After graduating from Wheaton College in Illinois, Xaviere Jones — known as X — returned to his hometown of Nashville, not simply to come home, but to explore where God might be leading him next. His story of formation is continuing at Brentwood Baptist Church.
Every Monday afternoon, pastors from Brentwood Baptist’s nine campuses gather to go deep into Scripture together as they prepare for Sunday’s message. They share about the life of their congregations and lift one another in prayer. This group has welcomed X in to help him discover what ministry looks like from the inside.
X knows it’s an extraordinary gift to be welcomed into the company of seasoned pastors — not simply to hear what they teach, but to observe how they lead, care for their communities, and live out their calling.
“Not everybody gets to sit in there, and since week one, I’ve been welcomed in that space,” X says. “It’s pretty awesome.”
As a PreachFor America Fellow serving at Brentwood Baptist’s Harpeth Heights campus, X is spending two years immersed in the life of the local church. It is a season of learning, serving, building relationships, and exploring where God might be leading him.
Central to that experience are the people investing in his formation.
Intentional Mentorship — a residency’s secret sauce
Each week, X meets individually with his campus pastor, Brandon Hays, for conversations focused on his spiritual health and personal growth. They interact on other occasions during the week, but their one-on-one is dedicated to X’s formation.
Xaviere also meets monthly with his lay mentor, Coach Dale Clayton, whose legacy combines collegiate victories with national sports leadership, as he brings faith-based mentoring to coaches and athletes.
“They are so full of wisdom,” X says. “The people that I get to meet with on a weekly, monthly basis are absolutely amazing.”
Stepping into speaking roles
Alongside these relationships, X is gaining firsthand experience in ministry. He has preached at Brentwood Baptist’s West Franklin campus, and spoken with students at multiple locations. X has also been invited to step into speaking at the weekly senior adults ministry group, among others.
These ministry opportunities build on his gifting and undergraduate degree in Communication from Wheaton.
Church-based ministry residency + graduate study
Through the church’s Ministry Residency program, X meets regularly with the minister of leadership development, Roger Severino, and participates in spiritual and leadership development through shared readings and fellowship with other residents.
For X, these opportunities are both exciting and formative. “I’m absolutely loving it.”
Encouraging church residencies
At the same time, X has kicked off his graduate study, another integral component of the PreachFor America Fellowship. In his first term at Fuller Theological Seminary, X is diving into Living Missiologically and Orientation to Theological Studies.
His experience offers a glimpse of what the PreachFor America Fellowship seeks to cultivate: emerging leaders surrounded by wise mentors, welcomed into the life of the Church, being grounded concurrently in theological training, and given meaningful opportunities to serve while discerning a possible calling.
By encouraging church residencies and learning from programs like Brentwood Baptist’s, PreachFor and its campus and church partners and supporters are investing in the next generation of pastoral and lay leaders.
