Spirit and Truth Ministries

Biography of David Spakes

This web site contains a scrapbook and condensed biography of David Spakes, Pastor of Spirit and Truth Fellowship of Knoxville and founder of Spirit and Truth Ministries. In most cases, you can click on pictures to see an enlarged photo in a separate window.

[1980s] [1990s] [2000s] [2010s] [All Years]
[1980] [1981] [1982] [1983] [1985] [1988] [1989]
[1990] [1991] [1992] [1993] [1994] [1995] [1996]
[1997] [1998] [1999] [2000] [2001] [2002] [2003]
[2004] [2005] [2006] [2007] [2008] [2009] [2010]
[2011] [2012]

2007

New Life Family Worship Center, Loudon, TN

"In the Spring of 2007, I learned the whereabouts of an old friend of mine, Jeff Schrimsher, with whom I had attended church together for about a year-and-a-half in the late 1980s. A short time after I had last seen him, he planted a new church in Loudon, Tennessee that is located just off of Interstate 75. Sheila and I had the opportunity one Sunday to visit his church. Before the morning service began, there was time to do some catching up with Jeff and his wife Lisa. Through an act of obedience to God's voice, I ended up playing the bass guitar during the Praise & Worship part of the service. This picture is of Pastor Jeff Schrimsher preaching during the service in which we were in attendance. Behind him is the church's bass guitar that I played on that day."

Preaching and Teaching at Wayside Full Gospel Church, Cocoa, FL

"I was invited to be the guest speaker at two regular services of Wayside Full Gospel Church that took place on Sunday morning, May 20, and on Thursday evening, May 24. Sheila and I drove to Florida and spent the week there. Below are some pictures from both of these services."

Singing at Christ Covenant Full Gospel Church, Seymour, TN

"After Sheila and I visited this church one Sunday, Pastor Gary Crisp called and invited us to return and sing at a special service on July 29 during which his son would be ordained as a deacon. We considered this invitation to be an opportunity to perform volunteer work for Spirit and Truth Ministries, so Sheila and I attended as representing the Spirit and Truth Singers. Our friends Doug and Marinda Magoon went and sang with us, and Marinda also sang solo. All four of us were happy to see an acquaintance there we knew from Bible Fellowship, Jim Tucker. He was one of three guest speakers, and he is shown below standing behind the podium. In the last picture, Sheila and I are posing with the pastor."

Speaking at Free Pentecostal Church in Harriman, TN

"On August 5, 2007, almost seventeen years since my ordination service, Ruby Lea and I visited our church family at Free Pentecostal. During the congregational singing, I got to play guitar again with the man who taught me, Billy Gann, and with his grandson who is now also learning to play. Pastor York asked me to participate in the prayer service, and I asked the elders to pray for me as well. I preached a short sermon from II Corinthians 3:1-2. It was a very joyful reunion.

Before the service began, I asked Brother Gann if I could play guitar with him. With a bit of a smirk on his face, he looked at me and said 'You know, the sign outside still says Free on it.' It was a happy, silly moment that I'll not soon forget."

Assisting with Praise & Worship at Journey Church of Seymour, TN

During the months of August and September, Sheila and I attended a very newly-established church not far from our home called Journey Church of Seymour. The pastor and his wife were in the process of moving to Seymour from Rome, Georgia, so they were unable to attend the mid-week services when we began visiting. Also, the church did not have an established Praise & Worship band in the beginning. During the time we attended, I had the privilege of being able to help with singing and by adding acoustic guitar as an instrument. Before long, however, the Lord sent other musicians to fill the void, and God called us to be elsewhere. In the first picture below, I am standing with all of the members of the full worship team as it was on the last Sunday morning in September (our final service). The second picture is of Pastor Tony and Donna Howard.

Enrolled at Johnson Bible College

"Beginning in the Autumn of 2006 and continuing through the Spring of 2007, the Lord began to deal strongly with my heart. He did not speak any discernable message to me at the time, but I knew without any shadow of doubt that something was about to change in my life, and it was imperative that I make some step forward. However, I was uncertain about the direction that the Lord wanted me to go. One day, Sheila and I met with another couple who has played a significant role in our lives for many years. I felt that I needed to share with them some of the things that God had shown me. Also, I hoped that through them God would reveal something more to me about the direction we should go. They encouraged me to consider enrolling as a student at Johnson Bible College. After some prayer and consideration, I signed up for my first class, Basic Expository Preaching, which I completed in the Fall 2007 semester. This picture of me on campus was taken in 2009."

Preaching at Bible Fellowship, Seymour, TN

"For the Basic Expository Preaching course at Johnson Bible College, I was required to preach a sermon and submit a video recording for a grade. I prepared a sermon titled 'Jesus Our High Priest' (based primarily on the passage Hebrews 4:14-5:10) and delivered it at Bible Fellowship on Sunday, November 25, 2007. After an opening story, I stepped out of the room to put on sandals and a prayer shawl. For the rest of the sermon, I played the role of 'Abner ben David', a fictional character based on the young man who received his sight at the hands of Jesus and was who excommunicated (cast out) by the Jewish priests for being a disciple of Jesus (John 9:1-38). The congregation took a journey back in time to a secret meeting of first-century Christians, and the sermon was told from the perspective of his first-hand accounts. I received an 'A' for the course, but the instructor was puzzled by my use of theatrics in the presentation. Apparently, there is some other preaching course offered at Johnson Bible College where the theatrics come into play. I just did it this way because theatrics are a part of my preaching style, showing up in my sermons once in a while.

Here is a picture of the label for the DVD that I submitted for grading."

Change of Calling from Preacher to Pastor

"Near the end of year 2007, just as I was finishing up my first class at Johnson Bible College, God spoke to me in a way so clear and unmistakable like He had not done since I received my call to preach in 1988. Without hearing any audible voice, I knew the exact words God was speaking to me. His exact words to me were, 'Very soon, you will be pastoring.' I did not know with certainty exactly what God planned to do or the time frame in which He would accomplish what He had spoken, but His speaking to me reaffirmed every day afterwards that He was in control of my situation (deep inside, the desire developed within me to plant a new church). I did not speak openly outside my family about my new call to be a pastor until 2009 when I was ministering again at Wayside Full Gospel Church in Florida."

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