Some would call it fate — as Catholics, we know it’s God’s providence that has brought Korey Hicks into the Director of Evangelization and Formation role here at our parish. Korey knows this is where he’s meant to be, and he can’t wait to dig in and get started.
Korey has an unusual, by most standards, path to ending up in the role. He has spent most of his adult life playing and teaching guitar. He’s a graduate of Berklee College of Music and was mostly recently working at Visible Music College in McKinney, Texas, for about four years.
“It was during COVID that I started having faith conversations with students,” he says. “Visible Music College is nondenominational. I started to talk with students about the differences between being Catholic, Baptist, Lutheran, and Methodist. I had some really fruitful conversations about the misconceptions of Catholics. As I started to go deeper and deeper, I realized the Lord was telling me that I should go in that direction of sharing my faith.”
Having grown up Lutheran, Korey converted to the Catholic faith in 2007. He’s been praying on this for about a year — trusting in God to help him find a career in ministry. This past spring, he found out the college would be closing the McKinney campus, and he could keep his position if he moved his family to Memphis.
Korey’s wife, Andrea, is a native of Stillwater. The couple has seven kids — Charlotte, 13; Madeline, 11; Genevieve, 10; Henry, 8; Olivia, 5; Samuel, 3; and Evangeline, 2. This past May, Andrea was in town for her godson’s graduation. She met Fr. Brian O’Brien and learned of the Director of Evangelization and Formation opening.
“This is such a wonderful opportunity for me, especially since Andrea grew up in Stillwater,” Korey says.
Korey is passionate about knocking down misconceptions about the Catholic Church. He loves to share with Protestants what Catholics really believe.
For many years, Korey admits that music was his God. In 2009, he was diagnosed with thoracic outlet syndrome, which made playing guitar nearly impossible.
“I believe this was God’s way of humbling me,” he says.
In 2017, Korey started to dig more into evangelization, theology, and apologetics, which brought him to the point he’s at today. He is also praying about studying for the diaconate. Andrea and Korey were very involved in their previous parish, St. Gabriel’s — she volunteered in the nursery and was a member of the Parish Council, and the couple also taught faith formation classes.
“Andrea always says, ‘If I could live at church, I would,’” Korey says.
Being a convert to the Catholic faith, having grown up Lutheran, Korey believes he can easily find common ground with people.
“I look forward to leading people to Jesus,” he says. “I want to help with growing the parish and growing disciples. I have a big passion for young families.”
Korey loves being a father and tries to focus on how he can be the best father possible and raise good kids. The Hicks family looks forward to getting settled in their new home and meeting parishioners.
We extend a big welcome to Korey and his family!