Pastor Neill Coffman
Senior Founding Pastor
Apostle Neill started in ministry more than 25 years ago while still in the closet. In 2000, he stepped out of the closet and resigned his position as pastor of a church in his home town. After a long personal journey, he and his husband, Pastor Dean, birthed a church from a year-long Bible study called “Expressions of Hope” that was held in their living room.
God called Apostle Neill and Pastor Dean to begin Expressions Church, which met April 6, 2008, in the historic Farmer’s Market building in downtown Oklahoma City for its first service. In June 2008, the church began meeting at the Lansbrook Event Center, and moved to its current location on the “Gay Strip” in the heart of OKC in June 2009.
In July 2009, God spoke to Apostle Neill to expand the ministry to include a new outreach called Expressions Community Center, a cooperative services environment which reaches more than 2,400 clients a year. ECC houses a variety of HIV testing, treatment, and prevention programs including mental health services, DHS, and many other agencies operating in collaboration. Expressions Ministries has expanded from 1,200 square feet to 16,000 square feet, spreading from one portion of a building to an entire campus in the same location.
“As a Pastor within the body of Christ my hope and prayer is that we can be there for our brothers and sisters so they can be all that God has called them to be,” Apostle Neill said. “That can only happen through safe, true, and authentic loving relationships where friends become family.”
How can this happen? Well? First we must build trusting authentic relationships one by one through love with no agenda. Second we must be able to invite each other into our living rooms (hearts) for loving intimate conversations about our walk, the Lord. and His precious word. Third we must release messages of Hope that will be so full of love that every person that hears that word will wake up to take that love to a struggling community. (BASICALLY THE CHURCH BEING FREE TO BE THE CHURCH). Fourth we must be there for each other in any way possible. From support behind the scenes, on the front lines, prayer, strategy, development, implementing ministries… but most of all building friendships through relationships.
God can do anything, you know—far more than you could ever imagine or guess or request in your wildest dreams! He does it not by pushing us around but by working within us, his Spirit deeply and gently within us. (Ephesians 3:20, MSG)