Mickey Starling
reporter3@greenepublishing.com
Greenville native Jacob Pitts is a busy man these days. Pitts is a utility minister for Melody Christian Church, in Live Oak. He often preaches on Wednesday nights and he is in charge of the Sunday School program, prison ministry and much of the church-run school chapels. Pitts also teaches history and Bible classes at the school. When all of the church and school responsibilities are taken care of, Pitts and his wife, Paige, are the proud and sleep-deprived parents of an 18 month-old daughter, Claire.
As a teenager, Pitts had no plans of entering the ministry. In fact, by age 17, he describes himself as having "gone off the deep end." His wake-up call would come the following year as things continued to worsen. "I was acting the fool and I eventually got arrested for underage drinking," said Pitts. "After that, I started going back to church."
Pitts continued to become more committed to his faith and began reading his Bible regularly. His studies brought him one day to a passage in the tenth chapter of Hebrews. Verse 26 reads, "For if we go on sinning willfully after receiving the knowledge of the truth, there no longer remains a sacrifice for sins." This passage struck fear in Pitts' heart due to his previous conduct as a Christian. For a season, he questioned whether he was redeemable. Fortunately, Pitts encountered a pastor who set his mind at ease, explaining that as long as there remains a conviction in the heart about sin and a desire to repent, redemption is always available through Christ.
Pitts felt called into ministry as he was continuing his education after graduating from North Florida Community College in 2016. He will soon graduate with a bachelor's degree in theology from Saint Leo University. After joining the ministry team at Melody Christian Church, Pitts jokes that he is spiritually well-rounded after growing up as a Methodist and attending a Baptist high school, he studied theology at a Catholic school and is now ministering in a full-gospel, interdenominational church.
As a minister, Pitts describes himself as being predominately a teacher. "I love to teach and when I get excited, I can get loud," said Pitts. "I really enjoy seeing people grow in their understanding of who God is and I look forward to seeing the church grow as we move forward."