Janet Faggert (EU ’82)
Current occupation: Executive Presbyter of the North Texas District and traveling AG minister
Janet Faggert’s weekend routine is a throw-back to the old days. She considers herself a circuit rider, visiting churches in towns both large and small along the Red River in north Texas. Though she doesn’t travel on horseback, her goal is similar to those first traveling pastors – to share the gospel message and lead others to Christ.
As the Assemblies of God’s first woman executive presbyter in the North Texas District, she takes her calling seriously.
“We are called to excellence. That means excellence in preaching God’s Word, excellence in worship, and excellence in living a life for Christ,” Faggert said. “At Evangel, the slogan at the time was “Be your best,” and I believe God called out the best in me during my time as a student.”
Faggert first came to Springfield with her parents while in high school. Her mother and father served at Evangel, her dad as a councilman, and her mother as a member of the Ladies Auxiliary. Faggert experienced the community on-campus firsthand, and eventually turned down attractive scholarships to state schools to attend Evangel.
While at Evangel, Faggert met and married her husband, Jonathan, and upon graduation, they served in pastoral ministry together for 32 years before his passing in 2014.
Now Faggert’s passion is to be a “minister” to not just one, but many churches on her circuit.
“My goal is to have a church in every community in which there’s a high school football team,” Faggert said. “Football is very important in Texas, and if there’s a football team, it means that there’s a community. And within that community, we need to have a Pentecostal church.”
The time Faggert spent at Evangel was foundational to her current role in ministry.
“At Evangel, I learned to be open to following the will of God, and to rely on the Holy Spirit for guidance and wisdom,” Faggert said. “My experience at EU has been a catalyst for me to walk through open doors and embrace God’s call on my life.”