Jeff & Malea Glenn

A Lifelong Commitment to Student Ministry

I have dedicated over three decades to student ministry within the church context, focusing on pastoral counseling, leading domestic and international mission trips, and nurturing spiritual growth among students and families. I recently left my former church after 26 years of ministry as the Next Generations Pastor.

Throughout my career, my commitment to fostering spiritual maturity and empowering the next generation of believers has been unwavering. As a certified trainer for JFYM and PACT, I am deeply passionate about equipping youth leaders. For over a decade, I have served as a network coordinator in Middle Georgia, where I mentor and support youth leaders in their efforts to impact students' lives with the gospel. I have served on a college-trustee board, a local Fellowship of Christian Athletes (FCA) board, and as a state-wide youth ministry denominational trainer.

In Malea, I am blessed with a true partner as she is an integral part of my ministry to students, youth workers, and the wives of youth leaders.

My Testimony: A Call to Student Ministry

I committed to Christ when I was in 5th grade when I attended my church Vacation Bible School. Little did I know how God would test my relationship with Him during that first year, and how He would use me to make a difference for His Kingdom.

At the end of my sixth-grade year, during field day, I entered a relay race against my peers. I wanted to be an athlete like my older brothers, and running was something I did well. Near the end of the race, with my eyes on the finish line, I fell and stumbled, but completed the race. Immediately a pain shot up my left leg. During the weeks that followed, I visited an orthopedic doctor who, after examining the x-rays, revealed that I had a childhood hip disease that was aggravated by the fall. Surgery, traction, leg-braces, and crutches were all a part of my rehabilitation. I was devastated by my handicap, knowing that I would never be the athlete that I desired.

I spent 28 days in the hospital after the surgery going through physical therapy. There was a four-year-old boy in the children's ward that had rheumatoid arthritis. I could hear him crying in pain from his room down the hall. My mom got to know his mom, and she introduced me to this little boy. In my wheelchair, I wheeled myself to his room, taking with me a ventriloquist puppet I had received from my older siblings that Christmas. I was learning to throw my voice. I used the puppet to entertain him through songs I learned at church. My heart's desire was to encourage him and make him smile. After a few minutes, the grimace on his face turned to a genuine smile. He laughed and sang with me.

Later that evening, the boy's mom came to my room. She knocked on the door, poked her head in and asked if she could speak to me. I invited her in, and she came to my bedside. She grabbed my hand and with tears in her eyes told me that she was grateful that I had come to see her little boy. She told me that it had been a long while since she had seen her little boy smile and thanked me for making a difference in his life. As quickly as she came in, she left.

After she left, I laid there in silence and began to pray. I poured my eleven-year-old heart out to God, sharing with Him my fears for my future, questioning Him of the age-old questions of adolescence: "Who am I, Where do I fit in, and How can I make a difference?" As I listened for God's voice, I distinctly remember Him saying in my spirit that He wanted to use me to make a difference for His Kingdom. And it was at this youthful age of eleven God initially called me into youth ministry.

How God Has Worked Since

The turbulent years of middle and high school were years of refinement in that call. At the beginning of my senior year, because there was no other available candidate, the pastor of my church asked me if I would teach the youth Sunday school class. I jumped right in and saw the class as my ministry thus creating a "student ministry" in our church. Later, the summer after my sophomore year in college, I served in Eureka, California as a student missionary. It was during this time that God used me to lead a young boy to Christ, and He affirmed my call into vocational ministry.

Both Malea (my wife) and I served as part-time youth directors at two separate churches while in college. Upon graduation and our wedding, we moved to Los Angeles, California to serve a two-year term as Youth Evangelism Consultants for the California Baptist Convention. After this service opportunity, we moved to Fort Worth, Texas where I received my Master of Divinity in Youth Ministry at Southwestern Baptist Seminary. Since graduating from seminary, I have served in three different churches as a student pastor.

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