Destiny Tackett '24, Youth and Educational Ministries
Destiny Tackett ‘24 has a heart for ministry. She is a senior youth and educational ministries major, but as she’s grown during her time at Malone she has discovered a passion for all kinds of ministry. 
She’s had the opportunity to lead a life group with Kaylyn Jones ‘21 called Fill Your Cup, a group about loving God in order to be filled and fill others, shared her testimony during Community Worship, and also served as a Celebration speaker.
Her program of study requires an internship, and Tackett needed to fill that requirement. Luckily, Linda Leon, director of spiritual formation, was able to help, and Tackett currently serves with the Office of Spiritual Formation.
“Linda reached out to me asking if I wanted to do the internship,” Tackett said. “I said alright, Lord, let’s see if this is what you want me to do for the next year. I’m interested in all kinds of ministry, whether social media, one on one, or speaking.”
At her internship, she discovered that ministry includes small, day-to-day activities and is not exclusively tied to church attendance, mission trips, or other volunteer work.
“Ministry isn’t always the big things, it’s also mundane tasks,” she said. “Sometimes it’s putting event attendance in the IAttended app or preparing for life groups, and other times ministry means having one-on-one conversations with mentors.”
Tackett became a Celebration speaker because of her passion for sharing God’s Word.
“I originally wanted to be a Celebration speaker my freshman year after seeing the speakers Audra and Dom be very authentic about life and their experiences," Tackett said. “As I grew in my desire for the Lord over the next few years, I started speaking on Instagram and started a podcast called Peace & Tribulation. Those projects prepared me to step into the speaker role, and I had people encouraging me. It was so out of my comfort zone, but I felt called to it after a lot of prayer and consideration.”
This role for Tackett is a bit surprising for her, as she never imagined being a leader of her peers.
“It feels weird,” she said. “I think about myself as a high school student and as a college freshman, and I never would have thought I’d minister in this way in my college career.”
Outside of Malone, Tackett has had other opportunities to be involved in ministry. She volunteered at 3rd Street Community Church, worked with another ministry called Catapult, and she’s been involved with a leadership development program under RippleFX, which is dedicated to helping people grow in their relationship with Christ.
At a high school retreat, Tackett felt a disconnect between herself and God.
“During the retreat I was already living for the world when I wasn’t living for Christ," she said. “I believed in the Lord but wasn’t following Him. When the main pastor asked if I knew where I was going if I died tonight, that sparked something in me.”
Tackett, in light of that spark, wants those around her to know what walking with Christ truly means.
“I want my peers to understand that having a relationship with Christ isn’t mundane, and it’s about more than just going to church. Once my own desire for a deeper relationship with Christ started coming, this natural passion for speaking to other people about God and sharing videos on social media developed,” she said. “I also had people encouraging me in my walk with God, and seeing others I looked up to grow in their walk with God really inspired me.”
Tackett believes every Christian’s life should involve ministering to people. Throughout her journey she learned that being a believer is about having a relationship with God, and ministry is about recognizing our need for God and that we can’t do everything ourselves.
“2022 has been my most faith-growing year yet. After experiencing disbelief and disconnect, I am growing to see God’s faithfulness and I’m recognizing that I’m God’s daughter, not alone. I am only human.”