The Missionary
Society
of the
Good Shepherd

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WHO WE ARE

The Missionary Society of the Good Shepherd is a society that is made up of individuals who are living their lives as Missionaries of the Good Shepherd. In addition the Society includes churches, communities, and missions that are seeking to serve their communities in the heart of the Good Shepherd.As Missionaries of the Good Shepherd, we agree to live according to the Rule of the Society as it shapes our discipleship path and our spiritual formation.To understand the Society, there are two primary areas to best explain who we are: our Vision and our Structure. Please continue to read below to better understand both our Vision and Structure.Understanding Our Vision Through Our Name:
It all starts with the Good Shepherd. Everything we are and everything we do is based upon the Good Shepherd. Our vision is to become icons of Christ to our community by imitating the Good Shepherd.A society employs a sodality model of ministry instead of a modality. This allows us to be focused on mission and ministry without some of the struggles of typical parochial approaches. This empowers ministers and ministries to be flexible to the Spirit and take the look that is needed to serve the Good Shepherd and their communities.We are missionary oriented because the Good News of the Good Shepherd needs to be heard everywhere. In addition, we believe that we are called to serve our communities with the love and servitude of the Good Shepherd.Our StructureThe Missionary Society of the Good Shepherd will have two different but united aspects.The first aspect will be ministries that will covenant together to be in community with each other based on the vision of the Society.
These ministries will take a variety of forms, whether that means chapels, oratories, house churches, domestic abbeys, community ministries, or chaplaincies. The focus is not on the how but on the doing of ministry.The second aspect will be individual members of the Missionary Society, knowns as Missionaries of the Good Shepherd that will agree to follow a simple Rule of Life that helps them live out their vocations of being Missionaries of the Good Shepherd. We will take a biblical, orthodox, and ecumenical approach built on a solid Anglican foundation.

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OUR RULE

A Rule of Life is a way for us to live our lives to help us grow in holiness and service to God. It serves as a minimum for what we believe as the path of discipleship. We decide for ourselves on a Rule of Life which helps us to grow, but is not so hard that we give up on it. We have broken our rule up into a few different categories.Eucharist - The heart of our Rule is the sacrament of the Eucharist. The word Eucharist comes from the Greek word eucharisto that means thanksgiving. We commit to participating in the Eucharist on a weekly basis or as often as possible.Live on Mission - As we live out our lives as disciples, we approach our communities as missionaries, looking for ways to share the hope and good news of Jesus. Living on Mission can look like a lot of different things including the Works of Mercy.Rhythm of Sabbath - keeping a sabbath was so important that God included it in his Top 10 list. In all seriousness, God seems to have a higher value to Sabbath than most Christians. If it is important to God, it should be important to his disciples. We commit to continually engage in rhythms of sabbath.Engagement with God's Word- God left us with His inspired word to lead and guide us as well as to help us understand his heart, will, and mission. There are many ways to engage in God’s word, from deep Bible study to Lectio Divina. We commit to engaging in God’s Holy Scriptures on a regular basis.Commitment to Prayer - Maximus the Confessor says, "Unceasing prayer means to have the mind always turned to God with great love, holding alive our hope in him, having confidence in him whatever we’re doing and whatever happens to us." We believe that prayer is key to the life of the Christian and a commitment to prayer, both in forms like Morning Prayer as well as the every breath of the follower of Christ.

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MINISTRIES

The Missionary Society of the Good Shepherd is made up two different types of membership. The first is individual missionaries and the second is different ministries that are seeking to live out the heart of the Good Shepherd. This can include community ministries, chapels, parish churches, house churches, and everything in between.Below are the current ministries that belong to the Missionary Society of the Good Shepherd:Callie's List - This prayer ministry led by Resa Darnell is focused on serving others by giving everyone a place to sned their prayer requests.St. Francis Mission - This is a house church/domestic abbey located in NE Georgia led by Canon Drew Darnell

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Leadership

Drew Darnell

Father General

Canon Drew Darnell serves as the Canon Missioner for the Traditional Anglican Church of America under Bishop Rick Reid.Canon Darnell has been in ministry since 1999 where he first began preaching in a Southern Baptist Church. Since that time, he has served as a Youth Pastor at two different churches, and as Missional Pastor at an Anglican church in Asheville, NC. He planted the Blue Ridge Anglican Mission in in Hendersonville, NC. He has served as Canon Missioner and Director of Vocations in the past with the Orthodox Anglican Church. In addition, he served as the President of St. Andrew's Theological College and Seminary while in the OAC.Canon Darnell has a passion for seeing the Church live out the mission of God by helping all disciples become missionaries and teaching them to love and serve their neighbors. The idea for the Missionary Society has been a seed that has been growing in Canon Darnell's heart for 16 years and finally beginning to see fruit.BS in Religion - Excelsior
MBA - University of the Cumberlands
Graduate Certificate in Christian Leadership - Liberty University

Ric Smith

Director of Church Relations

Father Ric Smith is a lifelong resident of western North Carolina. He is the father of three young adult children-Isaiah, Thomas, and Miriam. Father Ric has been involved in ordained ministry since 2017 but has served in various roles within the Church for over 24 years.Father Ric has professional experience in the fields of behavioral and mental health, state and local government, and currently serves as a part time Chaplain with AMOREM, which is a Hospice agency, works part time with Western Piedmont Council of Governments as part of the Homelessness Outreach Team, and serves as Pastor at Christ United Lutheran Church.Father Ric has a heart and passion for serving the least of these, those in incarceration, those hurting and broken, and those in need. He has served on boards including Yokefellow of Caldwell County and was recently nominated and elected to serve on The Regional Council for the The Carolinas Mission Region of The North American Lutheran Church. Father Ric is rostered for ministry with both The Communion of International Catholic Communities and The North American Lutheran Church and has a desire to serve and work toward unity in God's One Holy Catholic and Apostolic Church.BS in Criminal Justice- Liberty University
MDIV (emphasis in Spiritual Formation) - Northwest Nazarene University
Clinical Pastoral Education- Atrium Behavioral Health- 3 Units

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JOIN US

We are excited to meet with both ministries and churches that want to be a part of the Missionary Society of the Good Shepherd as well as individuals who feel called to walk with us as missionaries.We are open to all baptized believers who believe the Nicene and Apostles Creed.If this is you and you want to find out more, please submit the below message and lets get to work!