Jim Taylor
The Ministry
I have been “in the ministry” since 1970, getting started first of all in street ministry during the “Jesus People” days. I preached and witnessed on street corners in Phoenix, AZ and hung out at the various Christian Coffee Houses then flourishing all over the city. The main two that I frequented were The Searcher’s End and The Open Door. By God’s design I ended up running the Open Door (along with a friend who was older in the Lord than I). We saw many people come to Jesus, delivered from drugs, alcohol, crime etc. in those days.
Eventually I started attending Bible School at nights and was ordained in 1973. I have not pastored very many Churches, having never moved around much. I helped start a Missionary work in Cave Creek, AZ in 1972-73. In 1978 I moved to Oracle, AZ and took over a new work there, working with the Lord as He built the Church. It is a thriving work today. In Jan. of 1990 we moved to Mt. Vernon, MO and took up the work here where we are today.
In between all this we did Mission Outreaches into the Baja Peninsula, some itinerant preaching ( I hate to call the work I did “evangelist”), worked as a Correctional Services Officer for the State of Arizona at the Arizona State Prison Complex in Florence, AZ, and in the middle “80’s” began writing for Gun Week as a contributor and later as a Contributing Editor. Firearms have been a part of my life from the time I was a small child. On the ranch I was raised on they were just part of the tools you used every day and were taken for granted. That is, you never went anywhere without one.
We raise a few cows still and, in addition to the Church, I do website development and design. My wife and I have a small home-based business called Just Write Word Processing.
My wife Twyla and I have been married 28 years and have 2 daughters and 4 grand-daughters. The daughters are OK 🙂 the grand-daughters are WONDERFUL!!
My vision for the Church is a people through whom Jesus is seen, no matter what job they have or where it is. If Christ is real in us, He will be real whether we are Prison Guards, writers, lawyers, farmers, ranchers, and whether we are working or hunting or playing, He is still real in us. No matter what life throws at us we should be able to face it and get through it with His help. That is one of the main thrusts of my teaching.
The Church I shepherd is called “Christ Chapel” and is located on Highway 39 just north of the town of Mt. Vernon, Missouri. I have been here a little over 10 years now. The Church family here is a close-knit group who care for one another in practical ways. If you are in the area please feel free to drop in and visit us.