Our Staff
Rev. Zack Jackson
INTERIM PASTOR
Zack Jackson was ordained to the gospel ministry by First Baptist Church on Fifth in Winston-Salem, North Carolina, on November 12, 2023. Across recent years, he has cultivated a sense of theological home in both Alliance of Baptists and Cooperative Baptist Fellowship communities.
Thus far, Zack's educational journey has seen him traverse several areas of study and three states. In 2016, he earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in geography at Georgia College & State University, where he also minored in history. Two years later, he was conferred a Master of Science in Education degree by Baylor University, where he specialized in higher education and student affairs administration. In 2024, he completed his studies toward the Master of Divinity degree at Wake Forest University, where his studies incorporated a graduate concentration in women’s, gender, and sexuality studies.
Prior to serving churches, Zack served for two years from 2016 to 2018 as the Graduate Apprentice for Spirituality & Public Life within the Office of Spiritual Life at Baylor University. In this role, he coordinated all religious student organizations, organized domestic service learning experiences, and led spiritual formation retreats, among other responsibilities. Leaving Waco, Texas, to work near Asheville, North Carolina, he served from 2018 to 2021 in various positions of higher education leadership at Montreat College, including Director of Student Engagement, Residence Director, and Adjunct Instructor of Interdisciplinary Studies.
Between 2021 and arriving at University Baptist Church in the summer of 2024, Pastor Zack served churches in Georgia and North Carolina in part-time capacities, where he gave particular attention to ministries to youth, young adults, and new members. At this juncture in his ministry, Zack’s persistent desire is to see congregants catch a vision for embodying individual and communal liberation, and he enjoys seeing churches become communities marked by increasing commitments to expansive inclusion, deep learning, imaginative worship, thoughtful stewardship, and mutual care. Today, he’s grateful for the opportunity to serve University Baptist Church as Interim Pastor.
Pastor Zack can be reached at zack@ubchm.org or (601) 264-6908.
Dr. Ian Cicco
DIRECTOR OF MUSIC
Dr. Ian Cicco completed his PhD in music education (specialization in elementary/choral) with a minor in voice at the Indiana University Jacobs School of Music. He teaches at The University of Southern Mississippi as Assistant Professor of Music Education and previously taught at the University of North Texas as a Visiting Lecturer of Music Education. Ian taught in P-12 schools in Southwest Florida with an emphasis in elementary general music and high school choral music.
During his time in Florida and Indiana, Ian served as a section leader for several churches and most recently served as a youth band/choir director. An active presenter, Ian has presented research and practitioner sessions at state, national, and international conferences. His research has been published in the Journal of Historical Research in Music Education, Visions of Research in Music Education, and The Orff Echo. He currently serves on the The Orff Echo editorial board.
Ian can be reached at ian@ubchm.org.
Tina Parks
FINANCIAL ADMINISTRATOR
Tina lives in rural Columbia with her husband Glen, 3 dogs and 2 cats. They relocated to Mississippi, three years ago, from rural Illinois due to her husband’s job. They attend church at Holy Trinity Catholic Church in Columbia and have three children, Mitch (Iowa), Taylor (Nashville) and Tim (Illinois) and one grandson, Everett. In her free time, Tina enjoys working outdoors, crocheting, painting, reading and learning about anything and everything. Her grandparents did not have children’s books when she was young so she learned to read using the encyclopedias, Reader’s Digest and Handyman books. She believes that this accounts for her wide variety of interests and insatiable curiosity.
She has over twenty years of bookkeeping experience in a variety of businesses, beginning with St. Mary’s Catholic Church in South Carolina, then Village Ace Hardware, Lowe’s, O’neill Glass Shop and most recently at First United Methodist Church in Columbia.
She is very excited to have joined the team here at University Baptist and is looking forward to settling in and getting to know the University Baptist family!
Tina can be reached at office@ubchm.org or (601) 264-6908.
Willie Holloway
CUSTODIAN
Willie has been our custodian since June 2014, having come to us following his retirement from the City of Hattiesburg Sanitation Department after a 28-plus-year career. He is a lifelong resident of the Hub City, with numerous family members and friends in the area. Willie is a member of the True Light Baptist Church in downtown Hattiesburg.
Idella McSwain
CHILDCARE PROVIDER
Idella, a daughter, sister, a friend, and mother, has worked with our children since 2006. She loves all the roles God has bestowed upon her which have allowed her to learn and grow through love and respect. The youngest of Rev. George and Bessie L. McSwain’s fourteen children, Idella lost her mother at a young age. She was the first of her siblings to attend college and since her time in school all McSwain children have been bound for higher education. Her philosophy is: The world is a school, the people whom we encounter are our teachers, and the lessons we learn from them are important and begin with God.
Olivia Carter
CHILDCARE PROVIDER
In addition to serving our children at UBC, Olivia Carter is an Assistant Teacher at the USM’s Center for Child Development where she has worked for the last 5 years. Olivia holds two degrees in Child and Family Studies and Child Development. She has spent the last 9 years working and volunteering with children ages birth to 6 years and hopes to continue to expand her experience. Olivia is currently working to complete her Master’s in Counseling Psychology at the University of West Alabama. She enjoys working with children of all ages and hopes to soon make a shift from teaching to child & family counseling.