News & Articles

This is the second of two articles on the transition of Pastors Gearhart and Bates into their new roles at HPBC. You can read the first, where we interview Joel, here. 

On December 6, 2020, Andrew Bates (and his wife Sarah) joined Hampton Park Baptist Church because they saw how God was at work here and wanted to be a part of it. Little did they know that God had plans to move him into a staff role less than two years later! Though this was not foreseen by Andrew or HPBC, we thank God for leading in this way over the past nine months. 

Prior to moving to Greenville, Andrew served as a Student Ministries Pastor at Faith Bible Church in Naples, Florida; so he enters into this role with a bit of experience. As he steps into this new role, we wanted to ask him some questions that would help you get to know him a little bit better and give you a small window into his passion to help teens grow to love God and the church. 

Andrew, this is your second time serving as a Pastor for Student Ministries. What was your favorite part of serving in this role the first time around?

Definitely building relationships with the teens and helping them understand the joy of the gospel and living for Jesus.

When you first moved to Greenville, we were at lunch (I think at Italian Garden Restaurant), and you told me that you thought God might be preparing you for a lead or preaching/teaching role in a local church. What did God use to shift your focus back to the possibility of serving in student ministries again?

I realized I wasn’t quite ready to grow up completely! :) Truthfully, the Lord has simply continued to give me a desire to minister to teens and has yet to change that. I get excited about getting to play a small role in the discipleship of teens.

And as a follow-up to the previous question, how did God work in you to give you the desire to do that here at Hampton Park in particular? Over the past couple of years, you told me about several other churches that reached out to you about available staff roles.

The character of the pastoral body and the love of the members of HP makes this a special place. The pastoral body is made up of faithful men who humbly love Jesus and serve the body of Christ. Since becoming a member at HPBC, it has been my prayer that God would lead us to a church where I could serve alongside men like the pastors here. And I would have never believed that it would be here! The Lord has been so kind! Another factor was the timing.  I really wanted to get more than half-way through my degree before stepping back into pastoral ministry, and the timing of this opening worked out really well.

Why is investing in the lives of teenagers such an important and strategic thing to do in the church?

The teens are young adults in the church now, but soon they will make up the families of the church. It is vital that teenagers learn how to be committed followers of Jesus and understand the importance of the local church now, so that when they have families, faithfulness to Christ and his church continues. I hope to help them understand how valuable they are in the Kingdom of God and to recognize that the Lord wants to use them for His glory.

Was there anyone in particular that invested in you as a teenager? If so, who? And how was it meaningful in your life?

My dad. He was my youth pastor, my coach, mentor, and friend. I watched him humbly serve the Lord in vocational ministry my entire life. He was a school teacher/coach, missionary, youth pastor, in Christian college ministry, and current pastor. He has been a true reflection of my heavenly father for me and has had an influence on every aspect of my life.

Dads of HPBC teens, I hope you go back and read again what Andrew just said! So Andrew, in order to give you a nice slow start in your role (I say this tongue-in-cheek), one of the first things you did in your new role was help with Connection Week at HPCS. How was that?!

Unexpected!! Connection Week should have been on the job description. :) It was an absolute blast to get to work closely with Cody, Joel, Eric and Ben leading up to the week. These guys love Jesus and these students! The week really helped me get to know the students, faculty and staff, and make me feel a part of the ministry quickly.

You are a busy man. You have four young children, are working on a seminary degree, and now are taking on this role. How do you balance these various responsibilities/roles?

This is probably a better question for Sarah! She helps me a lot in the area of balance. She is strong, loving, and kind as she supports and helps me. For me it has been a journey of learning to be content with the time God has given me each day. I work hard to dedicate specific time to each of these areas and then trust that the Holy Spirit accomplishes what I can’t do on my own anyway.

For those of you who do not know this yet about Andrew, he rivals John Lehman for being an early-riser! Andrew, what excites you most about being in this role?

Getting to work with the Word of God and people. Every day I get to observe and learn from godly men. I also get to teach, encourage, and disciple others to follow Jesus. Being a pastor is a humbling position in which you realize everyday just how much you need Jesus and his grace.

Brag on Sarah for a minute. How has God used her to encourage and support you over the past several years leading up to your time of stepping into this new pastoral role?

Oh man! She is amazing! She truly loves Jesus and wants her life to bring him glory and reflect him. It was difficult making the decision to step out of vocational ministry and move the family up here to SC, but she never doubted that it was what the Lord was calling us to do. When I had times of discouragement, she was patient and faithful in prayer on my behalf. She is such a godly wife and mother to our children. And she is just as passionate about serving the teens here at HPBC as I am!

Alright, last question for now. What is the best book that you’ve read on ministering to teenagers?

This is a tough one…I know it’s not a book about ministering to teens specifically, but Instruments in the Redeemer’s Hands by Paul Tripp has helped me much in my ministry. It’s a book that reminds me that God uses people (who are themselves in need of change) as instruments of the same kind of change in others. An important part of leading teens toward the gospel and sanctification is making sure they know that I am in the middle of the same process. I need God’s daily grace to love and follow Jesus just as much as they do.