Intro
Hi, my name is Ethan Floyd. First and foremost, I am a follower of my Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. I am 25 years old, and I was born and raised in Vidalia, Georgia. I have one older sister, and was born into an awesome family that introduced me to Jesus at a very young age while growing up in the church. I got my associates degree from the College of Coastal Georgia, while also being fortunate enough to walk on and play basketball my 2nd year there. I later finished at Georgia Southern University with my Bachelors degree in Communication Studies and a Minor in Spanish (although my Spanish is currently far from fluent!). I recently moved back to Vidalia and have been and active member in the Community. Since last September, I accepted a job with the First United Methodist Youth group, while also doing some personal training on the side. Coming from a guy who “never wanted to live back in his hometown”, this past year has been special for me to say the least.
Why Ministry?
Matthew 5:6- “Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they shall be satisfied”
This section might feel like I am branching off on tangents, however I want to paint a picture of my heart and of why I am in ministry. I have always been a deep thinker and always had a purpose driven mindset behind everything in life. The knockoff is, this kind of mindset is depressing. And depression has been something that has plagued me over the years, starting at an early age. In everything I do, my mind is ringing with the question “in light of eternity what weight does this hold?”. This may sound crazy, but literally the only thing that satisfies me and makes me happy is Jesus. I get bored to easy for everything else in life. I could literally type examples from my life in this section for hours… however let me try to make this as concise as possible. In everything that I do, if it is not of God and in obedience to God then I am sad. I feed off of passion and excitement, however the only thing that makes me excited anymore is Jesus. Just a further glance at my heart, humor me by putting yourself inside of this picture I draw. Imagine you are waking up on a Monday with a stressful week ahead of you. And you are feeling lethargic and are just ready for the week to be over with already. This feeling happens to me everyday that I am not seeking Jesus with my whole heart.
Jeremiah 29:11- “For I know the plans I have for you”, declares the Lord, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you a hope and a future”.
In regards to my future: I am 100% sure that I do not know what my future is, and I have no logical “game-plan” that is aiding towards the completion of some overarching goal. The only game-plan I have come to know, is listening to Jesus’ voice, and having the courage to say ‘YES’ no matter what His voice says.
I believe I accepted Jesus at an early age. However it did not actually become real and a priority to me until I was almost 16 when a revivalist came and spoke at FBC Vidalia. Some might call this when I “actually got saved”, others “my call to ministry”, and still some might say I was “baptized in the Holy Spirit that night”; all I know is that I felt Jesus in such a passionate way I knew that was all my heart really wanted. Because of this experience my whole life was gloriously thrown out of whack. I knew I wanted God to use my life in a mighty way for His glory, but I had no idea in what capacity. At first I thought I was going to be a pastor, and then I thought I was going to be a speaker, and then a youth pastor. But now I’m 25 years old, and I don’t care about labels anymore, I just want to seek Jesus with my whole heart and obey him however and wherever He tells me to go and do.
Romans 8:28- “And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose.
I wish I could say I have gone and faithfully followed and obeyed Jesus my whole life, but I definitely have not. I wish I could say I have no regrets, but I definitely do. But I can proudly say my God has, can, and will continue to redeem everything in my life for my good and for His glory. I am not content with past sins that broke God’s heart. But I am content knowing He has the power to turn even the worst of my sins and situations and turn them around somehow and use them for good when I surrender it to Him.
