Our Calling

Pastor Leon Birdd has been ministering to the homeless, addicts and offenders for over fifteen years. He was hand picked by Jehovah Himself to the job nobody else wanted. Born and raised poor, in Kenosha WI, Pastor Leon had dreams that did not include the poor and the lost. He surrendered his life to Christ in 1994 and has been serving since. He attended three years at the Southwestern State Theological Seminary where he obtained his Associates degree in Theology. Pastor Leon is married to Jennifer and has a sixteen year old daughter, Claudia, who also serves in the ministry.

Our Mission...More SOULS

S.O.U.L. Church exists for the primary purpose of spreading the gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ. S.O.U.L is headed up by Pastor Leon Birdd, and consist of humble servants of all denominations across the Metroplex and North Texas.

Each and every Sunday morning the "Servants Of oUr Lord" do God's bidding, feeding the minds, bodies, and souls of the homeless community in Downtown Dallas. What sets S.O.U.L. Church apart is the radiance of evidential love that God's people show for the less fortunate. There is nothing extravagant about our open air church service. We believe in the transforming power of God's truth as we dispel it into the hearts of our homeless brothers and sisters of downtown Dallas, "For the word of God is living and powerful, and sharper than any double- edged sword, piercing even the soul and spirit." (Heb 4:12).

We believe the strongest message you can give to a dying world is that of a living Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ. That message is proclaimed every Sunday morning, as the Lord's servants do what they can to show the love of Christ. Many of the servants of S.O.U.L. Church have come from a rough background. Then they were touched with the grace and forgiveness that is found in Jesus. Therefore we love with no strings attached, just as our Lord has loved us.

Our Story.

S.O.U.L. has been in operation since 1995. It began with the obedience of two men. Robert Shuemake and Leon Birdd. As the story goes, Robert, a stranger to Leon, was walking down the road and his step was unsteady. As Leon noticed the man, the Holy Spirit spoke to his heart and told Leon to pick the man up and give him a ride. At first, Leon resisted the still small voice, but the voice got louder and Leon surrendered. He made friends with the stranger and Robert told him a story of love and compassion for those in need.

What we haven't mentioned, is that Robert had experienced five brain operations and that is why he stumbled. Robert invited Leon to join him the following Saturday at 5:30 am to visit the streets of Downtown Dallas. Pastor Leon hesitated, even said "no" but when Saturday morning came, Leon thought he'd better pass by and make sure Mr. Shuemake wasn't waiting. As he drove by, there he was, the faithful servant, with five gallons of coffee waiting at the curb. The two loaded up and off to "Dunk-in Donuts" they went.

As they arrived downtown there were no people. So they waited. About the time Pastor Leon began to doubt, one by one the people of the streets started showing up. About fifty showed up that day and Leon decided this was for him. As time went on Robert's health declined and one day Pastor Leon asked "Robert what happens when you can't do this anymore"? Robert answered "you'll do it", Leon said "No, you really need to get someone else". Robert looked at Pastor Leon and again said "you'll do it" and the rest is history.

S.O.U.L. has approximately 50 regular volunteers each week. It has gone from "coffee and donuts" to an early morning open air church service in a parking lot in Downtown Dallas.

Mr. Shuemake went to be with JESUS in 2009, but his heart is still with us. The people of the streets are our friends and the members of S.O.U.L. church truly love them. Please pray for us, revival in the streets, and for the lost to listen for the voice, and reconcile with the one who created them. In Jesus Name. Amen!

Our Vision...

Pastor Leon would like to see all the churches lay down their denominational differences, come together and unite as one body reaching out to the lost. Pastor would also like to take this open air S.O.U.L. church to other cities.

Click here to view our partners in ministry, or contact us today to get involved with SOUL.