Meet the Team: Sean Alford

______

Where did you graduate from and what did you study?

I graduated from the College of Charleston in South Carolina where I studied Biology and Psychology.

What led you to do Generation LINK?

I became a Christian during my freshman year at CofC, which radically changed the direction of my life.  God slowly changed my heart and initial plan to attend medical school.  I knew I wanted to make disciples, which I thought would be best done through counseling, but later I was challenged to pursue pastoral ministry.  I knew that I should be theologically trained if I was to go into vocational ministry, so I planned to enroll at Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary when my wife graduated from Clemson University.

However, while I was looking for work in Clemson prior to getting married, I heard about the Generation LINK program.  It was a no brainer to apply to be a Generation LINKer because it allowed me to start my theological training at SEBTS as well as gain ministry experience at a healthy church, be discipled by the pastors, and have gospel community within the church and with other men and women in the program.

Which location and what areas of ministry do you serve with through Generation LINK?

I am currently at Crosspoint Church in Clemson, SC.  I serve under Pastor Jason Finley with our discipleship ministries.  Specifically I assist in our Connecting Point groups, which is our small group ministry, and our Mercy Ministry.

What are you most excited about in your area of ministry?

This is a hard question because there are different things in each area of ministry that excites me.  For our Connecting Points it is our multiplication strategy of starting new groups.  It is so exciting to work with leaders and potential leaders and to walk with them as they seek to birth new groups out of existing groups.  Mercy Ministry is also very exciting because it is one of my most consistent opportunities to proclaim the gospel of Jesus Christ.  Every week we have new individuals, who are hurting and in need, come to Crosspoint.  I have the blessing to minister to them and to testify of the mercy and love of God as well as his sovereign ability to work in their lives.  Also, another exciting part of my work at Crosspoint is my involvement in our yearly discipleship conference, the Restore Conference.  I get to help organize and plan this conference that ministers and equips hundreds of Christians in the Clemson area under teachers like Ligon Duncan, Bruce Ashford, and Brian Chapell.

What 2-3 books have been most formative in your walk with Christ and why?

Three books, that are very different from each other, but have played huge parts in my Christian life are:

o   The Discipline of Grace by Jerry Bridges

o   The Fuel and the Flame by Steve Shadrach

o   Pilgrim?s Progress by John Bunyan

Bridges taught me how to preach the gospel to myself daily and to be transformed by the grace of God.  Shadrach taught me how to make disciple-makers (his focus is on the college campus, but the biblical truths and methods are applicable to every ministry field).  And John Bunyan taught me that the Christian life is a journey with many difficulties and joys, but that Christ will bring us to salvation and that there is no greater destination then our heavenly Father.

What are your favorite things to do in your free time?

 I am a big movie and book lover.  I love viewing new movie trailers to see what is coming out as well as going to the movie theater.  I also love fiction and fantasy novels along with Christian literature.  Currently I am reading 4 books on top of my seminary requirements: A Memory of Lightby Robert Jordan (think Lord of the Rings on steroids), Fuel and the Flame (3rd time reading it, yes it is that good), Masculine Mandate by Richard Phillips, and Life Together by Dietrich Bonhoeffer.

What is your typical coffee shop order?

My typical coffee order is a simple dark roast coffee, but my favorite coffee shop order is a hot chocolate with a warm cinnamon roll.

By: Sean Alford