David Woodcock

Praise God for second chances! I received one from the Lord and I took full advantage of it.

I graduated high school from Indianola, Iowa, excelled in academics and sports, went to UNI for college and to play football. After an injury, I transferred to the University of Iowa where I graduated with a degree in Communication Studies.

Upon graduation, I moved to the city of Chicago to start my career in corporate sales. I worked in outside sales most of my business career and succeeded in each job I acquired.

However, my life began to take a turn for the worse as I became more and more dependent on alcohol.

My business successes began to drop and my alcohol consumption began to rise. Ultimately, it led me to depression, anxiety and legal issues. My life was falling apart.

I hit rock bottom when my mother died in a house fire at the same time I was dealing with my legal issues and my addiction was at it's peak.

I had a relationship with Jesus when I was in 3rd and 4th grade. A seed was planted back then that began to come to fruition as I dropped to my knees and cried out to God in my darkest moments.

He heard my cry! He lifted me out of that muck and mire and began to touch my heart and change my life.

I made my way into First Assembly of God church in Indianola, where I gave my life to the Lord.

There was a lot of work that need to be done in me, so the Lord sent me to Adult & Teen Challenge in Colfax, Iowa.

Upon arrival, I fully submitted to God and asked him to start my life over. The beautiful journey began!

God started to change transform me from the inside out through discipleship. I went through Adult & Teen Challenge for 1 1/2 years which included phase 3 in Omaha, Nebraska.

After graduation, I went to ministry school in Jacksonville, Florida where my discipleship and transformation continued at an accelerated pace. I was a full-time student and worked full-time to support my education. I began to minister and preach the word through our outreaches in Florida.

After ministry school, God called me into Adult & Teen Challenge in Texas. I went through their Corporate Executive Leadership Training for 2 months, then I was asked to help start a new men's program in Weatherford, Texas.

We started out in a house with 14 beds and a staff house. I became the Executive Director within 9 months. After searching, I found a new location in Azle, Texas. We purchased the property and moved in January, 2010.

We stared out with 22 beds. We began to grow with more staff, multiple student graduations, students becoming interns then staff. By 2013, we had 45 beds and still growing through relationships with churches, corporations and individuals.

We became a financially stable non-profit, 501C3 ministry through several streams of income such as a thrift store, vocational opportunities, corporate, church and individual support and creative fundraising.

Under my leadership, we went from the smallest center in Texas to one of the largest in a span of 8 years.

In 2016, we felt God was shifting us and preparing us for a move. We were asked by First Assembly of God in Indianola, Iowa to pastor a church plant in Knoxville, Iowa.

We felt God's leading, I was able to leave our TC Center in Azle, Texas in a very healthy state. I helped hire leadership to replace me and the ministry today continues to thrive as the largest center in Texas and a very effective ministry.

We moved to Knoxville in June of 2016 to plant New Journey church. We had our first service at New Journey on September 25, 2016.