Alumni Profile: Trey Oakley, MACM '13

Trey Oakley graduated from Howard Payne University with a plan. After marrying Karen, his now wife of 22 years, he was going to attend Truett Seminary, graduate, and work within a Baptist church. 

Not long into his seminary journey, Oakley began to serve as a supply preacher. While this seemed to further affirm his perceived path, it also helped push him out into the community, which led the young Baptist minister to stumble across a part-time opportunity at Methodist Children’s Home (MCH). 

After a couple of years studying at Truett, supply preaching, and working at MCH, Oakley paused his seminary education to pursue a Master of Arts in Philanthropy and Development. He returned to Truett 10 years later and graduated with a Master of Arts in Christian Ministry degree in 2013. 

“Truett welcomed me as a nontraditional student twice. I graduated from Howard Payne in 1999, but that was eight years after I had graduated high school. Then, after I stopped my degree, they welcomed me back again so I could finish,” Oakley said. “Truett helped me to learn how to be focused but flexible.”

This “focused but flexible” attitude has served Oakley well at Methodist Children’s Home. After taking the part-time position in the MCH religious education department in 1999, he transitioned into the development department a few years later, becoming vice president of development in 2006. In May 2019, Oakley was elected president and CEO of Methodist Children’s Home by the MCH Board of Directors.

“There are always things we can learn from one another, from peers in the community, from other ministries so that we can do our role better. Truett instilling that in me early has helped the journey that I’ve been on.”

“There are always things we can learn from one another, from peers in the community, from other ministries so that we can do our role better. Truett instilling that in me early has helped the journey that I’ve been on.”

In this role, Oakley leads the 131-year-old organization with a mission to “equip children, youth, and families to flourish by offering hope through Christ-centered relationships, services, and support.” MCH is a nationally accredited, nonprofit childcare ministry affiliated with the six United Methodist Annual Conferences of Texas and New Mexico serving children and youth through residential programs on the Waco campus and Boys Ranch and through foster care, transition services, and a variety of additional services in communities throughout Texas and New Mexico.

“I didn’t even know what a Methodist Children’s Home was, but the faculty at Truett encouraged me to connect with the organization,” Oakley said about his initial introduction to MCH. “I fell in love with Methodist Children’s Home. It was a place where seminary answers didn’t always fit. You have young people or families who are trying to process questions in their own lives like, ‘If God loves me so much, why has my life turned out like this?’ My Truett professors taught me very early on that it was okay to say, ‘I don’t know,’ and to be there with folks through the journey. That was something that blessed my ministry and my connection at Methodist Children’s Home.”

Oakley credits other experiences and lessons from his time in seminary as impacting his career path through MCH. The phrase “lifelong learning” is often heard on the Truett campus and has become a deep-rooted value for Oakley. His love of learning has empowered him to navigate the complexities of the MCH organization and to explore and develop new skillsets in areas like fundraising and public relations. 

“One of our four strategic commitments at Methodist Children’s Home is that we want to have a culture of learning. There are always things we can learn from one another, from peers in the community, from other ministries so that we can do our role better” Oakley said. “Truett instilling that in me early has helped the journey that I’ve been on.” 

Some of these lessons might have remained unlearned if Oakley had not decided to return to Truett to finish his degree. But even after several years out of seminary and a new leadership role at MCH, he was focused on completing his degree. 

“I found it challenging to balance an executive level position while my kids were also growing up. The staff really worked with me to find that balance,” Oakley said.

He offers encouragement to other older nontraditional students pursuing their degrees and credits the extra years of life experience and unique perspectives as helpful and informative for work in ministry. 

Looking toward the future, Oakley is excited about new and continued partnership opportunities between Truett Seminary and Methodist Children’s Home. A number of Truett graduates have served and are serving with MCH. In addition, Oakley is in conversations with Truett’s new Wesley House of Studies about how the two might work together.

“I think this collaboration with the Wesley House really opens up to the areas where we have such common ground. It’s the Wesleyan mindset—let’s focus on the things that we agree on because there’s a hurting and broken world out there,” he said. “We’re seeing that living itself out with this new collaboration.”

As Oakley leads Methodist Children’s Home forward, he continues to shine as a graduate of Truett Seminary and, most importantly, as a servant of the Lord doing his good work. Though Oakley’s plans may have veered from their starting place, the right amount of focus and a willingness to be flexible have propelled him onward.

“When I look back at my service at Methodist Children’s Home, it never would have happened if I just would have been on my strict plan to get my seminary degree and to go in that direction. Because I was flexible, here I am 20-plus years later in a ministry that has defined who I am as a Christ follower and as a husband and father and as a community leader. If I had been too focused on what Trey Oakley wanted to do, I would have missed that. All those things I learned from my time at Truett.”