Meet Your Church Planters: Derrick Smith
Kaleidoscope Multi-Ethnic Fellowship in Spartanburg, SC
The book of Revelation speaks of people from every nation, tribe and tongue gathered to praise the name of the Lord. While most Christians can see that as a beautiful picture, it sometimes feels like a far off dream. Sadly, many of our churches in America are homogenous and do not reflect the multi-colored and multi-cultural Creator God we serve.
Derrick Smith, a church planter in Spartanburg, wants to fight the natural tendency of all humans to only group up with people like us and strive to more faithfully represent the diverse heart of God and the colorful display of all the people groups He loves. Kaleidoscope Multi-Ethnic Fellowship started in September of 2009, with a core group of 22 people from 9 different ethnicities. The church was originally a vision of Dr. Jim Goodroe, and God changed Derrick’s plan to do missions overseas and instead called him to be the lead pastor and help start Kaleidoscope.
Derrick has learned from experience that church planting is not easy. For one, he is bi-vocational and teaches AP Calculus at Dorman High School, which is a weight and a ministry in itself. He and his wife Megan have two young boys, and Derrick is thankful that God has provided resources and time for their family so that he can pastor and teach. He is humbled by the reality that everything they have is a gift from God to be used to facilitate others coming to know him.
Kaleidoscope has also grown in generosity as a church even from the start—knowing that they cannot wait until they are more stable to grow a sacrificial heart. Although they are a young church they faithfully tithe to the Cooperative Ministry and their local network, as well as help financially support 4 missionaries. God is also growing a desire to love and serve their city with the gospel, and they are in the process of starting English classes to reach out to the international community of Spartanburg.
Derrick is proud to talk about their first baptism service, where they baptized two young African American boys and one Mexican American boy. He also loves to tell the story of Maria, a Mexican woman with four children who is now a part of their church family. Two years ago, she was being abused by her husband and after her life was threatened she decided to leave. With nowhere to go, she was in and out of shelters until she got connected with someone from Kaleidoscope who had a rental property and let her live there for free. Maria is now a newly baptized believer and Derrick recently baptized her son! She is a hungry new believer, with a lot of deep questions and a relentless pursuit of growth.
It is amazing to see that the vision for Kaleidoscope is being accomplished through God’s grace. God is growing Derrick as a pastor, teaching him to wait on Him and His power, to boldly preach against materialism, that the Scriptures speak for themselves, and that He is good and in control. Derrick wants to encourage other believers to meet their neighbors and love them, to pursue multi-ethnicity in our churches as more and more cultures and colors make their home in the vast melting pot that is America. Just as he admonishes his church, he correctly states that the nations are here in America, and reaching them does not require money or travel. By building genuine friendships with people of different cultures, we open doors for the gospel to spread back to the nations and also reflect the beautiful diversity of God. May Kaleidoscope Multi-Ethnic Fellowship continue to grow, reflect God’s heart and reach the nations that have gathered in Spartanburg, SC.
