By Martie Thompson
editor@floridanewsline.com
Jeremiah Stanley was born and raised in the Ozark Mountains area of southwest Missouri and he said he never envisioned that he would leave this area where his family had lived for generations — until he met a “young lady from Fernandina Beach, Florida, named Jenny” when he was attending a small, faith-based college in Oklahoma City. They started dating and were married in 2001. Jenny wanted to return to northeast Florida, and so after graduation they did. Jeremiah had his undergraduate degree in ministry, but worked at CitiBank in Jacksonville as a way to pay his way through seminary. He earned a Master of Divinity from Liberty University and then a doctoral degree in Pastoral Leadership from Southern Seminary several years later. Today, he is the new pastor of Trinity Mandarin on Orange Picker Road. He and Jenny have three teenage sons.
Q: Did you always know you wanted to be a pastor?
A: Growing up, I was always connected to a church environment. As a teen, I felt a stirring in my heart to help people, so when I went to college I pursued a degree in ministry. I thought perhaps I’d go overseas and help people.
Q: What was your first job after you earned your Master of Divinity degree?
A: When I graduated, I was only 27. I put out resumes hoping to get a job at a church, but they all wanted someone older and with more experience. So I found a job as the dean of students at Trinity Baptist College on the Westside. I stayed there for 16 years and by the time I left, I was the vice president of Student Affairs. While there, I earned my doctoral degree in Pastoral Leadership to help prepare me for a full time pastor role.
Q: How did you come to be the pastor at Trinity Mandarin?
A: As our children got older, I felt like it was a new season in my life. This prompted me to apply to be the pastor of Trinity Mandarin, which is a new campus of Trinity Baptist. The existing Mandarin church recently had a revitalization effort and extended an invitation to Trinity. So this is my first foray into leading a church.
Q: What is the mission and vision of the revitalized Trinity Mandarin?
A: We want to help everyday people discover an extraordinary life with God. We are focusing on growing our family, student, and youth ministries. Our average Sunday attendance has grown to more than 100 on Sundays and 22 percent of that is under the age of 18, so we are very excited about that.
Q: What is the most satisfying part of your job and what is the most challenging?
A: The most satisfying thing is engaging the community. We have a great team that is putting together successful family events like Trick or Trunk and our recent Block Party. The biggest challenge is that since the church is in the midst of a revitalization, many people in the community don’t know us yet. So we’re focusing on new and different things as well as events for the younger demographic.
Q: What do you like to do in your spare time?
A: In a flashback to my midwest roots, I enjoy hobby farming on the weekends. We have 40 head of cattle on a farm near Baldwin. In general I just love to be outside. I also keep busy with our children and their sports and activities.
Photo courtesy Jeremiah Stanley
Jeremiah Stanley and his family.
