Brandon Resident Braden Rodriguez Wins Byrd Preaching Award

Braden Rodriguez

Brandon Resident Braden Rodriguez Wins Byrd Preaching Award

Braden Rodriguez accomplished a great deal as a college student and middle school pastoral apprentice at Crossgates Baptist Church in Brandon.

Mississippi College leaders are taking notice. The 20-year-old Brandon resident is the 2017 recipient of the Byrd Preaching Award at the Baptist-affiliated university.

A Christian Studies major with a minor in history, Rodriguez will accept the honor at a March 21 chapel program. He will also preach to hundreds of MC students that Tuesday morning at First Baptist Church Clinton.

His talk following Spring Break will look at a passage in 2 Samuel. What’s the main message? “It is on the fact that failure is not final,” says the Brandon High graduate.

The Byrd Preaching Award was established years ago by the three sons of the late David Q. and Maude May Byrd. The family’s close ties to Mississippi College go back for generations.

The Byrd Preaching Award goes to an MC undergraduate preparing to go into a Christian ministry. It includes a certificate and $500 cash award.

An MC junior who transferred from Hinds Community College’s Rankin campus in Pearl, Braden seeks to become a preaching and teaching pastor. He plans to attend seminary at Liberty University in Virginia following his MC graduation.

Formerly from Gonzales, Louisiana, Rodriguez served on the Crossgates Baptist Church staff for nearly two years.

The son of Tim and Tammy Bond, Braden remains an excellent choice for the prestigious award, says Burn Page, chairman of MC’s Christian Studies & Philosophy Department.

“Braden is an outstanding student. He is proactive and thorough in his preparation for class,” Page said.

This “A” student clearly has a bright future in his chosen field.

“I believe Braden will have a very fruitful preaching ministry,” Page added.

Braden felt called into the ministry entering high school. “I have been pursuing that call ever since.”

The Rankin County resident is delighted to receive news of his selection by a Mississippi College committee of pastors and educators. “I am very blessed to have received this.”