ABOUT
Our Story
Come As U R Ministries is a Christ centered, Bible teaching, outreach meeting people where they are in their lives sharing the love of Jesus. Our ministry started, February 2016, as a Bible study in the Next Step Center Inc. a homeless shelter located in Somerset PA.
Highlights from Jon and how Come As U R Ministries got its start.
The Road to Come As U R
Mid 90’s – Started listening to Christian radio
A) He’s Alive Radio, Grantsville, Maryland
B) Family Life Radio, Tucson, Arizona; Show host for intentional living was Randy Carlson-started
shaping my thinking about “my walk with Christ.”
C) Focus on the Family, James Dobson, Colorado Springs, Colorado; got my head straight about my
family life!
D) Point of View, Marlin Maddox, Dallas, Texas; great conservative Christian view on political issues
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Father’s passing in 1998
A) Finally gave my life to Christ!
B) Started funding Christian radio through our business (H.A.S. Enterprises)
C) Sometime in the early 2000s, made a trip to Tucson, AZ to meet with Randy Carlson’s son and view
workings of a Christian radio station
Sometime around 2005 or 2006
A) Became restless with giving money for Christian radio and not doing much else
B) British gal (Manager of Next Step Center), stopped by to pick up a table we had along the street for
“free.”
i. Said she would love to have it but no way to haul it
ii. Asked if I would deliver to the Next Step Center (I didn’t have a clue where they
were or what they did)
iii. I delivered, and two weeks later she called and asked if I would consider being a
Board Member
iv. I prayed about it and WOW! what a ride!
December 2013-sold our business and semi-retired
A) Started listening to K-Love
B) Took their 30-day challenge to only listen to them, it worked!
C) Was still traveling, had to stary on as a consultant for three years
D) In 2014, heard Crowder’s song, “Come As You Are,” and it had an immediate impact on me
Sometime later…
A) Brought idea of a contemporary worship service to Bethany United Methodist Church family
B) My suggestion from the Good Lord was to call it “Come As U R,” thanks to Crowder
C) Tried for a few years in the church setting and it didn’t stick
D) Good Lord was speaking to me about doing it somewhere different, but not in a church setting
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Sometime later…help Brian!
A) Good Lord working on me to start a Bible study/discussion group at the Next Step Center
B) After a struggle with some Board members, the Board agreed to let me give it a try
C) Lord was telling me I needed a “partner in crime” that could relate to the clients at the Next Step
Center
D) Waa…Laa…Brian McGowan, another Idiot (as myself) that loved the Lord and wanted to have an
impact on those that struggle
Brian's story
In February 2016, Jon and I began a Bible study at the Next Step Center Inc., a local homeless shelter, where Jon was on the board of directors for about ten years. Jon felt God was moving him to do more than just be part of the band-aid process that seemed to exist. Resources are always tight and there is a demand for the limited space available at the shelter.
The backstory for me leading up to this point grew out of a time of darkness. For a period of twenty-eight years, I struggled with an addiction to alcohol however, in 2013 I got sober. Over the course of those years my attitude and behavior left a path of hurt and destruction for my family and those close to me. Finding sobriety was good, but the pride and arrogance that grew out of it continued to wreak havoc for everyone in my life and I continued to spiral out of control. In September 2015, my behavior and attitude pushed DeeDee to the breaking point and we separated. Having grown up in church and playing church as an adult, our separation forced me to seek God. I began to ask in prayer for God to fix my marriage, but it was all for selfish reasons.
Over the years, DeeDee and our children had endured more than loved ones should from a husband and father. One evening in October, DeeDee and I had a heated argument, and I knew from her tone and tenor that our marriage was over. That night I went home to the camp cot bed where I prayed that DeeDee finds happiness even if that meant I was no longer a part of her life.
During that time while DeeDee and I were separated, Jon approached me to help him begin a bible study at the Next Step Center. To say I was reluctant is an understatement. I told Jon he must be out of his mind because I didn’t have anything to offer those down on their luck in life. However, Jon’s request came after I had been humbled by God and my heart changed. I agreed to pray about it.
In January 2016, I attended Winter Jam Tour Spectacular in State College PA with DeeDee and two of our three children. We were still separated, had never heard of or experienced Winter Jam before, but the kids wanted to attend with a group of friends.​​​
Winter Jam 2016’s Pre-Jam party kicked off with a band named We Are Messengers. Despite the awkwardness of being together while separated we enjoyed the entertainment. Looking back, the lineup was phenomenal. It included Stars Go Dim, New Song, Sidewalk Prophets, KB, Tedashi, Trip Lee, Red, David Crowder, Matthew West and For King and Country. The kids thought it was great because they got to meet and have pictures taken with We Are Messengers, Stars Go Dim, Sidewalk Prophets and Red. Matthew West even stopped to snap a picture with our daughter as he was trying to get through the concourse to his bus.
One of the songs we heard that evening was “I Don’t Have The Answers” by We Are Messengers. We Are Messengers - "I Don't Have The Answers" (Acoustic) Ten days later DeeDee told me that she wanted to reconcile our relationship. DeeDee told me that as Darren played the guitar and sang that song, God told her she didn’t need the answers but needed to trust Him to rebuild our relationship. We did reconcile and on February 14, 2016, we renewed our wedding vows during morning worship in church.
God used music to heal our broken marriage and break my heart to help those that are lost to find their way to Him. Also, in February 2016 Jon and I and agreed to give the Bible study a run in our act of obedience to God. Our plan was to hold an open Bible study twice a month. After our first night there, it was requested that we come back weekly. So, our plan quickly evolved based upon God’s plan.
Over the course of the next two years, God blessed us to sit and share the Gospel of Christ with many guests at the Next Step Center. During those years, guests that left the shelter approached Jon and I in the community and stated they wanted to return to the shelter just so they could sit in on the Bible study. Many of these individuals told us that in their past someone or something has led them to leave or avoid the church. Those experiences were humbling and surreal. Jon and I often told the guests that we are just two idiots that love Jesus. Many times, people assume we are pastors, but once they find out we are just two everyday people it creates a stronger bond or connection. These experiences prompted Jon and I to pray more for God’s guidance.
Simultaneously, during this period, I felt the Holy Spirt prompting me to bring family, friendly Christian music missions to Somerset PA, but that is a whole other story to tell….
On January 1, 2018, Jon and I filed Articles of Incorporation for a non-profit with the Pennsylvania Department of State to establish Come As U R Ministries. With God’s blessing we became a Christ centered, Bible teaching, Outreach Ministry. We acknowledged the need and heard the cry of those who are hungry for the Lord. We don’t have all the answers but are walking in faith to answer the call that God has placed upon our hearts. In November of 2020 we secured recognition of 501(c)(3) status from the IRS.
