“How It All Got Started”

 

In the year of 1992, on the 8th of February at 6:45 PM the Good Shepherd Church was organized under the leadership of Reverend Charlie Earl Nickerson.  In this meeting were four adults and six children.  This meeting was held and hosted at Greater Mt. Tabor by Pastor E. L. Bowman.

 

Our first official service was held February 9, 1992, at the Forest Hill Community Center, where many friends and family members shared fellowship with us.  We had a great time in the Lord.  The next Sunday, we met in the Forest Hill Mall, which we called home for one year.  During this year, our membership multiplied.  The mall began to switch us from room to room but we did not allow this to hinder our spirit; we just kept praising the Lord.  The space we wanted was not available, so we decided to look outside the mall for growing room.  Nothing seemed to work just right, but we kept on looking.  In the meantime, while we couldn’t find a building, we were able to find an organ, and a partnership with Brother Deshmond Reed.  This union proved to be quite fruitful.  Under his leadership, the choir began to take form.

 

In January 1993, the Lord blessed us with property at 5625 Oakdale Drive and a landlord that was willing to with the church.  The building wasn’t “all that,” as a matter of fact, it was a condemned house ready to be torn down! But God provided seven hard working men, Reverend Charlie E. Nickerson, Pastor Nickerson’s biological brothers, Perry Nickerson, Johnny Nickerson and Robert Nickerson, Julius Hill, Ricky Musgrove and a foreman, Jodie Walton, to totally renovate the property.  By the first Sunday in April, the members had a place they could call home.

 

In 1994, the Lord blessed us such that we were able to pay the property off and start making plans to build.  Our average Sunday morning attendance was between 60-85 people.

 

In December 1996, we completed Phase I of our building process, which was a new sanctuary that held four times as many people as the previous building.  We held our first service in December 1996.

 

With continued growth, we developed a greater need for educational facilities and more fellowshipping space.  As a result, the building process took flight again!  We added a new fellowship hall, which houses four classrooms, an office, a conference room, a larger kitchen and two storage rooms.

 

Since the beginning of this union, God has blessed the Good Shepherd church family “exceeding abundantly above all that we could ask or think” as stated in Ephesians 3:20.  Currently, we possess all of the property on Oakdale Drive and through God’s provisions, our Pastor’s vision (which is sent from God) and dedicated members such as yourself!

 

In 2001, God gave our Pastor a new vision of expansion.  This vision was a name change from the traditional, which would equip the body of believers to further the work of by reaching all nations, denominations, ethnicities and backgrounds.  We are no longer Good Shepherd Missionary Baptist Church, we became Good Shepherd Temple of Praise.

 

As God continued to guide, the membership continued to grow.  In 2007, it was prophesied to the church that God was going to expand GSTOP west. By the middle of the year, we were busting out the seams.  In 2008, during an economic challenge and financial instability for many, the Lord gave Pastor Nickerson yet another vision, which required him to step out of the box of normality on walk by faith alone.

 

In May of 2008, Good Shepherd Temple of Praise entered into a contractual agreement with Triple J Construction to build a new sanctuary west of its current location, which would seat 500!  The ground breaking ceremony was held Sunday, November 23, 2008 at approximately 1:30pm.  The financial closing of the new building took place Tuesday, November 25, 2008, at 10:30am in Dallas, Texas!

 

On Monday, December 15, 2008, we purchased the final parcel of property on Oakdale Drive, making GSTOP the sole owner of all the land on the block.  Because of this, we petitioned the City of Fort Worth for a street name change.  Though we were denied the first time, God said it wasn’t so and on Thursday, July 30, 2009, the street was changed from Oakdale Drive to Good Shepherd Way.

 

The new construction started the second week of December 2008 and our first worship experience was held October 2009, and it was a Holy Ghost filled service that we’ll never forget!  The anointing was so strong that Pastor Nickerson didn’t preach a sermon, the Holy Ghost did!

 

Good Shepherd Temple of Praise is an energetic church that stands on the uncompromised Word of God.  What sets us apart from the traditional church is the vibrant Spirit that we possess.  By allowing God to have His way, the anointing flows freely.  GSTOP is a “hands-on” ministry that believes in allowing everyone to exercise the gifts that God has instilled.  We believe that whatever you did for the enemy can be converted to “energy for God.”  We are a family oriented church that places strong emphasis on family values.

The GSTOP Family believes that our greatest earthly possession is our leader.  Pastor Charlie E. Nickerson is a leader and pastor who’s always ready to lend a listening ear!  He makes himself accessible to his members and says he will “always be, no matter how large this ministry grows.”  He values every member’s input and involvement; therefore, Good Shepherd Temple of Praise is not a voting church.  There is no scriptural support of voting, therefore we believe in being led by the Holy Spirit.

 

Today, by the grace of God, we are blessed to serve, witness, teach and nurture souls inside and outside the four walls of 5625 Good Shepherd Way.  Many have been saved, delivered and made whole through the Word of God and His anointing.  God is truly working in this body.  He has continued to multiply and enable us to expand for the furtherance of His kingdom. With over 30 ministries available to spiritually influence every member of your family, our prayer is that you will become a faithful, dedicated believer, who’s committed to “work the works of Him that sent me, while it is day: the night cometh, when no man can work.” John 9:4.

 

We believe that every good thing comes from God and that’s why He blessed us with Good Shepherd Temple of Praise, because you cannot spell Good Shepherd Temple of Praise without spelling God!