I am RIFA – Deputy Chief Derick Tisdale
Meet Derick Tisdale, RIFA’s Board President and the City of Jackson’s Deputy Chief of Police. We were able to speak with Tisdale about his commitment to serving our community and his involvement with RIFA over the years.
A Bolivar native, Tisdale moved with his family to Jackson in the early 1990s because he and his wife thought it would be a great place to raise their son. While Tisdale was a patrol officer, he met Ryan Porter, a RIFA board member at the time. Porter had helped formulate a group of men of faith who wanted to serve the community by mentoring kids in the elementary school system. The group was called Boys to Men, and Tisdale joined as a mentor. Shortly after Tisdale joined the group, Porter spoke to him about RIFA and recommended him to become a board member.
When asked what drew him to RIFA, Tisdale said, “I believe that feeding people creates conversation. If you sit down at the table with a stranger, genuine conversation can usually take place. It creates an opportunity for ministry. Without saying, ‘I’m a pastor,’ or, ‘I’m a preacher’—without even saying, ‘I’m a Christian,’ it creates an opportunity to minister, sometimes even to the deep things that people are dealing with. I just let it flow. With what RIFA does, it creates those opportunities, it ministers to those deep things, and it helps people to realize that there are still genuine Christians who are not necessarily concerned about titles or position. They just want to minister and meet needs. Meeting that physical need of hunger creates an opportunity to meet the need for spiritual food.
“I still believe that the true difference makers in our community are the people of faith. If the faith community can get involved in any capacity whatsoever, I think we can make a difference. I take that back; I don’t think, I know that we will make a difference in the community. What I see with RIFA is genuine people who are trying to meet a need and be the hands and feet of Christ in this community. RIFA provides an opportunity to come to the table with these people and show them the love of Christ. You don’t have to believe; just come on down and have a meal. Join us at the table. In the City of Jackson, you can’t throw a rock without hitting a church. It’s the church that has the tools to go into a community and really make a difference. So this partnership with the faith community is a golden opportunity. We have the tools at RIFA to make a difference.”
In July 2021, Tisdale was appointed President of RIFA’s Board of Directors while also working toward a degree at seminary, which he completed the following December. “The relationships I built [at RIFA] were so supportive in my pursuit of that degree and all the other things I was trying to do in the community,” he said. “My seminary journey was not all academic—during my pursuit of my Master of Divinity, there was a challenge on the table of being the hands and feet of Jesus, serving the least of these. In order for me to successfully complete a number of classes, I had to give back to the community. I came here to do that.” Tisdale served in the Soup Kitchen and even led some chapel services before meals. “The impact and significance of RIFA are so big that I can’t use just one word to describe it. That’s why people are so generous in giving back to RIFA in their time, in their talents, and in their finances.
“I believe that RIFA has this position to make a significant impact, short-term and long-term. RIFA is positioned in a lot of ways, especially spiritually, to meet the needs of this community. I plan on being here as long as I can to help RIFA.”
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