Meet Mac Holt

After interning with our youth program last year, we are happy to welcome Mac Holt as our full time youth director. Mac has spent most of his life under the discipleship of our church, and we could not be more excited to have him now leading this vital ministry. There has never been a better time to get involved in the youth ministry at TCPC!

Take a minute to get to know him:

Tell us a little about yourself

I grew up in Lexington after moving here with my family in early elementary school. I went to Trinity and then on to UK with plans to continue into the world of startup business. During that time I got involved as an intern in the same youth program I had come up through and where the Gospel had taken root in my own heart, and found such a love for high school and middle school students! God used the youth program when I was in high school to connect me with mentors that walked with me through hard seasons of life and continually pointed me to the Father, as well as peers to process life at a level of depth that is not common for high school students. This, coupled with the weekly rhythms of corporate worship and the sacraments, have been some of the biggest ways God has worked in me. My wife Jess and I love this city and church and want to make TCPC a home for youth as it has been for us.

Summarize your philosophy of ministry

In short, we want to plug students into TCPC for a lifetime of discipleship leading to greater love for the Lord and experience of His love for us. To do this, we want to emphasize the importance of weekly corporate worship on Sunday mornings and the discipleship of students by adult mentors who know and love them! When students leave our youth program, we want them to seek a church where they weekly sit beneath solid Biblical teaching, and where they are known and loved by others in the church who will speak Truth into their lives. We pray they find this modeled in our church for their time in school.

What's one thing you you'd like to share with youth?

Many of you have grown up in the church where you hear so many big beautiful theological truths, but you do not see how they have bearing in your life yet. I would tell you they already do! You are walking into them as you grow up, but it can just be hard to see. That is why the church body is so important. It is made up of men and women who are either a few or many steps beyond where you are, but they have all been in your shoes, walking the same path that you now do. God uses them to shed light on the ways that He is working in your life. They are often able to speak into the circumstances of your life and point you to God’s handiwork in your story. Your parents are some of these people, and they often know you better than anyone else, so take your questions to them and others in the congregation.

What's one thing you you'd like to share with parents of youth?

This follows up on exactly what I would say to students. You have been in their place before. Often they will be struggling with things very similar to what you did at their age! If they know that you have been exactly where they are, they will be much more able to hear the correction and guidance you have for them. Dig into your own stories, and use that as encouragement and guidance for your children. I know that as my own parents have been honest and real with their stories, they have been used so deeply by God to speak truth into my story and struggles.

What's the best way to get involved in TCPC's youth program?

It can be intimidating to come out to a place where you do not know anyone! We meet on Wednesday nights and on Sunday mornings to fellowship and study God’s word, and we are constantly looking to connect students to others in the group and to mentors who will walk alongside them! I would love to get to know you and see how we can connect you to this group. If you are busy during these times, let me know! We have small groups starting up late this fall and these are an excellent source of community and discipleship.