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Mitch Aldridge Receives Byrd Preaching Award


Burn Page, chairman of the MC Department of Christian Studies and Philosophy, joins MC senior Mitch Aldridge, the 2015 Byrd preaching award winner. Mitch is from Pine Mountain, Georgia.

Clutching his Bible, Mitch Aldridge focused his message on the Book of Philippians as he preached to hundreds of fellow Mississippi College students.

A Christian Studies major from Pine Mountain, Georgia, Aldridge’s message at an MC chapel program dwelled on contentment in life and what the Bible says about the subject.

His message at Tuesday’s chapel service goes with the honor of the Mississippi College senior named the recipient of the 2015 Byrd Memorial Preaching Award. It was established by the three sons of the late David Q. and Maude May Byrd. Harrell Byrd, 92, is the only surviving son. He’s a 1946 MC alumnus with a deep love for his alma mater in Clinton.

The Byrd family recognizes the talents of Mississippi College undergraduates on track to become leaders in a Christian ministry.

Mitch’s delivery and oratorical skills impressed students, faculty and staff alike attending the March 17 service at First Baptist Church Clinton.

“You can be content, but only through the power of Christ,” Aldridge told his audience.

While life can be hard and have its share of painful struggles, he encouraged students to put their faith in God. “We can learn from the greatest teacher who ever lived.”

Aldridge quoted from Philippians 4:13. “I can do everything through Him who gives me strength.”

The newest Byrd preaching award winner is an English writing minor who attends Fondren Church in Jackson.

Burn Page, chairman of the Department of Christian Studies and Philosophy, was delighted to announce Aldridge’s selection.

“He has a good delivery and a good personality,” says Page, director of MC’s Institute of Christian Leadership. “He hopes to go to seminary.”

Students competing for the award are required to prepare and submit a manuscript of an expository sermon to the Department of Christian Studies and Philosophy.

The Byrd preaching award at Mississippi College has been given to outstanding students on the Clinton campus for nearly 20 years.

Mitch Aldridge was very deserving, says Wayne VanHorn, dean of the School of Christian Studies and the Arts. Mitch knows how to preach, and he’s “a very friendly and outgoing person,” he said.

The honor comes with a certificate and cash award.

Joining him for Tuesday’s special occasion was Mitch’s future wife, Lindsey Tisdale, a nursing student at Mississippi College.