About Our Pastor

Pastor Garrett was born in Cincinnati, Ohio and is the fifth child of Mattie Garrett and the youngest son of Deacon Gabriel Sellers. At an early age, he accepted Christ into his life at Harris Grove Missionary Baptist Church in Gray Court, S.C. He was educated in the Laurens County School System and went on to receive his Bachelor’s Degree from Furman University. It was at Furman University where Pastor Garrett started his ministerial training. He was blessed to receive the Church Related Vocation Scholarship which helped in training aspiring Pastors and Church leaders. As a Member of C.R.V (Church Related Vocations) now called Exploration of Vocation and Ministry, he received training in hermeneutics and worship planning. He was blessed to study and intern with noted theologian, author, and University Chaplain Emeritus, Dr. Jim Pitts. Pastor Garrett was Director of Music at the University’s weekly chapel services. It was in his second internship, which led him to Mount Sinai Missionary Baptist Church, Greenville SC under the pastorate of Dr. Toney Parks. At Mount Sinai, he served in several capacities: Church Administrator, Worship Team Member, Chairman of the Men’s Ministry, Trustee and Associate Music Director. There he also met the love of his life, Janine Bennett-Garrett and they were married in 2000. In 2004, he completed his Master’s Degree in Music from Converse University. He also did additional Ministerial training at Beulah Heights Bible College. He completed his Master of Ministry Degree in Christian Counseling and is currently working on his doctorate in Pastoral Leadership from Andersonville Theological Seminary. He is a certified faith-based counselor with the International Institute of Faith Based Counselors in Beaumont, Texas. He also is a volunteer ministry leader for Home with the Heart Drug and Alcohol Rehabilitation Center in Liberty, SC. He yielded to the call to minister the Gospel in 2005. He is licensed and ordained in Non-denominational fellowships as well as the Tumbling Shoals Baptist Association in Laurens, SC. Pastor Garrett serves as Advisor and Board Member to the Covenant Women’s Ministries of Cincinnati, Ohio; a ministry to help women and girls in urban areas. He is an active gleaner with the Society of Saint Andrews Gleaning Initiative to feed the poor and disenfranchised. He has served as a member of the Board for the Greer Soup Kitchen and Board Liaison for STEP and Tiny Homes (Greer Shelter to Empower People), and continues to be an instructor with the STEP Program. He is also the President of the Black Alumni Council at Furman University. He is a member of the Laurens County Interdenominational Ministerial Alliance and the Chaplain of the Baptist Minister’s Fellowship of Greenville County and Vicinity. He is a member of the NAACP. He is past President for the Enoree River Baptist Association Congress of Christian Education, and current 1st Vice Moderator for the Enoree River Baptist Association. He also serves on the Ordination and Catechism Committee for the Enoree River Baptist Association. Pastor Garrett serves as a member-at-large of the G.O.A.L. Justice Ministry Executive Council (Greenville Organized for Accountable Leadership) which seeks to improve the lives of citizens in Greenville County by holding governmental official accountable for justice reforms. 

 

In 2015, Pastor Garrett was unanimously elected Pastor of the Jubilee Baptist Church, the oldest African American Church in the Upstate South Carolina dating its organization back to the Emancipation Proclamation in 1864. Jubilee has seen great growth spiritually and in membership under his leadership. Now celebrating our liberty in Christ, Jubilee seeks to be home to a multi-cultural, and multigenerational congregation.