wednesday nights.”
Burks is the same way. He said he wants to be a part of the students’ lives and wants to be approachable.
“I want to build relationships, be relevant and be up to speed on what’s trending now,” he said.
To do that, he looks for opportunities to just hang out with the teenagers, whether it is fishing, playing ping pong, mowing somebody’s grass or going to the mall.
The goal, he said, is to teach teenagers about Jesus Christ.
His youth group stays active. They are planning a ski trip over Spring Break and are planning to go to a nursing home to play bingo and sing.
They’ve raked leaves for church members and also sponsored canned food drives.
About 100 teenagers attended the church’s D-Now, a weekend to learn about Jesus through Bible lessons, messages, service projects and fun.
His youth service aver- ages about 100 kids on Wednesday nights.
The first service at 6 p.m. is for sixth-eighth graders and the second starts at 7: 15 p. m. for high school students.
Burks said he decided to separate the services so he can preach on the level of each age group.
He said he can go more in- depth with the high school crowd and doesn’t have to be as “funny” to get their attention.
Another part of his ministry is discipleship training with the goal that as students go through this, they can turn around and teach the younger kids.
Ninth grader Erin Curry said Burks is funny but tells stories that everyone can relate to.
“He makes everyone feel welcome. We want to talk to him all the time. He’s an awesome guy,” Erin said.
Kelsie Gansz, also a ninth grader, said Burks comes up to the high school every Wednesday to talk to students and invite them to church.
Karlee Pense has been attending FBC Farmington for 1½ years and said family and friends invited her to come. She also finds Burks easy to talk to.
“He’s hilarious,” Pense said.
Barry Smith, pastor of FBC Farmington, said Scottie Johnson laid a good foundation at the church and Burks came in and hit it off well with the adult leadership and the students.
“We’ve had some of our biggest crowds, especially on Wednesday nights,” Smith said.
The Wednesday services include youth who are members of FBC, youth from other churches and kids who do not go to church.
Smith said one of Burks’ goals is to bring in a lot of “unchurched” youth.
“I think one reason he’s successful is that he goes up to the school and visits with the students,” Smith said.
Burks said his intent is to stay in youth ministry a long time, as long as he feels he can keep up with teenagers and their lives.
He is not married but said he has a “smokin’ hot girlfriend,” who lives in Conway, adding, “you can quote me on that.”