First Methodist Church of Yazoo City welcomes its new pastor to spread the Word and faithful teachings within its church family and the community.
With a love for a small town and its tight-knit atmosphere, Jeffrey Rickman and his family already feel at home in Yazoo and are excited to embark on their new chapter.
“Yazoo is great and has beautiful history with lots of rich personality,” Rickman said. “Yazoo City is reeling with the same global and national trends as the rest of the country. Its strength is its sense of identity even in spite of that. It hasn't at all given itself over to an empty cosmopolitan existence. Folks here still look one another in the eye and greet one another. Children aren't so damaged by screens yet. It is almost like going back in time, but in a good way.”
The Rickman family includes Jeffrey and his wife Sara Beth and their five children, Susanna, Jesse, Clementine, Abigail, and Josiah. They arrived in Yazoo City earlier this year from Oklahoma.
A native of West Texas, Rickman graduated from a high-ranking magnet school in Tulsa called Booker T. Washington High School and then completed a Bachelor’s Degree in Religion, with a minor in Politics, at Hendrix College. However, he admits that he took a different path when he turned his back on religion and his own faith.
“I grew up in a lackluster pseudo-post Christian context,” he said. “I scoffed at faith and eventually left it in undergrad. Yet I studied religion and politics because those subjects are interesting, and the constructs by which men apprehend meaning are obviously of great importance in the world.”
When Rickman was asked to speak as a religion major at a graduation baccalaureate service, he said he had an encounter with the Holy Spirit that made him question his dismissal of the Christian faith.
“I went to seminary to answer the question of how much substance, if any, there was to Christianity,” Rickman said. “As I took steps towards Christ, he validated each one. Those steps eventually led to obedience in serving in the household of God.”
A new path was laid by God, and Rickman was dedicated entirely to continue upon that journey, completing seminary.
“I have served seven small local churches over 20 years in some capacity,” he said. “I have served in both urban and rural settings. I prefer rural. I like living in a place where there is a sense of a consistent population, a place where one's reputation matters.”
Rickman said when he first started as a pastor, he considered himself an idealistic one, believing in himself to use his personal power to transform people. And again, God shifted the direction.
“The Lord has humbled me,” he said. “I now believe people don't repent, transform, convert unless the Lord enables them to do so. My role isn't to make people change. It's rather to warn them, teach them what Christ taught, and show them what the Christian life looks like.”
At some point, Rickman said he and his family needed a change. Sending applications to several locations, it was Yazoo that found him.
“Mississippi is one of those areas that hasn't been as damaged by moral relativism and leftism,” he said. “I was eager to consider doing ministry in a place that might be less hostile to holiness. When the leadership here heard of my availability, we began to talk. Turns out the Lord laid the groundwork for me to serve him here.”
For Rickman, the local church seemed more receptive to the Gospel than many of the other churches he had both served and seen.
“There is less hostility to the high demands of Christ, less interest in justifying themselves,” he continued. “There is more thirst for righteousness. And that results in a more effortless daily life of caring for one another and showing concern for the poor. These things are done as a natural overflow among the people of the church, without any push from the pastor. It is refreshing and admirable.”
Rickman recognizes FMC’s history and legacy within the local community. And he is eager to preserve it through the creation of an endowment fund with a long-term plan for the care of the facility.
“I also want to construct and maintain a history of the church that gives folks a sense of the legacy they take on when joining our church,” he said. “The foundations upon which I want to build are those of scripture study, evangelism, and mission. The church already has some excellent ministries in place to do those things. A lot of what I do here will simply be building upon firm foundations already built.”
And Rickman reflects on all stages within his life for application in his service. He finds that joy in being present for people, which he admits was exactly what he needed when he steered away from his faith.
“Much of my development as a young man was lonesome and confused,” he said. “I didn't really have a good concept of holiness or community. I had no idea how meaningful life can and should be. So now to be present for people in their most sensitive and vulnerable times of life is a great honor. I get to share in the joy of birth and baptism, of confirmation and marriage, of each stage of life with those in my flock. I get to comfort folks in sickness and honor them in death. All of these things are tied together in a faith that gives ultimate meaning and permanence to all things. It is the most beautiful way of life, supernatural in origin. And I get to just spend my life and be spent in the service of my God who died for me.”
And Rickman is taking his role beyond the pulpit with a variety of other options to spread the Message. He has a podcast, PlainSpoken.
“I conduct a morning live stream at 7:30 a.m. most mornings, and I irregularly post interviews with influential Christians like Ken Ham and Samuel Sey. “Folks who want to check out my work, and perhaps participate in the live stream, can go to youtube.com/@plainspokenpod.”
Rickman also writes several articles on a Substack.
“Some of my stuff is anecdotal accounts of ministry over the years,” he said. “A lot of it is aimed at reclaiming the Wesleyan heritage. Of course, I think all this is interesting and pertinent. My style is direct, even confrontational. I think that is what is required. If you want to consider my writing, you can find me at jeffreyrickman.substack.com.”
FMC of Yazoo can also be found on YouTube and Facebook.
“We try to regularly post content that is edifying and encouraging,” Rickman said. “Make sure to follow us on these platforms if you are there. I try to post shorts of sermon snippets, historical tidbits, and most recently, a segment on a Foster Care ministry that one of our people spearheads. I soon hope to begin conducting interviews of local clergy and civic leadership for the good of the local population. Make sure to subscribe to the church, or you'll miss out.”
As Rickman and his family become comfortable with the local church and community, he said he is excited for the small-town atmosphere. He once called larger, urban areas like Tulsa, Little Rock and Boston home. But now he is eager to add Yazoo City to that list.
“I never want to live in a city again,” he said “The traffic alone is debasing. A small town in which I can know the people I see as I move around in life, in which I can watch people struggle together and try to improve their environment alongside one another--this is a more noble and meaningful life. Now, this way of life is being ravaged by popular American culture, but it is still within grasp by the simple realities of our physical space. I want folks to turn off the tv, put their phones down, and go back to knowing, visiting with, and praying for their neighbors. That can only be done in a stable way in a small town. I'm a small-town guy.”
