Dr. Bryan Cutshall, pastor of Twin Rivers Worship Center in St. Louis and a member of the Church of God International Executive Council, has accepted the post of founding president of Redemption School of Ministry in Chattanooga, Tennessee, to be located on the former campus of Tennessee Temple University.
“For me, leaving Twin Rivers is like putting Isaac on the altar,” says Dr. Cutshall. “It took me months of agonizing before I could surrender completely to the will of God for this new calling. God removed all doubt in our minds by stamping His supernatural signature all around us. It has been like living in a Bible story, filled with the agony of surrender and transition, yet simultaneously filled with God’s loving invitation to a new supernatural season.”
After a 21-day fast, Cutshall believed God instructed him to make a list. He calls it his “floating ax head list,” named after the miracle that occurred while Elisha the prophet was building the school of the prophets (2 Kings). According to an email distributed by Cutshall, he wrote down 17 things that would need to happen-seventeen things God would have to do to prove it was His will and to make this move possible. Within a month, almost everything on his list came to pass, including the ability to sell his home in St. Louis, which had a buyer in less than one hour.
Through Church Trainer ministries, Cutshall has trained thousands of ministers via seminars, manuals, consulting, coaching, training programs, books, online resources and Church Trainer’s most recent video school, Formula 12. According to Cutshall, he has talked of founding a school like this one for years, only assuming it would happen later in his life.
Cutshall will be partnering in ministry with Pastor Kevin Wallace, Founder of Redemption to the Nations ministry and lead pastor of Redemption Point Church. Wallace is also a member of the Church of God Executive Council.
The former Tennessee Temple University campus will become a ministry hub, housing the Redemption School of Ministry, Hope Chattanooga, Far Flung Tin Can Ministries, Church Trainer Ministries and many others.
Hope Chattanooga, a ministry of Pastor Wallace, will be similar in concept to the Los Angeles Dream Center and will serve as a daily ministerial lab for the students. Redemption School of Ministry will also offer two-week ministry boot camps for full-time ministers who need to reboot. These boot camps are part of a residential program that offers 50 hours of training, counseling, spiritual renewal, along with a dietary and nutrition program.
The Church Trainer and Redemption to the Nations partnership will provide the network to create this unique training ecosystem, which is designed to equip and train sons and daughters to build the Kingdom of God. The Redemption School of Ministry and Hope Chattanooga websites will also soon launch.
Cutshall states, “This is a chance to experience what happens when information, application and impartation come together to create transformation.”
In November 1987-almost 27 years ago-Dr. Bryan and Faith Cutshall became the pastors of Webster Groves Church of God, which would later become Twin Rivers Worship Center. That first month, they averaged 52 people in Sunday morning service. Over the years, Twin Rivers has relocated many times. During one particularly transient three-year period, they moved a total of eighteen times between various schools and rented spaces.
Today, Twin Rivers Worship Center is one of the most unique mega-churches in America. It’s motto is “Experience, Connect, Grow and Serve,” and it is known for powerful messages from the pulpit, committed discipleship, exuberant worship, and generosity.
Twin Rivers central campus in South County regularly holds three Sunday morning services. Including their satellite campus in St. Peters, more than 3,000 people call Twin Rivers home, with approximately 1500 of them participating in “Life Groups”-weekly home Bible-study gatherings.
The church has approximately 30 paid staff members, 27 Elders, 32 Deacons, and twelve seats on the Board of Directors. In addition to the two campuses, their facilities also include a thrift store, two daycare centers and a full-service café. In 2013, 657 people accepted Jesus as their Savior during Sunday morning services. More than 300 people have already come to Christ in 2014.
Twin Rivers has also distinguished itself as a missionary church, regularly supporting more than 30 missionaries around the world. In addition, they generously reach the mission fields at home by giving away-free of charge-all of their Bibles, DVDs, CDs, notebooks and outlines, as well as coffee and many other items.
For eighteen years, Faith Cutshall served as the minister of music. Their two daughters, Brittany and Lindsay, have also served on staff, and Brittany’s husband, Jeff Eastham, presently serves as youth pastor. The Cutshall and Eastham families see Twin Rivers as more than a church-it is their home and their family.
Jeff and Brittany Eastham will also relocate to Chattanooga, becoming the newest staff members at Redemption Point Church. Serving at the church’s Hiland Park campus, Jeff and Brittany will work in urban evangelism with inner city youth.
Lindsay Cutshall will remain in St. Louis where she currently serves on staff at The Journey church. Dr. Josh Kilpatrick will be appointed Twin Rivers’ interim youth pastor.
Executive Pastor, Joe Dobbins, will serve as interim pastor at Twin Rivers during the transition.
“Twin Rivers has always been God’s church,” said Dr. Cutshall, addressing the congregation. “And I am honored that He so graciously allowed me to watch over it for almost 27 years. You will always be our family and a part of our lives.”
The Cutshalls and Easthams will continue to serve at Twin Rivers until mid July.