Reverend Scott Jeffreys
As a child I did not grow up in a Christian home. My family never went to church unless it was for a funeral (though I occasionally managed to catch a ride on the Baptist school bus that rode through our neighborhood on Sunday mornings). My father was agnostic and he did not believe in what he called “organized religion.” This negative view of faith affected our family and made it difficult for us to go to church.
Around the age of 12 I began to develop a strong curiosity about God and the Bible. I remember picking up the Bible and trying to read it, but it made no sense to me. These feelings of confusion summed up my relationship with God at the time - I was lost!
Inwardly, I struggled with feelings of guilt over my sin and I knew that if my relationship with God were dependent upon my good works I had no hope. (As I reflect back upon these feelings I now see how the Holy Spirit was already at work in my life preparing my heart for spiritual rebirth.)
When I was 14 my best friend came to faith in Jesus Christ at a Fellowship of Christian Athletes event, and after this he began to share his faith with me. Even though God was preparing my heart for conversion, at first, I did not want anything to do with being “born again.” Even so, my friend did not give up on me (Just like God does not give up on us; Jesus pursues the prodigal).
Finally, one Saturday morning in July of 1983, I found myself in the living room of a retired church secretary who lived below my best friend. If you asked me at that moment why I was there I couldn’t have told you, other than I was there because my best friend wanted me to hear about Jesus. But after that morning my confusion was cleared and I came to know Jesus Christ in a real way. Something was now profoundly different about my inner self - God had converted and regenerated my heart to faith in Jesus Christ through the power of the Holy Spirit.
Fortunately, by the grace of God, I immediately joined a church and became involved with a strong youth group. It was in this setting that my faith began to flourish. I began to study my Bible and pray. The words of Scripture that were once so confusing now started to come to life. Why? The Holy Spirit was at work in me, giving me the ability to understand the Bible!
During my teen years I also had the opportunity to go on two mission trips to the Republic of Haiti, I became involved with FCA, and I helped lead a morning devotional group at my high school. All of these experiences were instrumental in helping me to grow in my faith.
After high school I attended Montreat College. Again, in retrospect, I can see how God was at work in my life in ways that I was then unaware of. I chose Montreat because I wanted to go to a Christian school, but God led me there for different reasons.
First, it was at Montreat that God began to engraft me into the Presbyterian family of faith. While in college I attended Montreat Presbyterian Church and I was greatly blessed by the ministry of that congregation. Second, it was there that I met my wife Malia, a lifelong Presbyterian. After a two year courtship we were married in 1992.
Upon graduation and marriage I continued to stay very active in the life of the church, especially through teaching Sunday school, leading a prayer group, and working with the youth group. Eventually I began to sense a call to pastoral ministry.
In 1998, with the support of South Highland Presbyterian Church, I enrolled into Beeson Divinity School and I graduated in December of 2002. My seminary experience strengthened my Christian faith in terms of knowledge, a deepened sense of piety, and through the difficulty of the experience.
For the last five years I have served the Lord as Minister of Word and Sacrament at First Presbyterian Church in Guntersville, Al. My first call in ministry has been a wonderful and challenging experience. God has strengthened me and caused me to rely on his grace as I have tried to keep in balance the demands of ministry, the raising our four beautiful children, and supporting Malia as she finished her degree in Respiratory Therapy.
Now God has called me to serve you, his people at Forest Park Presbyterian Church! I am excited about our future together and what the Lord will do through us as we minister together in the name of Jesus. I am grateful to God for the ways he has grown me throughout my life and I look forward to the rest of my earthly pilgrimage, trusting in God’s love and faithfulness.
To learn more about what I believe, please click to read my Statement of Faith.