The Life Christian Church

Terry A. Smith is the Senior Pastor of The Life Christian Church in West Orange, New Jersey. Since his arrival at the church in 1991, this dynamic, multi-cultural non-denominational church has experienced significant growth and impact in the community. Under his leadership, the church has moved from small rental spaces and developed a unique and contemporary worship center to accommodate its growing congregation. Led by Pastor Terry’s vision to build a culturally relevant ministry, The Life Christian Church is now planning to build a new eight-acre campus on a major thoroughfare in West Orange, just thirteen miles from New York City.

Terry and TLCC have been mentioned in several books, magazines, and case studies as leading innovators and thinkers in the church world. The Willow Creek Association, an organization with 12,000 member churches, highlighted Terry for his ability to cast vision in their Fall 2005 magazine. In his highly regarded resource for pastors Starting a New Church, Dale Galloway, popular author and dean at Asbury Theological Seminary, referenced Terry—along with T.D. Jakes and Robert Schuller—as a model for creating faith-building momentum in the church. A case study on TLCC’s impact in the West Orange community was also included in Kent Hunter’s The Jesus Enterprise: Engaging Culture to Reach the Unchurched. Dr. McKenzie Pier wrote a chapter on the leadership role The Life Christian Church plays in the New York City metropolitan area in his book, Spiritual Leadership in the Global City. (The forewords for this book were written by Bill Hybels and Terry Smith).

As a younger man, Terry traveled around the U.S. and to other nations building youth ministries, speaking at hundreds of churches, and holding crusades at high schools and colleges about critical issues facing those age groups.

Ordained in 1985, Pastor Terry evokes a practical, insightful and engaging preaching style and is widely recognized by his motivating passion for leadership. He speaks nationally and internationally at pastoral and leadership conferences and seminars. His inspiring messages have been shared at such diverse events as the Salomon Smith Barney Institute; The Word and Spirit Conference at Christ Church in Nashville, Tennessee; in Bogotá, Columbia for city-wide Pastors and Leaders Conferences; a marriage retreat for the spouses and staff of Rutgers University’s head football coach, Greg Schiano; and chapel services for the NJ Nets and Indiana Pacers. Recently, Pastor Terry spent time in Rwanda, Africa teaching and training pastors and leaders at the invitation of World Vision.

Pastor Terry has served or now serves a variety of intra-denominational parachurch organizations including the General Council of Churches United in Global Mission, the Board of Directors of Concerts of Prayer of Greater New York; the Pastor’s Committee and the General Committee of the Greater New York Billy Graham Crusade and the Advisory Council of Citivision. Pastor Terry also has been involved in various civic roles in West Orange including the Government Reform Study Committee, Public Relations Commission, and Rotary Club.

Pastor Terry is devoted to his family. Sharon is his wife of 25 years; Sumerr, is a student at Rutgers University; Caleb, attends and plays football for Yale University; and Christian, attends West Orange High School.

Pastor Terry has a B.S. in Organizational Management/Church Studies and a Masters of Organizational Leadership.

For pleasure, Pastor Terry enjoys playing basketball and reading.