Called to Serve God

Are you feeling called to plant churches? Do you feel hindered by the church system from fulfilling your calling? This was me in 2006. I am Dr. Terry M. Goodwin and I answered God's call outside the traditional church system. What I found was eye opening. God took me on a journey and placed me in a position to help others find His design for life, ministry and the church.

I was not raised in the church. I was a thief and a drug dealer as a teen. I met Jesus on the back porch of my grandmother's house after I was released from the hospital for a drug overdoes at age 13. I pursued God in the only way I knew how, through the church system that I saw on every street corner. I became aggressive for the Word of God. I consumed it. I raised my family in the "church". I went to bible college until I got my PhD. in theology. I felt a call deep inside me serve God with all my life. I interpreted this call as a call to plant churches.

In 2006 I found myself facing an unsupportive system of church hierarchy. I began to question everything. God led me through a journey of discovery that opened my eyes to the corruptions of the modern American "church". I left my church of many years and was ordained in a denomination that wanted people to "plant churches" outside the system. That sounded good but the system wouldn't let go so easily. I soon found myself entangled in long standing quarrels that I had no part in. I turned in my ordination and continued on my journey to find the church that God died to start.

In the years since then God has opened my eyes to see His design for His church. It looks very little like the man made religious organizations we see dominating the landscape of America. The church that God designed is led by spiritual gifts not offices. It empowers and releases people to use those gifts and transform broken lives. It starts with people not programs. It is a powerful supernatural force.

Over the last decade God has trained and equipped a small group of dedicate disciples to live by His design. Our calling is to plant faith communities that follow the teaching of the Bible and the leading of the Holy Spirit to live and minister by God's design. We have been placed in a unique position to have the resources and training needed to facilitate this work in America in this generation. We are now placing that call publicly to any that feel that call, as I did, to plant churches, but do not want to answer it in the current church system. The call I received to plant churches was really a call to make disciples that can make disciples. This is how God plants churches. If you feel a call such as this, we need to talk.

The first church has birthed from our disciple making efforts. It is in the Hyde Park neighborhood of North St. Louis. It is simply identified by its location. The Church@HydePark. We believe it will be the first of many as God accelerates His work through us. The foundation has been laid and God is ready to build on it. I invite you on a journey that will ignite your faith and grow you spiritually in ways you have only dreamed about. If you would like to learn more please email me terry@discipledrivenchurch.org