Alumni in Ministry Spotlight: Justin Hamby '13
Justin Hamby '13
Justin Hamby, associate pastor for Young Adults and Family Ministries at First Baptist Church Lubbock, is a 2013 graduate from HPU with a Master of Arts in Youth Ministry. He earned his bachelor’s degree from Texas Tech University with a Spanish major. He grew up at FBC Lubbock and served two other churches as youth ministry before joining the staff at First Lubbock.
Briefly describe your call to ministry.
I had an interest in going into vocational ministry during my senior year of High School. Through prayer and conversations with my family, I decided to pursue an engineering degree at Texas Tech University. By my third semester, I concluded that engineering was the wrong path and I began praying fervently about what God had for me. The thought of ministry once again entered my mind, and while on a college mission trip, I felt a clear call that it was in fact vocational ministry that God had for me. God proceeded to open all the right doors to move me into ministry opportunities and assurance of his calling.
How has Howard Payne shaped your ministry?
Howard Payne did so much to inform my philosophy of ministry. I appreciate the focus of understanding ministry from a biblical standpoint and then developing a strategy that informs what you do and why. I still refer back to the manual for youth ministry I created during the MAYM program! Beyond the classroom, and even since graduating, I have valued the relationships I have with classmates and HPU staff alike. The ability to contact like-minded friends and mentors is an ongoing blessing for me.
What is it like serving together on staff with other HPU alumni?
It is pretty awesome to have fellow HPU grads on staff and many more in Lubbock and greater West Texas! I believe this is a testimony to the great work HPU has done to prepare and send out people to serve local churches. As I said earlier, I love that there are like-minded people serving in ministry. These are leaders who are focused on purposefully and intentionally growing the Kingdom of Christ.
What would you say to a student considering studying ministry at HPU?
Give Howard Payne a look! I was referred to HPU by Jerry Ramirez (an HPU alum who I served with as a youth intern, and now serve with again). I was skeptical at first, but quickly found out how beneficial HPU and the MAYM program would be to teach, prepare, and equip me for ministry. What I didn’t expect was how much I would value the relationships formed there, but that has become a main selling point for me. I even owe my marriage, in part, to Howard Payne! So, l would recommend anybody considering ministry to seriously consider Howard Payne! Sting ‘em Jackets!
What excites you most about your work with youth and young adults?
I truly enjoy interaction with adults. Unlike dealing with parents in student ministry, young adults want to be here. I particularly enjoy current relationship which is so different than trying to develop relationships with adults as a youth minister.
How you think about your ministry?
I believe in a ministry philosophy and plan to guide what I’m doing. It is the answer to the question “Why do you do what you do?” i.e., the purpose. I enjoy working on a team.