"Don’t Invite Me to Church"

Brandon didn’t mince words. He was here for Trail Life—for his son, for the boys—but church? No thanks. He’d seen too much.

Pastor Darrell Cooper didn’t flinch. He didn’t argue. He didn’t push. He just smiled and said, “Okay.”

Church Trauma and a Faith on Hold

Brandon’s story didn’t begin with skepticism. In fact, church had once been his whole world.

He grew up in a small Southern Baptist church in Mississippi—one his family helped plant. He watched it grow from house meetings to restaurant booths to a trailer, and finally into a full building. It was home. His parents were leaders. He was saved at sixteen.

But then the disputes came.

As new families arrived, some questioned the influence of the founding members. Accusations flew. Eventually, Brandon’s family—deeply woven into the fabric of that church—was asked to leave.

It shattered him.

At seventeen, he watched the community that raised him cast his family aside. They tried other churches, but the trust was gone. The wound was deep. Quietly, they drifted away.

Brandon never stopped believing. But the institution meant to represent God had failed him. And so, for over a decade, he kept his faith silent—private, unspoken, suspended.

Life moved on. He got married, started a family, and devoted himself to providing for them. His wife wasn’t a believer and couldn’t have told you the difference between Noah and Moses. And Brandon, still carrying his own wounds, didn’t push his faith with her or their children. Faith was something private—something left unspoken.

A Door Back In

Years passed.

A friend invited him to help with a Boy Scout Troop. Brandon, an outdoorsman, jumped at the chance. But as the BSA shifted away from traditional values, he and his friend began searching for something different.

That’s when they found Trail Life.

It wasn’t just about fire-building or hiking. It was about raising up godly men—something Brandon cared about deeply.

But when they partnered with Hopewell Baptist Church to launch a Troop, Brandon hesitated. He knew how these things went. Show up to help, and someone’s bound to recruit you or judge you—for the tattoos, the drinking, or the ten years of Sundays you missed.

So he said it straight: “I’ll help with the boys, but don’t invite me to church.”

“Okay,” came Pastor Darrell’s simple reply.

That two-syllable response cracked the door open.

The Slow Work of Grace

For months, Brandon helped lead the Troop. He planned meetings, taught skills, and got to know the men of the church–not in a pew, but shoulder-to-shoulder, working alongside them. And something began to change.

“One of the big things that really changed my mind,” Brandon recalls, “was the way Darrell handled it. We met outside of Troop meetings to make plans and strategize. We had a lot of conversations—sometimes even deep theological ones—but he never pushed. It was always, ‘Happy to see you,’ ‘Glad you’re here,’ ‘Thanks for your help.’ I got to know him that way.”

It wasn’t an argument that broke down his walls. It wasn’t a sermon. It was real relationships, built over time.

Then, one day, Brandon’s wife surprised him.

“I Want to Visit the Church.”

After a Trail Life family event, she turned to Brandon and said, “Let’s visit Hopewell Baptist this Sunday.”

Brandon was stunned. Ten years together, and she had never once expressed interest in attending church.

But something about what she had seen—the authenticity, the warmth, the way people lived their faith—had stirred something in her.

Brandon made a decision then and there. If she was going, they were going as a family.

The next Sunday, they stepped into Hopewell Baptist. And for the first time in over a decade, something felt different. No pressure. No self righteousness. Just real people, worshiping a real God.

His wife loved it. She wanted to go back.

So they did. Every Sunday. Every Wednesday. They just kept coming.

A Family Transformed

This newfound church family didn’t just provide Brandon’s family with extracurriculars. It launched them down an entirely new path in life. 

Brandon’s wife and daughter both came to faith and were baptized.

Brandon, too, began stepping up—first leading Sunday school, then serving as a deacon. Eventually, he answered the call to preach. For over a year, he traveled across Mississippi, filling pulpits wherever needed.

And just a few weeks ago, the man who once said, “Don’t invite me to church,” was voted in as the new pastor of Oak Grove Missionary Baptist Church.

From Trail Life volunteer to shepherd of a flock.

All because someone chose patience over pressure. Friendship over fixing. Love over lecture.

Meeting People Where They Are

Brandon now carries that same heart into his ministry.

“You can’t prepare yourself to come to Him,” he says. “He comes to you—and makes you into what He wants you to be. We’re called to meet people where they are, and build them up from there.”

That posture shaped the way he led the Trail Life Troop, too.

“These boys came from chaos,” he recalls. “No structure. No fathers. Some of them were sent just to give mom a break. And we’d get frustrated, call them unruly or bad. But the truth is—they’ve never known any different.”

What they needed wasn’t correction first. It was love. Patience. A man to model something different.

“People think Christians are just rule-keepers who don’t know how to have fun,” Brandon says. “But we’ve got to show them something real. And we’ve got to be real ourselves. No masks. Just truth, with love and patience.”

Brandon still wears his tattoo sleeve. Not to provoke—but to remind himself and others of where he’s been. Of the people who looked past it and saw a soul worth walking with.

A Trail Worth Following

Brandon’s time in Trail Life didn’t just help raise his son. It rescued his family. It didn’t just build skills—it built trust. And it didn’t just point him back to church—it pointed him to Christ.

This is the power of a Church-based, Christ-centered ministry. It reaches men who’ve been burned. Boys who’ve been forgotten. Families on the edge.

It meets people in the wild—and walks with them toward the Light.

So don’t be afraid to meet people where they are. Keep the door open. Love without pretense.

Because you never know who might walk through next.

Find a Troop near you or Learn how to bring Trail Life to your community at TrailLifeUSA.com