SENATOBIA, Miss. –– The Rev. Rickey Haynes, a M.Div. graduate of Memphis Theological Seminary and a graduate of the No Man Left Behind Leadership Training Center for Men’s Evangelism and Discipleship, has been certified as a men’s ministry specialist by the Nashville-based General Commission on United Methodist Men.

As a men’s ministry specialist Haynes is now available to help Mississippi churches reach men within and beyond their congregations.

Now in his eighth year of service as pastor of the two-point Coldwater Charge in northwest Mississippi, Haynes says, “I have wondered if this heart-felt desire to serve in ministry to men might eventually pass, but over and over again the fire continues to be re-ignited and I continue to really desire to make myself available for service in other areas and venues beyond the local churches I am blessed to serve.”

Since Haynes also works as an appraiser for Farm Credit System, he is presently classified as a local pastor.

Raised in the denomination

Haynes says he has been a part of the United Methodist Church since his birth. He briefly separated from congregational activities while he was in college, but he returned to the church following the birth of his first child. “At that point in life, I understood the need to be part of the church and make certain that my family had the opportunity to know and grow in the Lord Jesus Christ,” says Haynes.

He received a call to the ministry following a 1984 Walk to Emmaus, and he has since served as a leader of Emmaus and Chrysalis weekends both as a layperson and later as a clergyperson. His first appointment was as an associate pastor of Senatobia United Methodist Church. After two years in that congregation, he was appointed to two churches in the Mississippi Delta where he served for 11 years prior to his appointment to the Coldwater and Arkabutla churches.

United Methodist Men

Haynes serves as treasurer of Mississippi Conference United Methodist Men. “I became convinced some time ago that revival and renewal among men is a key to revival and renewal in the church universal, but especially the United Methodist Church,” he says.

Certification for the men’s ministry specialist takes 12-18 months and is completed with the guidance of the Turner Center for Church Development at Vanderbilt Divinity School.

“It was an honor to conduct the final interview of the Rev. Rickey Haynes,” said Dave Ramsey, a member of the evaluation team. “He has a heart for men’s ministry and is eager to move forward as a men’s ministry specialist.”

Churches interested in receiving guidance from Haynes, may contact him at rickeyhaynes23@bellsouth.net (cell phone 662-560-3449)