When Chris Massey isn’t home spending time with his wife and two daughters, there’s a good chance you’ll find him at Fellowship Bible Church in Searcy.
Massey has been the student and family pastor there since May 2009 and said he is passionate about God, his family, his church and the community.
Before joining Fellowship Bible Church, Massey was the area director for K-Life Ministries in Harrison.
Adopting a child was something he and his wife always wanted to do, he said.
“The lord placed adoption on both of our hearts before we got married. We both knew it would be a part of our lives at some point, and we’re thankful for the way he chose to start our family with children,” Massey said.
The couple adopted a baby girl in 2014 and brought her home when she was 2 days old.
“We brought our little girl, Stella, home when she was a newborn,” Massey said. “She is a beautiful, tenderhearted, feisty 3-year-old. She loves accessories, the outdoors, dancing, singing and laughing.”
She brings joy to everyone in her life, he said.
Massey said he and his wife also have a 10-month-old daughter, Wallace.
“[Wallace] is full of energy and life. She is always smiling and loves to be around people,” he said.
“She is the extreme extrovert of our family. No one can make her laugh as much as her older sister,” Massey said.
Massey attended Florida State University and graduated with a degree in news broadcasting.
“I wanted to be a storm chaser and work for The Weather Channel. But the Lord made it very clear, through a summer-long mission trip to Colorado and a couple of summers working for Kids Across America, that he had different plans for my life,” Massey said.
“I attended the Kanakuk Institute in Branson, Missouri, and finished my master’s degree in youth and family ministries from John Brown University,” he said.
Massey said he worked with K-Life ministries for three years before coming on staff at Fellowship Bible Church.
“I have an amazing opportunity to pour into the lives of families and students each week, and that is what keeps me motivated to continue what I do,” he said.
Massey said his wife, Jen, makes his world turn.
“I honestly do not know how I lucked out with such a woman. She loves me and the girls with all she has. She is loyal to the bone and is fiercely protective of the ones she loves,” he said.
“Jen truly is a super woman. Growing up in Florida I never would have dreamed I would marry an Arkansas girl, yet here we are, eight years later,” he said.
Playing dress-up and make-believe is a big part of everyday life in a house full of girls, he said.
Between meetings and weekly preparations, Massey said, he tries to spend time at home with his family as much as possible.
“We spend a lot of time in the driveway and front lawn playing games, blowing bubbles and running from yard to yard with neighborhood friends. There is always something baking in the kitchen the girls have made, and I enjoy being the taste-tester,” he said.
Massey’s wife, Jennifer, describes Chris as friendly, generous and genuine.
“He is the absolute epitome of a people person. He is a great dad and a loving husband,” Jennifer said.
Adoption makes a family unique, she said, and the Masseys have hearts for adoption and Stella’s birth mother.
“Anytime we’ve been able to spend time with her birth mother, I would just see how loving and open Chris is toward her. The day we brought Stella home, there was an immediate connection. He really does have this gift of being able to connect with others almost immediately,” Jennifer said.
Above all, she said, she admires his ability to forgive.
“That is not a quality that comes easily for me, and I’ve seen him forgive a multitude of wrongs that have been done against him over his lifetime. He has the ability to just heal and move on and forgive,” she explained.
Chris Massey said never knowing who will be at the dinner table each night makes his family unique.
“The chairs around the table look different, and there is always a space for one more,” Massey said.
“With Harding University being in Searcy, it brings hundreds of students through our church doors each year. As we spend time with them serving in our student ministry, they also become a part of our everyday lives. We believe discipleship happens organically, and for us, relationships are nurtured through everyday life-on-life experiences,” he said.
Massey said that while he doesn’t currently have an active role in K-Life, he and his wife still spend time with the chapter director and the women’s director of the organization.
The ministry is amazing, and it is a gift for the Searcy community to have a K-Life in the area, he said.
Massey said he loves spending time outside with his wife and daughters in his spare time.
He also enjoys carpentry, swimming, running and spending time at the local gym when he can.
Andrew Abraham, a physical therapist and Searcy resident, has known Massey for more than six years.
Abraham said Massey is one of the most caring people he has ever met.
“He just has a heart for people,” Abraham said. “He’s very relational and is always checking in on people, trying to connect.”
Massey is genuine, and it shows, Abraham said.
Abraham said every time he talks to Massey, he leaves the conversation feeling better.
“He’s just very easy to talk to, and it’s admirable. I think back, and when things were going well, he’d celebrate with us. When things were rough, he’d check on us regularly. Even after people typically stopped checking in, he would,” Abraham said.
Massey’s humility and love for God translate into everything he does, Abraham said.
“He is an awesome father. He just loves to be around his girls, and he doesn’t shy away from the hard jobs,” Abraham said.
“He loves to get down on the floor and play, talk and interact with them. They love him, and it’s for a reason,” Abraham said.
Jennifer said Chris is very hands-on with their daughters and is constantly engaging them and playing.
When you’re with Chris, you feel at home and safe, she said.
“I feel like dads of girls need to lead with gentle leadership because girls are tender by nature. He was made to parent girls, and he goes beyond my wildest dreams as a father.”
Staff writer Kayla Baugh can be reached at (501) 244-4307 or kbaugh@arkansasonline.com.