NAME: Michael Wilkes

 

Position: Associate Pastor for Student Ministry

Education: BS (Computer Engineering) from LSU, MDiv. New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary (in May ’10).

Favorite Verse: Romans 6:4-11

Favorite Authors: A.W. Tozer, J.I. Packer, C.S. Lewis, John Stott, John Piper, and Robert Coleman

Currently on Ipod: Chris Tomlin, David Crowder, Red Mountain Church, and Preaching of David Platt, John Piper, Paul Washer, and occasionally Mark Driscoll.

Favorite Phone App: Flashlight…(sad, but it is the most used by far)

Testimony: Growing up it was required for me to attend church and religious education, but it was not until the summer after my junior year of high school (1999) that I truly became a Christian. I was a pretty good kid by the world’s standards until high school when I went through a bit of a rebellious stage. I didn’t know it at the time but a couple of not-so-close friends began to pray for me by name—that God would save me. On a camping trip with my family, some friends who were helping with a church camp on the same campgrounds shared their testimonies of real relationships with God. In the moment I talked with them as though I knew what they were talking about, but in the quiet of the tent at night I realized that I did not. For several weeks following God began to deal with my heart and bring me back to the way those friends talked about Him like they knew Him. I began to read the Bible, then go to youth group, and began to trust in Christ. Finally, after I got home from youth service one night he brought me to the place where I repented of all my sin and surrendered my life to him. Within a couple of months I began to share my own testimony and even teach people what little I knew of God’s Word. From the beginning of my relationship with God, I have found great joy in proclaiming His Word, and how it has come alive in me.

Family: My wife Melissa and I have been married since June 2002. We have three daughters Laney Joy (2004), Allie Grace (2006), and Kierstyn Love (2009). Melissa is an LSU graduate who is committed vocationally to being a mom first, but she also does photography.