06/09/2026
Here is a great little read about the Pastor of our new church plant, Mission Church!
Today we are beginning a new series we are referring to as “Testimony Tuesday”. Each Tuesday we will be sharing the testimony of one member of our core church planting group. This is our way of sharing what the Lord has done in each of our lives while also sharing our hearts with you and introducing our team. So with that in mind, we thought we would start with Pastor Terry since the Lord’s calling on his life is the reason this church plant began in the first place:
“In October of 1993, I had a transformational encounter with Jesus that changed my life forever. It was at that time I realized I was a sinner who needed a Savior. I gave my heart and the control of it to Jesus that night. I understood what Jesus did for me on the cross, and He became the ruler of the throne of my life. I would like to say that everything went perfectly after that night, but that is not how journeys tend to go with the Lord.
During that same year in a hotel room in Beaumont, Texas, the Lord used verses in John Chapter 21 and the Holy Spirit to call me into the ministry. I ran from that as fast as I could. That was not what I wanted for my life, and I did not want to give up total control. I went on with my life as a follower of Jesus—I read my Bible and attended church—but I never fully surrendered control of my life to that calling. I spent years doing everything as close as I could to the call without surrendering to it. I taught Sunday School, led children’s classes on Wednesday nights, and went on mission trips.
Three years ago, the Lord led me to Harmony Baptist Church in Rogersville, Missouri. The Lord and the people I met there changed my life. Pastor Aaron and Pastor Devin found out about the calling on my life, and the Lord used them in ways that only He can to help me step into it. They prayed with me, allowed me to preach the Word at Harmony, and encouraged me to attend the first-ever 417 Ministry Residency for Greene County. It was there that God changed the course of my life forever once again. Through this residency, His Word, and the Holy Spirit, I surrendered totally to His call on my life. It only took me thirty years to do so. If you are still in a season of waiting, know that God has not forsaken you and has not given up on you. I am living proof of that.
While going through the 417 Residency, God began to reveal to me through His Word, the Holy Spirit, and the men He placed in my life what this calling would look like. I had never really heard of church planting, but suddenly, the Lord was calling my wife and me to do just that. I finished the residency, and then my wife and I went through the North American Mission Board’s process to become church planters. Mission Church 417 in Sparta, Missouri, was born out of our surrender to His call. I cannot wait to focus on His Kingdom and watch Jesus build His Church in Sparta.”
