Today we’d like to introduce you to Larry Gipson.
Hi Larry, we’d love for you to start by introducing yourself.
You might think that as a pastor I’ve always had faith, but that’s not my story. When I was eight years old I became an atheist after learning that our preacher had been having an affair with the wife of one of the deacons. Needless to say, we left that church and were church homeless for a year until we found a new one, which I attended because my parents made me.
What brought me back to God was a strange moment in a Target parking lot when I was fourteen years old. My mother and I had been shopping all day, so I begged her to let me stay in the car. She did, even leaving the keys for me to listen to the radio. As I sat there, wondering about the purpose of my life with no God in the universe, suddenly the song “Calling All Angels” by Train came on. At the same time, I felt a shiver up and down my spine and heard a voice say two words, “Serve me.” For the longest time I kept that story to myself until I shared with my grandfather, who had been a missionary in India. He told me, “Take that voice seriously. Try serving God in the church and see what it’s like!”
So starting in my teenage years I began to get more involved in church. By the time I got to college, I was pretty sure that I wanted to be a pastor, but I took a detour as a Peace Corps volunteer in Ukraine. When I returned from my service, I enrolled in seminary in Atlanta and discovered my first ever church start. What I loved most about this community was the ways it grew by attracting people who you would think would want nothing to do with church, including LGBTQ individuals, professors at local universities, people with too many questions, and those with church hurt, like me. I felt as if God was calling me to plant a church like that one day, but first I wanted to serve in established churches to gain experience.
After serving churches in Boston, Dallas, and Greensboro, I moved to central Texas for my wife’s work as a professor of theology Texas Lutheran University. At the same time, I discerned a need for a new type of church in San Marcos that would be intentionally inclusive of LGBTQ individuals and seeking to reach young adults. After meeting with dozens of individuals, we put together a launch team that started Springs of Life.
Would you say it’s been a smooth road, and if not what are some of the biggest challenges you’ve faced along the way?
The story of starting a church is never a smooth one! We’ve faced many challenges along the way, including funding and gathering the right people together. We have a number of members with church hurt and trauma, so providing spiritual healing for them has been important. We also face stigmatization from some other churches who look down on us for the ways we seek to welcome all of God’s children.
An especially big challenge, however, came just a month before we launched weekly worship. In July, we learned the elementary school where we had been gathering once a month couldn’t accommodate us every week. I began to scramble to find a new venue, contacting sixteen different places–stores, museums, universities, you name it!
Eventually, we found our new home of the Price Center, a community center in San Marcos that houses lots of gatherings for artists, social groups, and others. I did not know this at first, but the Price Center used to be a church many years ago. So in some ways, us worshiping there is a full circle moment! Our struggle worked out for the good.
Thanks for sharing that. So, maybe next you can tell us a bit more about your business?
Springs of Life Church is a small, scrappy community of faith in San Marcos. We’ve only been gathering for weekly worship since August of 2025! Our mission is to help ordinary people grow into fruitful followers of Jesus who worship God, seek justice, and gather in authentic community.
Most of our members are people who had previously given up on church or have never been part of an established church. We specialize in helping such individuals see the teachings of Jesus in a new light, one that is more open-minded and less restrictive. Outside of worship, we seek to create small group gatherings for people to share their stories and open up in their struggles.
We also have a larger-than-normal percentage of college students and young adults. In our typical gathering, I would guess that our average age is somewhere around 30. We know that Millennials and Gen Z are some of the most unchurched generations, so we want to do our best to help them grow in their journey with Jesus.
Can you share something surprising about yourself?
Most people don’t know this, but I’m the only straight sibling in my family. My middle sister identifies as queer, and I officiated her wedding to her wife. It was one of the biggest honors of my ministry. My youngest sibling identifies as gender non-conforming, using “they/them” pronouns. I love my siblings dearly, and I’ve always wanted to serve a church where they would feel welcome. I’m grateful that Springs of Life is such a community.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.springsoflife.church/
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/springsoflifechurchsmtx/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=61572281567360
Image Credits
Photos by Larry Gipson, Cari Fowler, and Emily “Moo” Holstein
