MC students share personal testimony at January Education Commission meeting

MC student-athletes Breann Bell and James David Miller told members of the Baptist Education Commission how MC has positively impacted their futures.

The opportunity to compete in track and field on the collegiate level brought Breann Bell and James David Miller to Mississippi College, but the Christian education they received has helped position them to share Christ’s love and make a difference in other people’s lives.

The MC students shared their testimonies with members of the Baptist Education Commission on Jan. 9, explaining how MC has positively impacted their futures.

Bell, a graduate student in organizational leadership from Lexington, Mississippi, who earned her B.S. from MC in 2025, is scheduled to begin dental school at the University of Mississippi Medical Center in the fall. Recruited to run cross country and track, she visited MC during Preview Week in 2020 and realized she had found her college home.

“I wanted a place where I felt known and that I knew others around me,” she said. After meeting members of the cross-country team and other MC students, faculty and staff, she knew MC was the place for her. “The Lord made it evident that He was working here, and I knew that I wanted to go where the Lord was working.”

Miller, a three-time Gulf South Conference hammer throw champion from Alto, Louisiana, wanted to major in Christian Studies. On his first visit to campus, J.D. met MC President Blake Thompson, who made a lasting impression.

“I chose the school because I knew I would get a great Christian education first, then be able to compete,” he said. “I have met friends that will remain with me for the rest of my life. The professors made me feel that I could reach out to them whenever I needed them. God put me in the right place four years ago when I chose to go here.”

The Commission, comprised of leaders of the Mississippi Baptist Convention and the presidents of Blue Mountain Christian University, MC and William Carey University, met in historic Provine Chapel on the Mississippi College Clinton campus in January.

The Commission strengthens the colleges of Mississippi Baptists and unifies their efforts in the Convention program of Christian higher education, and makes recommendations through the Convention Board to the Convention concerning all cooperative efforts in the field of Christian higher education, among other responsibilities.

Miller told the Commission he enjoys talking about how much he has learned at MC.

“The information I have learned about people, relationships, the inner working of Christ in my life and my little grasp of who God is,” he said. “I have grown so much because God put me here.”

Bell said in the world of academia, MC remains a beacon of faith.

“Through the track team, who strives to put Him first, through the professors who integrate their field of study and faith, and through the local churches who pour into the college students, I love to share how God is working through Mississippi College to further His Kingdom.”