Avery from Albany
Avery from Albany
by Avery Flynt
My parents moved my sister and me to Albany so my dad could work at a great church, and my mom began her work as a social worker for an adoption agency. They say they blinked and seventeen years had gone by, still a part of the same church and the same school.
During those years, my middle sister was born, and through the beautiful gift of adoption, God brought my youngest sister and brother into our family all the way from China (which was a cool trip, you should ask me about it!). Being the oldest meant I had the unique privilege of no hand-me-down clothes and the front seat of the car, but it also came with loads of responsibility.
Growing up with a dad on staff at the church meant that we were there whether we wanted to be or not. We were there on Sunday mornings, Sunday nights, Wednesday nights, and even spent most Saturday mornings on the field or in the church gym playing Upward sports. There were definitely days I was dragged to church against my will, but honestly, I really did love it. Church was familiar to me. It was a place where I knew people and those people knew me, where the nations were represented, where truth was taught, and where I learned what outward worship looks like. Most importantly, it was the place where I gave my life to Christ.
During a kids’ worship time, our Children’s Pastor at the church told us how the Gospel can’t just be head knowledge, but it has to become heart knowledge. As much as I could understand as a first grader, I remember feeling the weight of that truth. I talked with my parents and made a decision to follow Jesus. A few weeks later, I testified publicly when I was baptized by my dad and granddad at the park where we played Saturday sports.
From then on, I like to say I kind of grew up with Jesus. My profession of faith was true and real, but there was still so much to learn about what it means to “grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ,” as Peter writes in 2 Peter 3.
Middle school came, and like most middle schoolers, I bounced between schools and friend groups trying to find my place. Then high school arrived, and for the next four years, I planted myself in a private Christian school. Much like the church I was a part of, the school carried that same warm familiarity. Attending a Christian school meant Bible classes, chapel every Thursday, annual Spiritual Emphasis weeks, and prayer request time before the bell rang. It also meant that “Christian” was the culture of the hallways, the water we swam in, that, for some, quietly blurred the line between Jesus being their Lord and Jesus being their mascot.
In my senior year, I became the school Chaplain, which meant I was responsible for planning chapel and helping students stay “spiritually healthy.” That same year, one of my mom’s best friend’s son was diagnosed with an aggressive cancer that spread to his brain and eventually took his life. He attended our school, and when he passed away, it shook the entire campus. Throughout his cancer journey though, God remained real to him. This middle school boy shared the Gospel from his hospital bed, texted friends who didn’t know Christ, and continually testified that Jesus was his Lord and Savior. The days after his passing were some of the heaviest moments our little community had ever known.
But there’s something about death that sends an alarmingly loud wake-up call to those who are still living. Amid the deep grief, God began to move. Through this boy’s testimony, students started waking up, and dozens gave their lives to Christ within just a few days. The presence of the Lord was thick, filling hearts, classrooms, and conversations.
Being in a spiritual leadership position during that time shaped me in ways I’m still realizing. The Lord not only used that season to wake up our school, but He used it to wake me up. It was a pivotal moment when God became real to me in ways I had never experienced before. I finished my senior year, grateful and changed, and stepped into a new season as I moved into Pittman Hall at Samford University. Like most freshmen, I started church-hopping, and one Sunday, I walked into Dawson. I was greeted by the college staff, and even though the space wasn’t the familiar setting I’d grown up in, the people carried that same warmth.
My friends and I decided to plant ourselves there, and we began attending Auxano and Village regularly. During the spring of my freshman year at Auxano, Cole Frier walked up to me, handed me a BETA internship card, and said, “You should pray about this.” Me, the Music Business major who thought she wanted to work for Spotify one day, was a little caught off guard. But I did pray about it, and the Lord made it clear that I was supposed to apply. So I did. I started BETA my sophomore year and interned with Dawson's College Ministry until my senior year.
Looking back, I can see how faithfully the Lord kept me throughout college. I met some of my closest friends, made some of my sweetest memories, and it was during those years that God revealed that He had a different plan for my life. Through BETA, through trusted mentors, and through much prayer, the Lord gently showed me that He had ministry in mind for me. He didn’t write “You are called into ministry!” across the sky, nor did He speak it in an audible voice. For me, the call came as a series of quiet nudges. They were a steady pull toward serving God by serving His people. As I stepped into that, I was continually molded and encouraged through both college and Dawson.
By the end of my senior year, I had a plan. I was going to take a step back from church ministry, work at a coffee shop while pursuing seminary, and then return to vocational ministry later on. I shared that plan with Cole Griffith during my BETA exit interview at Honest Coffee in February of 2024. He listened and then said, “That’s cool, but one last thing. Do you want to be Interim College Associate?” And well, the rest is history.
God had and always has bigger plans than ours. Plans that surprise us, stretch us, and humble us in the best ways. Serving at Dawson and working with the College Ministry has been one of the greatest blessings of my life. This family has encouraged me, challenged me, taught me, and continually pushes me deeper into who Christ is making me to be.
There’s a reason I still have to say, “I’m from Georgia, actually.” It’s because Birmingham and Dawson have given me the same warmth I grew up loving. So give the Lord your "Yes." Even if it scares you. Even if you have other plans. Even if you’re comfortable where you are. Because you’re giving it to, as Paul says in Ephesians 3: Now to Him who is able to do far more abundantly than all that we ask or think, according to the power at work within us.
Avery Flynt, originally from Albany, Georgia, graduated with a Bachelor of Arts in Christian Ministry at Samford University. She served as a College BETA Intern for three years. Avery is now pursuing her Master of Divinity in Biblical Studies from New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary.