Who we are
Hi, my name is Terry Fant. i have been the lead pastor at Hickory Ridge Baptist Church in Florence, MS, for 20 years now. In that time, i’ve had the honor of serving on missions all over the United States, overseas, in local churches, within the homeless community, in prisons, with children’s ministry, with youth, and in many other areas. i have seen needs of all varieties.
Over the last few years, God has stirred in my heart a desire to make maximum impact for His glory with the gifts, influence, and whatever time i have left. All of which He has so graciously given me. My heart beats with a growing burden to strengthen married couples, pastors, and leaders. Each of these groups carries far-reaching influence in building Christ’s kingdom here on earth.
Though my heart for ministry remains on fire and wholeheartedly committed to the body of believers He has given me to shepherd, over the last few years i have felt called to also invest deeply in these specific areas—not only through personal teaching and materials, but by providing opportunities and resources through other trusted Bible teachers and preachers.
From providing affordable marriage conferences for individuals or churches that otherwise may not get the opportunity, to teaching young believers how to live the Word of God in practical ways that revolutionize marriage, all the way to renewing pastors’ spirits through challenging and encouraging conferences and retreats—thus came Truth for Today Ministries!
i pray God will use this ministry to help strengthen marriages around the world, put a renewed spirit in our men of God, and ignite and equip a new generation of leaders. Please be in prayer as this ministry is formed, that it will honor God, encourage couples, support our shepherds, and inspire leaders!
P.S. The lowercase “i” is an intentional reminder for me of John 3:30 in which John states, “He must increase, but i must decrease.”
Marriage Ministry
Through our marriage ministry we teach a 4 session study and materials created by Terry Fant over a Friday evening through Saturday early afternoon conference to churches including small rural churches that otherwise wouldn’t have the means to provide this to their congregation. This material combines biblical marital principals along with real life application, with the goal of creating more Christ centered marriages offering “Something Different” than what the world offers or they have lived so far!
Pastoral Outreach Ministry
The number of pastors leaving the ministry is staggering. The number of young men answering the call to pastor is dwindling. This creates a bad situation for the spiritual formation of believers in local churches. The work of the Holy Spirit is paramount to calling and equipping and one of the ways He does so is through His people. For whatever reason, many people do not know the weight that can come with being a pastor. While you feel each victory with your congregation, you also feel each one’s loss, hurt and struggles. They also sacrifice time away from their families when called out to the different needs of their flock, whether it be midnight hospital visits, emergency marriage counseling, untimely deaths, or weekend wedding ventures. These pastors live their calling diligently. There is also a lack of practical pastoral equipping for those who are unable to have seminary training such as expository preaching, counseling, and personal spiritual disciplines. Through this ministry we hope to fill their cups in different ways. Some of these include pastor’s conferences, Expositor’s Hour (training in expository preaching), retreats and more.
Leadership Training Ministry
Through this ministry we teach biblical leadership principles to not only those seeking to lead in a church setting, but also business owners, managers, law enforcement, etc. This training will be provided through meetings of various lengths at the host business locations or conference centers. Everybody is leading somebody, our prayer is that it be like Jesus to Jesus!