Meet Derreck.
Derreck Jewell has given more than two decades to the local church, serving as a pastor since 2004. He currently leads First Baptist Church of St. Louis, Michigan — where he was ordained to gospel ministry in 2014 — providing the congregation's spiritual and organizational leadership, preaching expository sermons week to week, and shepherding disciples across every age group.
His path into ministry runs through both the workplace and the camp. Before pastoring full-time he spent six years managing operations, personnel, and systems for a Michigan manufacturer, and he later served as Assistant Camp Director at The Springs Ministries — experience that grounds the organizational-leadership training he would go on to formalize in seminary. Along the way he has led worship and youth ministries, built curriculum and small-group discipleship, served on church and para-church leadership boards, and taken part in fifteen mission trips.
Much of what he teaches comes from how he was formed. Derreck earned his graduate theological and leadership training while serving full-time in the local church rather than apart from it, and he is convinced the church is God's primary instrument for forming disciples. His passion is the equipping of believers for ministry through sound doctrine, expository preaching, servant leadership, and intentional discipleship — the same “train while you serve” conviction Anchor is built around.
He holds a Master of Ministry in Biblical Studies from Baptist Bible Seminary (Clarks Summit University) and a Master of Arts in Organizational Leadership from Baptist Bible College (Clarks Summit University).