For Lamar Courtney, Trevecca has been a place of belonging since his first visit to campus in 1995 as an eighth grader attending Top Nazarene Talent (TNT). That spring trip was the beginning of a relationship with Trevecca that would span decades, shape his calling and ultimately lead him to two Trevecca degrees: a bachelor’s degree in Christian ministry and a master’s degree in church and community.
After wrestling with a call to ministry throughout high school, Courtney surrendered to God’s direction during a church service—just days after being encouraged by a mentor to apply to Trevecca. “That week we sang a song at church and the chorus refrained, ‘I’ll go where You want me to go, dear Lord... I’ll say what you want me to say... I’ll be what You want me to be.’ After the third time through I raised my hand and, with tears streaming, surrendered my will over to the will of God.”
Courtney arrived at Trevecca that fall with little money, but a full heart. “From the time I arrived at Trevecca, it felt like youth camp, but I was supposed to study too,” he said. “It took me 23 years but I am proud to say that I have two degrees from a place that means so much to me.”
Through life’s challenges and a long path to completing his degree, Trevecca remained a constant source of growth, refuge and family. “From the time I left for Trevecca, I never really had a place to return to or call home. I suppose I never really understood how much that place became my home,” he said. “Trevecca wasn't just a place for me to learn and prepare. It was a family that I gained.”
“Trevecca wasn't just a place for me to learn and prepare. It was a family that I gained.”
Courtney’s passion for ministry is deeply rooted in his own experience as a “bus ministry kid” from Jackson, Mississippi. “My mother was working multiple jobs to keep a roof over our heads,” he said. A Nazarene pastor and his wife learned of two boys needing a ride to church and offered to pick Courtney and his brother up every week. “We had nothing to offer but we were loved into the Kingdom of God by a missional church,” Courtney said. “I am a Christian, a Nazarene and a pastor because people were driven by the Great Commission.”
Now the senior pastor at United Church of the Nazarene in Orlando, Florida, Courtney brings that same love and mission-minded leadership to his community and congregation. “I have seen the Church in action and it has motivated me to serve and love as many as possible into the Kingdom the way that I was.”
With 27 years of ministry experience, his greatest joys now come from seeing his own family walking in truth. “My hope is that my ceiling of potential would be their floor,” he said. “My oldest son recently went on a mission trip to Nicaragua with me and preached on the radio. He also won the vocal solo his first year at TNT. What a full circle moment!”
As for his legacy, he points to faithfulness over fame. “In the end, I hope my kids love the Lord and the Church,” he said. “I hope to reach as many people as possible through preaching the Word. I hope that my words and my presence and my actions would be reflective of Christ.”
His encouragement to current ministry students? Start now. “Don't wait until you have a degree to serve the Lord. Find a way to serve right now as much as you can,” he said. “Go to church! It won't be your home church but find one that you can get involved in and serve right now.”
And above all, be present. “Be yourself,” he said. “Make as many friends as possible, because relationships drive everything. Be present and never miss a moment to make a memory.”