Franklin Kirksey, pastor of First Baptist Church, Spanish Fort, in Baldwin Baptist Association, recently celebrated 25 years in the ministry.
“These have been some of the most exciting, joy-filled years of my life,” Kirksey said.
His call to Christian service came in 1979 during a summer youth camp. Influenced by the ministries of James Dobson, Clyde Narramore and Tim LaHaye, Kirksey majored in psychology and counseling at William Carey College (now William Carey University) in Hattiesburg, Miss., with the intention of becoming a Christian counselor. God, however, had other plans, he said.
“Suddenly, one night, the Lord spoke to me in a still, small voice and asked, ‘When are you going to do what I told you to do?’” Kirksey said. “Then I knew that I must surrender to the gospel ministry.”
He was licensed to preach at Shiloh Baptist Church, Saraland, Nov. 7, 1982, which was the official start of his ministry. He was ordained at Cottage Hill Baptist Church, Mobile, Jan. 17, 1988. Kirksey first served Seminary Baptist Church, Hintonville, Miss., (near Beaumont) as interim youth director then interim pastor while a student at William Carey and has since served churches in Alabama, Mississippi and South Carolina. He has been in his present pastorate since 2004.
A cum laude graduate of William Carey, Kirksey also earned a master of divinity degree at New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary and a doctor of Christian ministry degree from Southern Baptist School for Biblical Studies in Jacksonville, Fla. He enjoys speaking, writing articles and newspaper columns, book collecting and mentoring other pastors.
Kirksey is the author of “Sound Biblical Preaching: Giving the Bible a Voice,” released in 2005. In April 2007, he began a radio ministry called Giving the Bible a Voice. Kirksey and his wife, Sharon, have been married since 1991.
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