Today we’d like to introduce you to Samuel Thomas.
Hi Samuel, so excited to have you with us today. What can you tell us about your story?
The story of our church is a story that begins from my childhood.
Ever since I was young, I have been different. I haven’t cared to conform to the regular ways of doing things.
This was especially true in church. I always had a deep respect for religious things, especially since my grandpa was a pastor and my family was deeply involved in church. Having a connection to God was very important to me. So it always bothered me that people would speak one thing and do something completely different. It seemed disingenuous.
As I began sharing my thoughts more in my church about the disingenuous nature of the church, people resonated with it and I got chances to go speak at other church events around the city of Dallas. I knew people were tired of the fake as much as I was.
As I was speaking and helping various churches, I felt the call of God to start a church myself. A church that would center, not on performance or business systems, but on being sincere in faith and honestly seeking the Lord. As I was considering this, I visited my wife’s church in Oklahoma and the minister spoke that Sunday about Elijah and his call. He prophetically spoke to me and told me that the plan I had in my heart was from the Lord. He had no idea we had any plan about planting a church. He told us the journey would be lonely, but that God would sustain us. The plan of God was for something new.
So after getting our confirmation, me and my wife began the long process of establishing a church. We started by just meeting in my parent’s living room in August of 2019. We met at my parent’s house and grew to about 20 people during Covid. In about 2023, we felt the call to move locations so that we could be more welcoming to others, so we have been meeting in the choir room of Sunnyvale High School, in Sunnyvale, Texas.
It has been a long and lonely road as it has not gone according to our plans, but we are hopeful in the prophetic word given to us when we set out. We have hope that God is going to do something new with us and for the community of those around us. We are a group of 25 people now that meets every Thursday for Bible study, Saturday to serve at a local nursing home and Sundays for corporal worship.
Alright, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
It has been a difficult journey for us for many reasons.
Of all of it, the hardest is finding people who believe in the same vision that we see. Having been born in a church, a person can have an idea of how Church should be. Because our church does not always do church as it has always been done, people do not easily understand that. They enjoy their traditional view of church, their socializing and going back to their life.
To find people who want to break out of the norm can be difficult.
Secondly, you may find people who want to break out of the norm, but then they must have a deep desire to put effort into their personal lives and the church to grow. To not do what you have always done can be difficult and takes work, so many do not care to move past these steps.
Finding people who want to see something different and work towards it has been hard, but I am hopeful that God is always faithful to finish the work he has started.
Thanks for sharing that. So, maybe next you can tell us a bit more about your business?
What should we know?
We are a church that wants to be different from standard churches. Whereas a standard church wants to meet all your needs and is business minded, we want our church to challenge you to grow. We want you to come to church to give something, rather than look to receive something. You are not a spectator at our church, but involved and engaged throughout service.
Our standard service:
10:30-11 am Prayer (We take time individually to intercede for needs and pray together)
11-11:10 Short message (We like to let someone share a few minutes from what God has been teaching them)
11:10-11:40 Songs (We like to offer God worship through our singing)
11:40-12:15 Sermon (I usually share from the word and pose questions throughout so the congregation is involved, but I also take time to just speak from the Word)
12:15-12:30 Wrap Up
What do you do, what do you specialize in / what are you known for?
We specialize in being a small family in which our lives our intertwined. Whereas a big church may have people who can hide, in our church, you are seen, valued and considered a part of our family.
We specialize in accountability. We like to challenge people to open themselves up so that they can grow and not be stuck in personal sins and issues.
What do you want our readers to know about your brand, offerings, services, etc?
If you have ever felt like you don’t belong at church or that Christians are fake, we want to show you something different. We are imperfect people and don’t claim perfection, but we want to show the love of Jesus as best as we can.
How can people work with you, collaborate with you or support you?
To help collaborate and support, we would love individuals to be open for growth and be ready to be challenged. We want people to be sincere in their Christian walks. We want people to speak what they live and live what they speak.
To help support, please pray that God would do what God needs to do with us.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.servingchurchdallas.com/
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/theservingchurchdallas/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=61583637132646#
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@theservingchurchdallas
- Other: https://open.spotify.com/show/0aVutKJz6U5UX0rVpAolTK
