Phillips Joins OBU as Director of Student Ministry

March 16, 2017

OBU is pleased to welcome Clay Phillips as the director of student ministry. He assumed his duties March 1.

Phillips is a 2011 OBU alumnus, majoring in Bible. He then earned a Master of Divinity in expository preaching from Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary. He is currently working toward a Ph.D. in preaching from Southeastern.

In his role as director of student ministry, Phillips will focus on fostering discipleship among students.

“We were drawn back to OBU by the potential kingdom impact this position provides for us,” he said. “We were loving life and ministry in Wake Forest, North Carolina, where I am pursuing my Ph.D. and we had no intention of looking for other jobs until I completed that. However, when the opportunity presented itself, we felt it was a very unique niche that we could fill and one that we could use to fulfill the Great Commission in as great or greater ways than where we were serving at the time.”

Phillips is most excited to see students come to Christ, and mature in Christ during their journey at OBU.

“I hope to have a tremendous impact on the spiritual formation of our students,” he said. “Most importantly, I see any impact made as God's impact through me rather than something I'm creating on my own. I'm encouraged to know that God uses the weak in this world to show His strength. I trust He will do things I never dreamed could be done through my weakness, and He will receive all glory for it.”

“OBU has the proud reputation of making a global impact on God's kingdom year after year as graduates go out and serve in various capacities,” he said. “As enrollment grows and we send more students out each year, we have the opportunity to expand the impact our graduates are already making. We have the opportunity to extend God's love to students who have never been loved and then see them take it to the ends of the earth. Within the current generation, we could easily see the gospel reach the three billion unreached people in the world.”

Phillips and his wife, Lindsey, have one son, Cohen, who recently turned one. In his free time, Phillips enjoys hunting and sports of any kind. As a member of the Choctaw Nation of Oklahoma, he tries to stay active in tribal affairs. He plans to write his dissertation on an aspect of Choctaw preaching.