History

Tony and Melissa Herring spent years watching students from their youth ministry head off to college and lose interest in church, sometimes even losing faith in Christ. The couple began to dream of an environment where the “next generation” could come to worship God and be transformed in His presence and by His Word. 

In May of 2006, God started to open the doors for Tony and Melissa to minister to the college students and young families of Tyler. They spent many months fasting and praying about what steps the Lord wanted them to take; they also began to meet with close friends to discuss the unique qualities of those for which they were burdened. Anticipation grew as God began to pour into this core group certain Vision and Values, which distinguished this effort from anything they had previously been a part of.   

Ephesians 4 became a central chapter of scripture as they began to understand God’s desire to see His Body unified and equipped so that the world may come to know Christ. It did not take long to realize that “soma”, which is the Greek word for “body”, would be an appropriate name for this ministry. Soma would appeal in name, as well as in function, to a generation that has had a difficult time connecting to the typical “church” environment.

Soon Tony and Melissa were introduced to Randy and Shannon Stevenson, owners of Arcadia Theatre on the Square in Downtown Tyler. The Stevenson’s had bought the old theatre years earlier with the intention of using it to equip the body of Christ. The first two phases of renovation plans for the theatre were already complete: the old box office and foyer were transformed into a quaint coffee shop, and the upstairs balcony and projector room were turned into a meeting room that could safely hold around 75 people. Phase three of the project was to restore the old 250-seat vaudeville stage and auditorium. Both couples sensed very quickly that God was doing something unique and exciting by bringing them together with similar vision for ministry. Soon after these initial conversations, it was decided that the upstairs of Arcadia was to be the place where Soma would meet until the renovation of the auditorium could be completed.

Once the meeting place was decided, a date for February 11th, 2007 was set to begin services. The small core of people who were committed to Soma felt that there should be no marketing or promoting of the meetings other than “friend to friend”.  There were approximately 75 people at the first service, though many were friends and family coming for support. Soma managed to retain a group of about 40 people over the next few months, and by September attendance was consistently 75 to 100 people each week.  As Soma continued to grow, it became much too crowded to meet in the small upper room at Arcadia. After much prayer, Soma decided to find a new location until the theatre could be completed. In March of 2008, Soma moved a couple of blocks up the street to the basement of an old bank located at 226 N. Broadway, the current location, where they continue to grow.

Though Soma started out as a bible study and worship time for college students and young adults, God continues to reveal His greater plans and purposes. Families with children are able to find a “home” here. Soma has become “church” for many people who would not normally step into a traditional building and service. People are growing in their faith and reaching out to their friends, co-workers, and families. Lives are being changed from the inside out as people discover the love of Christ and what it means to walk humbly before the Lord. Many are reaching out beyond themselves to meet the needs of others, both physically and spiritually. People are giving more and more of their hearts to Him. Young men and women are pursuing lifestyles of purity and preparing themselves for their future wives and husbands. Young married couples are learning what it means to have peaceful homes and to raise Godly children. People dealing with homosexuality are choosing different lifestyles as they begin to understand who they are in Christ. Struggling alcoholics are learning to depend upon the Lord as their only source of strength and hope. Covenant friendships that will last a lifetime are developing as we all learn what it means to live out this Gospel together.    

Although Soma’s focus has never been about a building, we are thankful to have a place where we can all meet together and long for the day when we can move back into the Arcadia Theatre for our corporate gatherings. More importantly however, we are excited about the things going on outside of the walls of Soma. Our history, rather than being about what is going on inside of a building, will always be more about what God is doing inside of the hearts and lives of His people.