Ricky Stark ’03
Posted on: February 10, 2026
Preaching and teaching with compassion.
“I can’t imagine my story without North Greenville at this point.”
These are the reflections of Ricky Stark, 2003 Christian Studies alum, who is now serving as the lead pastor at Wellford Church in Wellford, SC.
Stark’s call to ministry began when he was young. After becoming a Christian at 8-years-old, Stark recalls sensing God placing the call to ministry on his life around the age of 9 or 10. Although he sensed his calling at a young age, he fought against it for a while and even experienced a crisis of faith in high school as he studied subjects like French existentialism and world religions.
“I ran from that [call] for a long time. I had other plans for my life, but honestly, I think it was coming through that spiritual crisis I had when I was in high school that really began to break me of that and I really had to surrender some things to the Lord,” he said. “It was in high school that I really surrendered to that and certainly by the time I was a senior in high school, I knew I needed to pick a college to prepare me for ministry.”
Stark chose NGU, where he majored in Christian Studies and minored in English, both of which has played a key role in how he ministers to others. Through his professors, he gained not only knowledge, but learned what true mentorship looked like. It was professors like Curt Horn, Walter Johnson, and Pete Wilbanks who made an impact on his life and ministry.
“The biggest highlight from North Greenville was how much my professors weren’t just my teachers, but they were mentors, they were people that were pouring into me,” Stark said.
“They weren’t just interested in filling my mind with information, but it was that relational piece that was key as well. It makes me think of 1 Timothy 4:16, which says, ‘Watch your life and your teaching closely’ and I encountered that in them,” he said. “They not only demonstrated the truth and the power of the gospel in their teaching, but in their life as well. I am grateful for their influence and their mentorship there.”
His professors in both Christian Studies and English prepared him well for ministry as they instilled how to communicate clearly and how to understand and teach the Bible properly within its historical context.
“The primacy of the Word is the biggest takeaway there. That’s what we seek to center everything around in our church, it all comes down to the gospel. We want to make much of Jesus,” he said.
Along with pastoring a church full-time, Stark is also an adjunct Christian Studies professor at NGU and models his teaching style after the professors who poured into him.
“I’m hopeful that the influence they had on me flows out in how I teach as well. I try to push [my students] hard as my professors did, I think that’s an important part of discipleship as well.” he said. “I want to challenge them intellectually and everything, but by the same token, that relationship piece is huge, and I want my students to know I care for them, I’m praying for them, and here for them in any way that I can be.”
After graduating from NGU, Stark went on to gain a Master of Divinity and a Doctor of Philosophy from The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary. His PhD focused on theology and the arts, and he has recently contributed to two books regarding the subjects: A Skeptic’s Guide to Arts in the Church (2018) and Apologetics Aesthetics (2022). His passion for the subject developed at NGU.
“Between my Christian Studies profs and my English profs, it was revolutionary for me to see the glory of God in particular through aesthetics, the beauty in creation and beauty of the arts,” said Stark. “North Greenville laid the foundation for that perfectly.”
Stark, who served for many years as a youth minister before becoming a lead pastor, has seen God work in many ways throughout his career in ministry. One of his favorite things to witness is seeing students he had years ago now becoming adults and faithfully pursuing Jesus in their own lives.
“You see them walking with Jesus. You see them hungry to know Jesus. You see them making Jesus known and you’re like ‘That’s what it’s all about,’” he said. “That’s your hope and your prayer. All you can do is be faithful to lovingly preach the gospel in season and out of season, when it’s popular and when it’s not, and you seek to love people well and from that the Lord is able to do tremendous things.”
For current NGU students who are interested in pursuing a similar career path, Stark encourages them build relationships with their professors, soaking up as much knowledge as they can, and be actively involved in their local church, seeking our opportunities to make disciples.
“I would say what a great opportunity you have as you are growing in the knowledge of the Lord. First of all, don’t let that be an intellectual knowledge, but let it fuel you to worship the one true God, but it should also prompt you to want to serve the people of God,” he said. “As you grow in knowledge, what a great resource you can be pouring into the next generation and others at your local church.”
“I think discipleship is best emulated as we go deeper in the Word and deeper in relationship. I saw that modeled well at North Greenville,” he said.
