Darrin Patrick is an American author and pastor. He is the founder and lead pastor of The Journey church

The Journey church

The Journey church is an interdenominational Christian church located in St. Louis, Missouri. The church is theologically conservative and culturally liberal. Services are offered at multiple locations in the city. Locations include Tower Grove in South St. Louis, Hanley Road Baptist Church in...

 in St. Louis, Missouri

St. Louis, Missouri

St. Louis is an independent city on the eastern border of Missouri, United States. With a population of 319,294, it was the 58th-largest U.S. city at the 2010 U.S. Census. The Greater St...

. He serves as the vice-president of the Acts 29 Network

Acts 29 Network

The Acts 29 Network is a Christian organization dedicated to church planting. It derives its name from the Book of Acts in the New Testament, which has 28 chapters, making Acts 29 the "next chapter" in the history of the church...

 and published his first book, Church Planter: The Man, The Message, The Mission in 2010.

Personal background

Patrick has been married since 1993 and has four children. He earned a Bachelor of Arts

Bachelor of Arts

A Bachelor of Arts , from the Latin artium baccalaureus, is a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate course or program in either the liberal arts, the sciences, or both...

 from Southwest Baptist University

Southwest Baptist University

Southwest Baptist University is a private institute of higher education affiliated with the Missouri Baptist Convention which is part of the Southern Baptist Convention. In 2003 there were approximately 3,600 students attending at one of SBU's four Missouri, United States campuses in Bolivar,...

, Master of Divinity

Master of Divinity

In the academic study of theology, the Master of Divinity is the first professional degree of the pastoral profession in North America...

 from Midwestern Baptist Theological Seminary

Midwestern Baptist Theological Seminary

Midwestern Baptist Theological Seminary is one of six official seminaries of the Southern Baptist Convention. It is located in Kansas City, Missouri. Midwestern Baptist Theological Seminary also houses an undergraduate college, Midwestern Baptist College, SBC. Although the seminary focuses...

, and Doctor of Ministry

Doctor of Ministry

The Doctor of Ministry degree is, according to The Association of Theological Schools in the United States and Canada , a doctoral level degree oriented toward ministerial leadership often in an area of applied theology, such as missions, evangelism, church leadership, pastoral psychology or the...

 degree from Covenant Theological Seminary

Covenant Theological Seminary

Covenant Theological Seminary is the denominational seminary of the Presbyterian Church in America . It is located in St. Louis, Missouri, and its purpose is to train leaders for work in the church and the world — especially as pastors, missionaries, and counselors. It does not require all...

.

Ministry background

Originally from Southern Illinois, Patrick moved from Kansas City, Missouri

Kansas City, Missouri

Kansas City, Missouri is the largest city in the U.S. state of Missouri and is the anchor city of the Kansas City Metropolitan Area, the second largest metropolitan area in Missouri. It encompasses in parts of Jackson, Clay, Cass, and Platte counties...

 to St. Louis and founded The Journey in 2001. The church has since grown to include more than three thousand members and multiple campuses in the metropolitan St. Louis area. The church was scrutinized by the Missouri Baptist Convention

Missouri Baptist Convention

The Missouri Baptist Convention is the State Convention of Southern Baptists in the state of Missouri. Headquartered in Jefferson City, it recognizes eight regional areas in the state and works in conjunction with 63 Baptist associations Its Executive Director is Dr...

 and received media attention regarding one of its outreach ministries, "Theology at the Bottleworks," due to its being held at Schlafly Bottleworks, a site which serves alcohol.

Patrick authored Church Planter: The Man, the Message, the Mission, the foreword of which was written by Mark Driscoll

Mark Driscoll

Mark A. Driscoll is an American pastor and author. He is the founder and preaching pastor of Mars Hill Church in Seattle, Washington, he co-founded the Acts 29 Network and Churches Helping Churches, and has contributed to the "Faith and Values" section of the Seattle Times and the "On Faith"...

 and was positively remarked upon by such Reformed Evangelical leaders as Tim Keller, Albert Mohler, Mark Dever

Mark Dever

Mark E. Dever has been the senior pastor of the Capitol Hill Baptist Church in Washington, D.C. since 1994, and is the president of 9Marks , a Christian ministry he co-founded "in an effort to build biblically faithful churches in America."...

, Matt Chandler, and Ed Stetzer

Ed Stetzer

Ed Stetzer is an author, speaker, researcher, pastor, church planter, and Christian missiologist. Stetzer is a contributor to the North American discussion on missional church and church planting.- Background :...

. He is among the contributors to Don't Call It a Comeback: The Old Faith for a New Day.