SFA graduate talks coming to Christ through BSM and pursuing call to vocational ministry

Ethan Hollis, Stephen F. Austin (SFA) State University graduate and active member of First Baptist Church (FBC) Nacogdoches, grew up with inconsistent attendance in church and little understanding of the gospel, but after a friend invited him to youth group, he became more engaged with both.  

Hollis recalled accepting Christ at a youth camp in middle school but said, “the things of the the world really choked up my faith.” 

Halfway through his first semester of college at a different school, Sam Houston State University, Hollis encountered God in his dorm room after he “hit rock bottom” from years of living a worldly lifestyle. 

“I remember praying to God, crying and saying, ‘God, I don't have anywhere else to go. I don't have any other reason for life. I need help, and I need you,’” said Hollis.  

A few days later, Hollis received an invitation to the Baptist Student Ministry (BSM) from a family friend and attended their Thursday night worship service. He was “immediately welcomed” into the BSM by three “Godly young men who are still some of my best friends today.”

“I sat with them week after week, ended up getting discipled, and they just taught me what it looks like to follow Jesus and that being a Christian means accepting forgiveness and loving God and pursuing him,” said Hollis. “My life really changed after that.” 

Hollis said he was deeply impacted by how the BSM modeled discipleship and Christ-like community. 

“I grew up in a church that was mainly older folks; there just weren't a lot of young people who were genuine Christians. So it was hard to follow the Lord during my high school years [because] I just didn't know what it was like. But being able to see it modeled … it deeply impacted me,” said Hollis. “With just one semester, I think everything changed because of the intentionality that they had.” 

Leaning into God’s call 

Gradually, during his time at the BSM, Hollis said he “fell in love with doing ministry.”

Hollis transferred to SFA in August 2021 for his sophomore year. Upon his move, his friend Jackson VanDover, now youth minister at First Baptist Church Center, shared that FBC Nacogdoches was searching for a youth ministry intern. Hollis felt God had given him a desire to teach the Word, so he seized the opportunity and served as the youth ministry intern from January 2022 to April 2024. 

He said his role as youth ministry intern was very formative in further discerning the call he felt God had given him to vocational ministry. 

After his time as youth ministry intern, Hollis began FBC Nacogdoches’ program titled, “Calling out the Called,” which allows young adults who feel called to pastoral ministry to attend seminary fully funded, be discipled and trained by the church’s leadership to eventually be sent out to pastor their own congregations. 

Hollis said God has used his time being mentored by lead pastor, Noel Dear, and associate pastor, Mark McLendon, to spur on his desire for pastoring. 

“I think that God has used great models like them, church leader models, to create in me a deep desire to [preach],” said Hollis. “It's just crazy that God can do something like that in a person and just completely change around everything that you want to do. And [preaching] is the only thing I want to do.”

On Aug. 24, Hollis and a couple of his “Calling out the Called” classmates attended Discipleship Collective in Mount Pleasant. Discipleship Collective is a ministry of the Texas Baptists Center of Church Health that provides training and resources to Sunday school, small group and other discipleship leaders “to equip [Christ’s] people for works of service” with the goal of unity in his church and maturity in his followers.

Hollis said he wasn’t sure what to expect out of the training but was impacted by the connections he made with seasoned pastors and gained wisdom on how to navigate an effective Sunday School structure. 

“One of the greatest [takeaways] was I got to hear [about] the importance and effectiveness of the small groups settings in churches,” said Hollis. “But, also [taking away] the connections that were made. I feel that I can reach out to [these pastors] one day when I become a young, inexperienced pastor … [to] get their wisdom on what to do in certain situations.”

Aspiring to be a faithful minister  

Hollis said he would advise those discerning a call to vocational ministry to “meditate on [the Book of the Law] day and night, so that you may be careful to do everything written in it” (Joshua 1:8 NIV). He also encouraged others to take the time to learn how to be faithful to Christ and the church. 

“I think [this] especially [applies to] people who are aspiring to be ministers because … we can't lead a church in any capacity if we are not soaked and marinated in God's Word,” said Hollis. “Take your time. Not all of us should be teachers, but we should all be exemplary Christians. I think one way to learn to do that is just be a faithful member of the church, be a faithful Christian. It takes time to grow and [discern] those desires.”

Hollis also advised that it is essential that an aspiring minister should seek and pray for the Lord to build them up in the character and integrity of a “biblically qualified” minister.

“I'm thankful for Texas Baptists and everything that they do [and] I'm thankful for the BSM and for the way it has changed so many lives on [college] campuses,” said Hollis.  

To learn more about Texas BSM and other Texas Baptists collegiate ministries, visit txb.org/collegiate.

To learn more about Discipleship & NextGen and how it can be a resource to you or your church, visit txb.org/discipleship.