Oxford Pastor Utilizes Sports Photography For His Ministry

Bill Barksdale, senior pastor of St. Andrews United Methodist Church

Bill Barksdale likes to use “Field of Dreams” philosophy: “If you build it, he will come.”

As a youth minister, years before becoming the senior pastor of St. Andrews United Methodist Church, Barksdale made it a point to be involved in the youth group students’ lives.

“I started going to the baseball fields, to the football fields, to be around the youth and kind of picked this up as a hobby or a passion,” Barksdale said.

He couldn’t get enough of the satisfaction of capturing moments in these kids’ lives with a camera. He snapped action photo after action photo at every sporting event he could go to.

The first time the interest sparked, he had no idea he would be out on the field to take photos.

“I was kind of looking for my students because they hadn’t been at youth group for a while, and, at a sporting event, you can’t really talk to the kids during the event. You have to wait until it’s all over to even see them,” Barksdale said. “So, while I was waiting, I ran out and I started taking pictures, and I took one over the fence and from way far away, and then I printed it out for the parent the next week in church, because it was one of the kids in my church. And, they just loved it.”

Photo by Bill Barksdale

Although Barksdale loves to connect with the community through his sports photography, he also hopes that his hobby will, in turn, bring families to his church.

“It’s a unique way of taking pictures, sports photography pictures in general, and reaching to the community, to the team, and to the kids and families themselves by taking photos as a gift to them,” Barksdale said. “What I hope will continue to come is that people might be interested in coming to or being a part of our church family because of that outreach.”

Barksdale has only been in Oxford since 2012, and he said it takes time to build trust and relationships within the community. But as a youth minister in Madison, Mississippi, Barksdale found that once a trust and relationship has been built, the reward is beyond satisfying.

“It just means a whole lot to be able to give the gift of these memories because action photos are hard to take,” Barksdale said. “So, to be able to give them the photo and then across the years, see how much it meant to people that I helped them remember their championship, their victory, their winning season or whatever it may have been, it means a lot.”

Photo by Bill Barksdale

Barksdale said he likes to stay with a team through the whole sporting season, and for some teams, he has photographed many seasons.

“I get a lot of personal satisfaction out of getting to meet the kids, getting to know their name, and feeling like I’ve been a part of their life, part of their high school careers or junior high careers,” Barksdale said. “It’s satisfying to watch a middle school baseball team, and then watch them grow up. And when they’re a senior, looking back at when they were in seventh grade, the first time they pitched on a mound, and just realize how much they’ve grown up and how proud you are of them.”

Barksdale will continue to build relationships with sporting teams in every pocket of the community. And he hopes that as he builds, they will come.

“We want families to participate at St. Andrews and want to show that we’re welcoming and open unto having them participate,” Barksdale said. “We want to be a part of their lives.”

Randall Haley is the social media editor and a staff writer for HottyToddy.com. She can be reached at randall.haley@hottytoddy.com.