My Soul Friends::Darrin Patrick

The idea for this category came from Dr. Daryl Eldridge.?It is based off of the name of his blog–“My Soul Friends.” ?He is one of “my soul friends” too, by the way!

I first met Darrin at the Missouri Baptist Convention’s “Baptist Building” in Jefferson City, MO in the Fall of 2001 at a church planting assessment.? He and I were both walking through the process to plant a church in Missouri; Darrin in St. Louis and myself in Nixa.

My first thoughts about this guy were, “wow, this dude is pretty sharp” and “he knows what he is doing”–both were things that I didn’t feel I had going for me!? (Don’t let the “dumb jock” stuff fool you.? Darrin is a very bright church leader.)? I just felt like God had called me to plant a different kind of church in Nixa to reach people who were not churched. I thought I had my stuff together, but he was a whole lot further down the road with his church than we were with ours.

Darrin had been through several other “boot camps” and was describing the process to me and a couple other guys that were there for the assessment.? (I didn’t even know what a boot camp was, except that I watched my brother’s graduation from boot camp in Chicago from the U.S. Navy!)? From that first meeting, I knew that God was going to do amazing things through my “friend.” (I use friend very loosely because we are not close; I have just admired and kept up with him and his church from afar and the occasional time I would bump into him at conferences–that he was LEADING!!)

God has truly done an amazing thing in The Journey Church in St. Louis, but I think more importantly God has done in his life.? Darrin has been faithful to learn and grow in his walk with Christ as well as hone his “craft.”? I love to hear him teach his people on their podcast each week.? He has been

This sounds like a total love fest for Darrin–and I guess it is. However, there is nothing really “special” about Darrin.? He is simply a guy that takes the Gospel seriously and has followed God’s calling on his life to reach the nations for the Gospel in a city that he loves with a great passion.

Take a look at this interview (you can also download just the audio here) and you will hear his story and insights from his new book, Church Planter.? It is a great read…like sitting down across the table at the Baptist Building in Jefferson City in the fall of 2001.

Conversation with Darrin Patrick ? Justin Taylor.