Growing up in the Talihina and Whitesboro areas of Oklahoma, Pastor Mike Mings learned the importance of being a good neighbor from his father, who worked for the Bureau of Indian Affairs for over 33 years. Mike saw his father help Choctaw families keep their land and send their children to college or trade school, and Mike developed a strong sense of community and servant leadership through those experiences.
As a child, he spent most of his time working on his family’s farm, helping care for the land and cattle, something he still does with his daughter. In addition to learning the value of hard work, he also learned the importance of taking care of things, “whether it was cattle, or life, or home or helping my parents,” said Mike.
Spiritual faith was central in Mike’s family when he was little. “My mom and dad took me to church nine months before I was born,” he said, with a chuckle. “I’m very thankful for that heritage growing up.”
A unique and humbling opportunity to work with people who have had challenges and difficulties different from his own left a lasting impression on Mike and shaped the way he treats others.
A unique and humbling opportunity to work in a prison with people who have had challenges and difficulties different from his own left a lasting impression on Mike and shaped the way he treats others.
"I think one of the lessons that God really taught me was how to be fair with people, treat everybody the same."
“Regardless of name, background, social status, ethnicity, it didn’t matter to me. I wanted them to know that when they looked at me they saw they were going to be treated fair. They were going to be treated with respect. They were going to be treated impartially, regardless of whatever crime they committed. That life lesson is one of the greatest I’ve ever learned.”
Mike was serving as a counselor at the prison, working one-on-one with inmates when he “surrendered to preach” in 1996. He led Bible classes at the prison and pastored at Green Hill Baptist Church, a Native American church in Talihina before finding a permanent home at First Baptist Church in Valliant, Oklahoma. He has been there since 2001.
In addition to First Baptist Church of Valliant, Pastor Mike leads a congregation at The Watering Hole Cowboy Church in Garvin, Oklahoma. The cowboy church is unique in that it gives people who may not otherwise attend a traditional church service a way to worship and exercise their faith in a more informal, comfortable setting. In this case, a barn.
Over the past several years, Mike has noticed a shift in society. People are busier trying to make ends meet, and that takes a toll on the family. Sometimes people are just looking for a way to make meaningful connections.
“One of the things that I find so fulfilling is just helping people find their way on this journey. Because everybody’s on a journey,” he said. “They ask me what wakes me up in the morning, what motivates me to do what I do, and it’s just helping people. Day in, day out, there’s not a day that goes by, including this very day, where you’re not in the business of just being a blessing or helping someone any way you can.”
