Today we’d like to introduce you to Brady Testorff.
Brady , we appreciate you taking the time to share your story with us today. Where does your story begin?
I moved from Yates Center, KS to Platte City, Mo in 1988 to work for American Airlines. I was barely 18 years old.
I spent 1o years as a customer service agent, lead agent, and supervisor.
In 1993 I went through a divorce and started attending the First Baptist Church in Platte City.
I was a single father of a 3-year-old little girl. I grew up in church, so I knew I needed to get back there.
This was the beginning of not only a heart change, but eventually a career change.
I started volunteering as a leader with Young Life ministries in 1995.
In 1997 I was encouraged by my wife to help out with the youth ministry at FBC.
Not too long after that I felt the Lord speaking to me about, “Something better”.
I wasn’t exactly sure what that meant but if it was better I should pursue it.
In 1998 I was offered a full-time position as a Youth Pastor.
It didn’t make sense on paper, but we knew this was the “better” God was speaking of.
I took a 50% pay cut and left the airline business behind.
While all of this was going on, I got married again in 1994. Trish and I had a daughter in 1996 and another one in 1998.
Today our oldest daughter Bailee and her husband Mitch live in Weston. They have two precious little girls, Jessa and Ella. Mitch is the middle school principal and Bailee teaches @ WP High School and coaches Track.
Our daughter Emma and her husband Weston live in Carrollton, Texas with two daughters. Kinsley and Kampbell. Emma is a stay-at-home mom, and Weston works for Higginbotham Insurance Company as a Senior Strategic Benefits Consultant.
Our youngest daughter Eliza and her husband Michael live close to Penguin Park. She is a nurse at KU Med and he works for Midwestern Theological Seminary. They have a son, Henry who died at birth. We are rejoicing that Eliza is currently pregnant with a perfectly healthy baby. She is due on Easter Sunday, 2026.
In 1998 I started my full-time youth ministry. For almost 15 years we ministered to over 100 young people at church. We started campus ministries at local schools; we took kids to youth camps and mission trips. We traveled to Mexico, Belarus, Peru, Haiti, and El Salvador.
In 2005, we traveled to an orphanage in Peru. It was there that we met a little boy and his older sister. One year later my wife and I returned to Peru and adopted these two.
Yessenia works for a daycare and lives in Platte City and has two beautiful children. Amelia and Angelo.
Oliver just got a job with Central Power Systems and lives in Weston.
So that is 5 kids, 6 grands on earth, one in heaven and one on the way. We are blessed!
*Side note: In 2008 I had an unexpected blessing come my way. I was at a prayer breakfast in Platte City, and I met Dan Meers aka KC Wolf. We exchanged phone numbers that day. A few weeks later he called me and asked if I was available to be in a pregame video for the upcoming football season. This was the beginning of my 15-year career as a backup mascot for the KC Chiefs. It was my hobby that I got paid for! I am now the owner of some lifelong friends, memories and two Super Bowl rings. I retired after the Super Bowl in 2024. (I was never the Wolf at a game.)
In 2012 I felt like it was time for a change.
I ended up taking a ministry position at Vineyard North Church. I was the senior high/young adult pastor.
It was a necessary change for me, but the church was a lot larger than FBC. I learned some valuable leadership lessons and met some great people there, but it was not a good fit for me or my family.
This is where my story takes a huge turn.
On March 24, 2014, my wife and I were in church together. The pastor at the time was preaching about Abram, before God changed his name to Abraham. He asked a life changing question. He said, “Do you ever feel like your calling is here (he had his hand up in the air} but your current reality is here? (he moved his hand down below his waste) I looked at Trish and I said, “That is exactly how I feel.”
Two days later I met with the pastor to talk about my future. I was not a good fit for them, and they were not a good fit for me. It was decided that I would transition out of my current position at the end of May. They asked me what my plan was…I wasn’t sure. I had been encouraged by others to plant/start a church, so I guess I will do that.
In June of 2014 I was officially unemployed. In 1998 I took a 50% pay cut, this time I took a 100% pay cut. It was a little scary since we still had kids in high school.
I started working more KC Wolf appearances, I picked up a part time job at the Landmark Newspaper, spoke at kid’s camps, and trusted God for His provision.
*I have a really great story of how God supplied for our needs during this time.
Before I left Vineyard, we started meeting on Sunday afternoons with others who were interested in helping us start the church. We did not ask one person to help us, they just showed up.
On June 8, 2014, we met one more time to pray and to plan. We took up an offering to start our church the following Sunday on Father’s Day at the YMCA in Platte City.
That Sunday we collected $2900. We bought a cheap sound system, some coffee, paid our Y rent for the week and we started to prepare our first gathering.
On June 15, 2014, 98 people showed up for our first worship service. It was a great start!
*I have another great story about why it was significant that our church started at the Y.
We met at the Y until November. We knew early on we were going to need to find another place to meet.
Our next step was moving to local high school performing arts auditorium. The school was very easy to work with. They allowed us to store some of our equipment there. Several teachers graciously let us use their classrooms for children’s ministry. The auditorium had 600 seats, so we weren’t worried about outgrowing the space. We were there for 5.5 years until Covid shut everything down.
We met online for a few months until the end of May. We had an outdoor worship service at a church member’s house. We were all so happy to see one another. Everyone was asking what is next. I literally got a phone call the next day from Paula Owens, who owned a wedding venue in Tracy, Mo. She asked if we needed a place to meet. Weddings had been backed up, and she had some openings. What perfect timing! We met there for the next 5 months until God opened up another door. (During the Covid era our church exploded with new people.)
*This is another great God story.
We have been meeting in our current location for the past 5 years.
We are excited for what the future holds and only God knows what that looks like.
Alright, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
Wow!
I touched on some of those in my story.
We have had many ups and downs involving people. People are messy.
We have had many come and go. Some have been key leaders, and some are casual attenders.
A year ago, we lost our grandson and at the same time my wife had major back surgery.
Appreciate you sharing that. What else should we know about what you do?
Once again, I touched on a lot of this in my story.
I think I specialize in people. I love the personal side of ministry and not so much the business side of church life.
I am in the relationship business. Vertical with God and horizontal with one another.
I live by this idea:
“It is not what you know, but who!” I don’t know a lot. I didn’t go to college or seminary, but I do know a lot of people.
I am most proud of not giving up when things got difficult. As a pastor you have to have thick skin and a soft heart.
What sets me apart: I am not sure I have anything unique that makes me special…I am just a compassionate person! My heart aches for hurting people and it motivates me to love them well.
How do you define success?
That is a difficult question to answer.
In life – Raising loving and responsible human beings.
In ministry – Nudging people a little closer to Jesus with every interaction.
Pricing:
- Our services are free! 😉
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.thecallingcommunitychurch.com/
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/thecallingcc/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/CallingCommunityChurch
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@thecallingcommunitychurch2118
