Tyler Mitchell

Quick Facts

Programs: Christian Studies, B.A. 
Concentration: Christian Ministry
Graduation Year: 2011
Current Job Title: Area Director, The Fellowship of Christian Athletes
Hometown: Upland, CA
Current City: Hattiesburg, MS

Life at CBU

Why did you choose your major? What interested you in this particular field of study?
When God directed my path to CBU through a soccer scholarship, I had just become a new believer in Jesus Christ. While praying through the next steps of my life and what major to choose as a new believer, I felt God’s call to ministry and His desire for me to understand how to read and apply His Word. Christian studies at CBU was the major God used to turn me toward sports ministry.

What did you like about being in this program at CBU?
The smaller classes sizes allowed my classmates and me to became a family as we all went through the program together. Even the more difficult classes had a purpose of us understanding the content and purpose of God’s Word.

What did you think about your professors?
I love the faculty and their heart to see future ministers of the gospel not only have a scholarly passion for God’s word but to also live it out through their relationship with Christ. Each professor is a living example of what it means to understand theology and passionately live for Christ on a daily basis.

Did you complete an internship?
I interned at Hemet Valley Baptist Church (now Hope in the Valley Baptist Church) through a relationship I had at CBU. CBU prepared me to apply the knowledge I obtained in the classroom in a church ministry setting.

Did you participate in anything else at CBU?
I was captain of the men’s soccer team for the two years I was at CBU and I participated in two ISP trips to North Africa and Greece.

How did you grow (spiritually, socially, educationally) while in this program at CBU?
I was a blank slate for biblical knowledge and understanding when I entered CBU, and, when I left, I was prepared to serve God overseas through International Mission Board's Journeyman program to reach an unreached people group in North Africa.

Did your major help you figure out your purpose?
Yes, CBU was the means by which God fulfilled my call to ministry and started my journey into sports ministry.

Life after CBU

What have you done since graduating?
Since graduating from CBU, I have worked overseas doing sports ministry in North Africa. I married a fellow in the Journeyman program, and we went back to North Africa with our two kids for 3 1/2 years. Since returning to the States, we have settled in my wife’s hometown, and I have taken the role as area director for nine counties in South Mississippi. I’m also able to continue my work in Africa as a member of the Mississippi International Advancement Team through the Fellowship of Christian Athletes. We are currently pursuing our One Ball Initiative, which aims to bring the gospel to every field through a soccer ball I designed with our gospel-sharing tool called “the four.”

What are your current job duties?
I supervise the ministry of the Fellowship of Christian Athletes to every coach and athlete in an area we call the Vbine Belt in south Mississippi. I serve as the campus director for Fellowship of Christian Athletes at William Carey University and help our team members grow in their knowledge of Christ and serve their teammates in collegiate sports.

How has your major and time at CBU prepared you for your life and career after college?
Everything mentioned above. The most important aspect of my schooling was that my professors taught me how to study God’s Word and understand it the way He desires us to. Being a collegiate athlete and coach has also prepared me to relate to the athletes and coaches on my campuses today.

How are you making a difference in the world? How are you living your purpose?
Through our One Ball Initiative, we are mobilizing students, athletes, coaches and volunteers to be able to share the gospel and disciple new believers in Christ.

What are your future goals and plans?
To continue the call that God put on my heart at the beginning of my CBU journey to “use my life, talents and experiences to bring Him glory.” Our plan is to continue our ministry both here and there. Building disciples in south Mississippi to see the ends of the earth reached for Jesus.

Would you recommend CBU to others?
I love everything about CBU. The professors still remember and connect with me today, I love how CBU has focused on growth all while holding to its values and, of course, the caf.

Anything else you’d like to add?
Currently obsessed with Pickleball, and I’ve started a custom design business, called 5.0 Designs, that helps companies, influencers and schools create and design custom pickleball paddles and gear.