Don Livingston: A Journey from Boardrooms to Bible Clubs

I accepted Christ as my Lord and Savior at the age of eleven when my Mom endured a serious battle with breast cancer, prompting me to become very inquisitive about what happens to people when they die.  I agraduated from The Citadel in 1988, and shortly after joined Sonoco Products Company in Hartsville, SC.  In 1989, Robin and I were married, shortly after she graduated from the Savannah College of Art & Design. We have been blessed with three fine sons (Trae, Nick & Bryce), two special daughters-in-law (Madison & Janalyn), and one precious grandson (Benjamin).  I enjoyed a productive, advancing career of 36 1/2 years with Sonoco, moving around from Georgia, Florida, Alabama, and South Carolina.

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Finally landing in Florence in 2011, I began teaching a Men’s Sunday School class at the Florence Baptist Temple.  In 2016, I was a member of an FBT mission team to Merida, Mexico.  It was during that trip that I sincerely felt God’s nudge to begin serving in the Children’s Ministry.  The final push was a picture on the wall of North Merida Baptist Church – it was a picture of little children from different nationalities across the world.  It simply said, “Jesus Me Ama … Ellos Lo Saben?  Jesus loves me … do they know?”  Soon thereafter, I moved into the role of Department Director for the 3rd and 4th grade Sunday School classes at FBT.  I quickly learned that it is truly an honor and a blessing to lead and disciple children.

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About five years ago, the local staff of Child Evangelism Fellowship (CEF) visited FBT and introduced us to something they called “Good News Clubs.”  I didn’t know what a Good News Club was, but I loved working with children. I signed up for the training, figuring how I might learn something to help me in leading my Sunday School class.

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I ended up learning something that would completely change the course of my life.

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The CEF staff shared that we could visit public schools to pray, share the Gospel of Christ, read The Bible, study memory verses, and sing praise and worship songs with children every single week of the school year.  I was shocked to hear that, as I had always heard that it was no longer legal to do so in the schools, and wanted very much to be a part of that. So, I volunteered and had the FANTASTIC opportunity to lead the Good News Club at Carver Elementary School for a little over four years. Our team of FBT volunteers and the students at Carver were such an encouragement and blessing to me.

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A few years later, I was invited and honored to serve on the local committee for the Heart of the Palmetto chapter of CEF.  To say that FBT’s partnership with Child Evangelism Fellowship changed my life is an understatement.  I can’t begin to describe how God used those sweet kids in my FBT Sunday School class and at Carver Elementary School to impact me personally and spiritually. I thought I was making a difference in their lives.  All the while, they were making my life different.

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Professionally, I had laid out a specific plan to retire at the age of 62, but God had other plans. Through a unique series of events, on December 31, 2024 (at the age of 58), I took a huge leap of faith and opted to leave the stability of the corporate world, to which I had previously dedicated my life (in many cases, quite literally in fact).  Three short weeks later, I accepted a full-time position with Child Evangelism Fellowship and I now have the privilege of leading the Greater Pee Dee Chapter, which includes Horry, Georgetown and Marion counties.  It really boils down to this for me now – I no longer HAVE to go to work; I GET to go to work (can’t even call it “work” honestly).  If you’re unfamiliar with CEF and GNCs, just ask me.  I would love to share with you how you too can become involved with sharing the Gospel of Christ with young people who so desperately need to hear it.  Aside from Jesus and my family, it’s my favorite thing to talk about (well, the Braves are somewhere on that list too).

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Looking back, I can honestly say that I knew the Lord was leading me through this.  However, I resisted and kept trying to maneuver things in my own way and time.  I quickly learned that I had to get out of God’s way, understand that He is in control, and allow Him to make it happen in His way and in His time.  It was certainly not my right, nor in my best interest, to ask Him to be patient with me – that’s not how it works, as I soon found out.

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I would love to tell you about all of the specific, individual things that led me to this point, and about how I repeatedly resisted His leading hand during this time.  I would love even more to tell you about how much of a blessing it has been once I finally yielded and did exactly what I knew He wanted me to do all along.

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There is a place for you serving children at FBT and volunteering in one of our Good News Clubs.  You don’t have to be a biblical scholar to do it (as I can surely testify) – you just need to love Jesus and love kids, and God will take care of the rest.  He promised that He would, and He is The Promise Keeper!