Created to Be
The Created to Be podcast is hosted by Bethany Pigott, Justin Pigott, Darius Brown, and Brandi Morgan. Episodes incorporate what’s happening in FCA at Mississippi State, fun and lighthearted conversations that help you get to know the hosts and their guests, and real-life topics and themes being discussed with coaches and athletes.
Created to Be
When Someone Believes in You (feat. interview with Chris Billingsley Jr.)
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In this episode of the Created to Be podcast, Bethany reflects on the powerful role encouragement and prayer play in shaping our lives before sharing an interview originally recorded by Jason Crowder with 2026 Mississippi State Baseball pitcher Chris Billingsley Jr.
Chris opens up about his journey from junior college baseball to the SEC, how coaches and mentors helped build his confidence, and why prayer has become a central part of both his faith and his performance. He shares how spending time in God's Word transformed his perspective, how prayer sustains him through the ups and downs of baseball, and why he strives to be a light for Christ wherever he goes.
This conversation is a reminder that becoming who we're created to be is rarely a solo journey. God often uses faithful people, encouraging words, and persistent prayers to shape our lives in ways we may never fully see.
Reflection Question: Who believed in you when you needed it most? And who might God be calling you to encourage, pray for, and believe in today?
Book Mentioned: The Joy Switch by Chris Coursey
WFCA Audio File: Interview with Chris Billingsley Jr.
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Lord, whatever happens in the game, just bad or good, just let me let me stay centered.
SPEAKER_00Welcome to the Created to Be Podcast. I'm your host, Bethany Pigett, and we're back again for our last interview of the short summer series we're doing from this series of interviews that Jason Crowder of WFCA Radio did on his FCA radio show throughout the year at Mississippi State. We're so thankful for Jason for sharing these interviews with us so that we can re-air them. And maybe if you couldn't hear them the first time, now you can. But I'm adding just a little bit of some commentary and reflection in order for us to take something for ourselves and apply it after we hear these stories from these athletes. I'm constantly amazed at the maturity that these athletes come to Mississippi State with. You know, whether it's been a coach who has helped shape and form their character, or a lot of times the parents, you know, it's incredible. And shout out to all you parents out there that are working with your kids and just I'm a parent as well. And so there's multiple moments throughout every day that are just things that as we pay attention and we engage with, we can help that character shape and form. And that's normally where it happens. So just thank you to all you parents out there who are doing the hard work of getting in there and just making those adjustments with your kids. And it makes a difference. It makes a huge difference in how they come to college, how they interact with teammates and coaches, and just ultimately leave an impact here at Mississippi and pass on a legacy to those who come behind them. And one of those people is Chris Billingsley. He is gonna share his story on this podcast today through this interview. And he said a few things that stood out to me in his interview. Um, one thing is how his confidence was impacted by people who just believe in him. And that is one thing we want to focus on today. And the other thing is that prayer changes everything. So you'll hear those two things in his story with Jason Crowder. But I thought about how most of us can probably trace parts of our story back to people who believed in us. Maybe it was a coach who saw potential before anyone else did. Um maybe it was a parent who never stopped encouraging us, maybe it was a teacher who spoke confidence into us or a friend who stood beside us in a difficult season. When I think about the people who had the greatest impact on my life, I've noticed something interesting. The people who believed in me were also the people that prayed for me. And so these two concepts, these two ideas of people believing in me, um, but also people that demonstrated how powerful and important prayer is, are concepts that kind of work together and complement each other, which both Chris will talk about in the interview. So people don't always just cheer us on, they carry us to the Lord. And one of the ideas from the joy switch, which we've talked about, mention this book, and I'll link it in the show notes, is that joy grows through meaningful connection. We were never designed to do life alone. We need people who remind us of who we are, what matters, and what God might be doing in our lives when we can't see it ourselves. And that's one thing I love about FCA. There's so many athletes that will come in, and this is just for those of you who listen that just want to know about this world or you're curious about this, like they can show confidence and they have to, right? I mean, they're going into these environments where there's a lot of pressure on them, and they could show confidence, but actually be like questioning a lot. And there are athletes that come and go throughout the years that do, and you get to sit in these conversations and listen to their real fears or anxieties or the pressures, and then it's always incredible to me that they can have all these things going on in their life and still perform at the highest level. It's mind-blowing, honestly. But one of the things that happens is that they can be so they can only see their results, and they're just they can get so fixated on that that they can't see the growth in other parts of their life. And so what I love about FCA is that we get to introduce them to peers that can speak that life into them, but also FCA staff get to do that, and coaches are empowered to do that, and support staff are empowered to do that. And here at Mississippi State, we have incredible, incredible coaches, incredible support staff, and incredible FCA staff. Like it is such a rich culture and environment for any of these athletes to step into. And so we're really thankful to be a part of that. Uh, it's such a blessing to us. But I do find it so interesting sometimes when you know you're looking, you're watching, observing from the outside, and you hate it for some of these athletes because they just see just this fixed point of what they think is going on in their life. And you just feel sad because you're like, oh my goodness, no, there's all these incredible things that are happening in your life that I can see. But what a gift and opportunity to sit there and listen attentively and proactively and actively, but like you, I get to sit in that seat and I get to wait until they finish and then say, Yes, I'll validate what you're saying. You those things are truly happening, but but look at what else is happening. You came in at the beginning of the semester saying this, and now look at where you are. And that's such a gift and a privilege to me. And I would say, if you are in the life of an athlete, you get to do to that, you get to do that too. Like you get to remind them because it's so easy to forget when there are constant things that they are performing every day. They're most likely gonna remember their last performance. I remember when I played basketball in high school, I would only remember like my turnovers and the shots that I missed in a game. And so it's like it's like that. It's like it's that continuous improvement. I've got to get better, is generally probably the lens most are gonna see through. But what a gift and privilege that we have as those who support them to say, yeah, okay, that's true. But also look at all this other data, whether that's in the character column or the performance column, or just maturing as a person. And so we get to give them that perspective, which is really awesome. So that's what people believing in these athletes can do. And it's really important. And I love that Chris mentioned that he's just had people believe in him and how that's impacted his confidence. So he's gonna share that and the kind of impact that those people have had and also about prayer in his life. And so I hope you enjoy this interview between Jason Crowder and Chris Billingsley.
SPEAKER_02Hello, everybody, and welcome to the Fellowship of Christian Athlete Show. I'm here with Chris Billingsley Jr. from Brent, Alabama, who's a member of the Mississippi State Baseball team. Matter of fact, he's a pitcher. You know his name. He started against Southern Mississippi and, of course, against Grambling this past week. Chris, welcome to the broadcast.
SPEAKER_01Thank you.
SPEAKER_02Thank you for having me. How does it feel to all of a sudden now establish yourself out there in ways, obviously a starter because you've started the last two midweek games? So how does it feel here midway through the season and with the top five team to be helping in the aspect that you are?
SPEAKER_01It feels great. I mean, um now that some of the midweek guys that we had, like Charlie and and Duke, they moved up to weekend. Um obviously we needed a guy to step up, and I'm glad that uh uh Coach Parker and Coach O'Connor just believed in me, and I've gotten comfortable on the mound, and just the two starts I've had has been the best thing ever for me.
SPEAKER_02What's working for you out on the mound right now?
SPEAKER_01Uh really just the the confidence I have in my stuff, just my fastball, getting it to a spot I need, and uh working my all-speed. I mean, I've been working two pitches, so that's the only thing I needed, so that's yeah, it's it's great.
SPEAKER_02So you came the JUCO route. How much did JUCO at East Central Community College here in Mississippi help prepare you for the Southeastern Conference?
SPEAKER_01Um just the toughness part. I mean, um being up under Coach Holliman uh was was very tough, but uh he pushed you to be uh your best athlete. So um just going to the toughness of the um just playing and giving it your all is just it just helped me to come here and it being uh kinda sort of kind of easy just having to adapt to the SEC.
SPEAKER_02Obviously, this is a faith-based show, so I want to talk about your faith in Christ. How did you become a Christian?
SPEAKER_01Um I was kind of born into it. Um I've always grew up around church, but um I've just recently started getting more. I've I felt like these past four months have been the best um of my faith, but um because um I just was in a uh moment where I just felt like I needed God more than more than I just needed to be around anybody else. And um I've been studying and reading my Bible and praying a lot well uh a lot more and it's just it's just taking me just high levels in in just baseball and in life.
SPEAKER_02So nothing that you could point to in particular, just the Lord speaking to your heart that you really needed to be closer to him?
SPEAKER_01Um I'm not really uh just I'd say just me reading just me reading the Bible, just him like knowing that I don't have to worry about anything, that I don't have to worry about the future that he ha he holds, he holds my future, and I just have to believe in him.
SPEAKER_02So you're wearing a shirt that says prayer changes everything. How have you experienced where prayer has changed something in your life that is God has shown that miracle to you?
SPEAKER_01Man, I mean anytime anytime I'm going through something, um, I just pray. I mean, it's not not a one-minute prayer, not a 30-second prayer. I take time, I take time to talk to him and just and just dwell on what what I need to do better and how how he can give me strength, because you know, he's he has all strength and just him just giving me strength to do whatever's whatever's possible because anything with him is is is possible.
SPEAKER_02In the game of baseball, you could go out there and do everything right to lose the game. In the game of baseball, you can go out and do a lot wrong and you can win the game. It's kind of an odd sport sometimes, but it teaches you a lot about life. Where has the game of baseball helped teach you about life and also what it's like to be of faith where you go through ups and downs?
SPEAKER_01Well, that's another thing in my prayer. Um I mainly say uh Lord, whatever happens in the game, just bad or good, just let me let me stay let me stay centered, you having being in the center of my life. But um just just I've all I've obviously had a few few bad games, but um just just knowing that the sun's gonna come up tomorrow. I mean, you have another you have you have chances after chances, you just have to make the best of it.
SPEAKER_02How can you, like wearing this shirt, I guess, be a light for Christ while being a baseball player here at Mississippi State?
SPEAKER_01Then again, I mean in my prayer, I I tell I I pray that I just be a light to anybody that comes in way. I mean, just just showing him that, it's just showing people that I'm of spirit, I'm like, I have joy. Like I come I come I come to the locker room every day with a smile on my face, no matter if I'm going to a going through something or um whatever's going on, I just I just show that I'm uplifted and I just know that God has God has God has my back in anything I do. And um just e even if in in class, I mean, I just come and people acknowledge my shirt and I'll just I mean just it just shows that other people around believe that and I just want people that that don't believe it just to get into it. Just to just be looking at me and seeing that I'm so uplifted just by just by the Spirit of God and um just just wanting to get into knowing who God is.
SPEAKER_02Mississippi State Pitcher Chris Spillingsley Jr. on your radio dial. Before we let you go, I gotta ask you about the Fellowship of Christian athletes here at Mississippi State and the FCA director Justin Pigatt, he roams the dugout because he's the team chaplain. How important has he been in your life being not only same position here at Mississippi State, a pitcher, but also now, I'm sure giving you advice, but also in your faith?
SPEAKER_01Uh then again, four months ago, um I started going FCA and he was the first guy I met. Um really great guy. Just he's giving me the knowledge of just just knowing what to do and just my like my faith prayer. And um I've also he's given me he's giving me confidence in the speaking up in FCA. And um, that's something that um I've always wanted to do and just just give me knowledge on what um just just about just about who God truly is, and I I really appreciate Justin.
SPEAKER_02Thank you, Chris. Appreciate your time and uh you shared your faith here on the show. Chris Billingsley Jr., a member of the Mississippi State baseball team. He's one of the hurlers for Coach Parker and Coach Oak and this team. We'll be back next week with another Mississippi State baseball player talking about their faith in Christ, right here on the Fellowship of Christian Athlete show. I'm Jason Crowder.
SPEAKER_00One thing that stood out to me from this story is the power of being seen. There's something incredibly life-giving about having someone look at you and see more than your current circumstances, which I kind of talked about before we got into the interview. So seeing you more as more than your mistakes, more than your performance, more than your doubts, that's what often what encouragement does. And that's also how prayer can come in, and that can keep you encouraged. And so Chris talked about how it encourages him, other people pray for him, but also how that influences his own prayers for himself or for others. And so we are modeling that as we are being those people for these athletes. And again, I'm just saying this all over again, but that is what is so incredible about the fellowship of Christian athletes and what we get to do in these spaces. So I wonder how many of us are where we are today because someone kept praying when we didn't even know they were praying, or like what lives we've impacted because we kept praying when they didn't know we were praying. Someone who kept believing when we were struggling to believe ourselves, someone who kept showing up. And so as I reflect on that, I'm reminded that becoming who we're created to be is rarely a solo journey. God often uses people to shape us, encourage us, and help us take our next step. I think that that is something that could be a reflection too, is just to think about the different steps that you've taken and most likely those steps where the Lord has led you. You were not, you didn't take that step without other people encouraging you, praying for you, helping you make that decision. So just the importance of having those people in your life. And so maybe today's invitation isn't simply to just be grateful for those people, but maybe it's becoming that type of person for someone else. So who needs encouragement from you? Who needs you to believe in them? Who needs your prayers right now? Because one conversation, one encouraging word, or one faithful prayer may have a bigger impact than you'll ever know. So here's my question as we close today Who is someone that helped shape your life through encouragement and prayer? And how might God be inviting you to do the same for someone else? Pretty simple. So we hope that you've enjoyed this short summer series, and we hope to continually bring you athletes' stories as we also just have table conversations throughout the year, um, just showing how community can be so fun. Like that's what we want the Created to Be podcast to be about is that like you feel like you're at this table, having a great hang, uh, just enjoying the life that God has given you with other people, and that we hope that you can feel that. We hope that when people come through the doors and come to FCA at Mississippi State, that that is exactly what they feel when they're here. And so we want the podcast to feel that same way, that you get that same sense of community. And then from time to time you get more, you know, focused pointed things like this like, hey, what do we, what do we think about this? Are we reflecting in our own lives? Is this something that we can take away that that this athlete or this coach learned or whatever, and then take it and apply it to our own life? So we hope you've enjoyed it. We hope you'll come back and listen for more as we continue to just have a lot of fun with this podcast, and we hope that it's something that encourages you on a weekly basis. Thanks for listening. Thanks for listening to the Created to Be Podcast. To learn more about Mississippi State FCA, visit www.msufca.org and follow us on Instagram at Hale State FCA underscore. And check out our new Instagram for podcast content at Created to Be Podcast. If you would like to become a financial partner, visit www.fca.orgslash donate to sew into the work God is doing through FCA at Mississippi State.