He did not meet his father until 1987 when he was 29 and, even then, was only able to enjoy that relationship until 2000, the year his father passed.
Like so many who grew up in his shoes, Terry wanted more than he saw around him. But he just didn’t see any legitimate means to get it. At first, he resisted temptation and joined the military right after high school. After three years there, he tried college but his patience was low. He still wanted to have nice things and he wanted them immediately. So when neighborhood friends and family turned him onto fast money, he took the bait and adapted quickly to selling drugs.
As his financial fortune grew, Terry created the record label Mega Jam’s Records and bought a liquor store. However, his good “fortune” wasn’t all good. His first wife’s suicide forced him to start looking at his life differently. He saw that change was needed but, again, he was moving slowly. His life was still moving fast and, finally, his platinum hood status caught up with him, resulting in a five-year prison stint.
But, like in most best-case scenarios, prison became a major turning point for Terry. Prior to going to prison in Puerto Rico, he met his second wife Lynda, a schoolteacher in Memphis, and they soon married. As he contemplated his life and life choices in prison Terry became born again. With his wife Lynda united with him in mind, body, and spirit, the two of them dedicated their lives to serving God.
Upon his release, Terry walked the straight and narrow, working as a sales manager for the largest Toyota dealership in Memphis, TN. From there, he became business manager to NBA player Anfernee “Penny” Hardaway, relocating his family, which now included a baby girl, to Phoenix, AZ and onto an even greater path. While in Arizona, both Terry and Lynda accepted the call to the ministry, graduating from the Ministry Training Institute ran by Drs. Alfred and Beverly Craig.
As Penny Hardaway swapped jerseys from the Phoenix Suns to the New York Knicks, the move to New York City, now with a son also in tow, brought about other big changes for the Starks family. On December 11, 2004, Pastor Terry started a church in Harlem he named A Wiseman Christian Center but discontinued it when he got a call from Dr. Frederick K. C. Price, a mentor to him, to pastor his New York City Church, Crenshaw Christian Center East. From April 1, 2007 to July 2010, that ministry flourished, but God wasn’t through with him or Lynda.
In April 1998, Pastor Terry had heard God speak to him about a Fresh Start—New Beginning, as found in II Corinthians 5:17 (Message Bible). So “Behold all things have a Fresh Start—A New Beginning” serves as the foundation of his ministry, aptly named Fresh Start-New Beginning Christian Church (FSNBCC). And, as the name suggests, Fresh Start—New Beginning isn’t the ministry done the same ole way. Instead, Pastor Terry makes a point of applying the word of God to everyday life.
Ultimately Fresh Start—New Beginning (FSNBCC) is a teaching ministry focused on transforming all those it encounters. It’s a place where the impoverished can find wealth, the depressed can find happiness and the oppressed can find freedom. But, most importantly, it’s a ministry where God thrives. To bring others to God, Pastor Terry pulls out all the stops, meshing his encouraging and motivating personality with his superior knowledge of the Bible and his humorous charm.
So, for those growing up like Pastor Terry, he is living proof that God embraces us all. It doesn’t matter if you were raised by a poor, single mother, God grants “fresh starts.” Should you happen to fall off track and be blinded by the promise of fast money and fancy things like Pastor Terry once was, God specializes in “new beginnings”.
