Rick and Deanne Mulkins were both born in Springfield, Illinois, where they met and married at a very young age, Deanne, 15, and Rick, 18. They have been married 30 years and look forward to many more years to come. Through prayer and tough love, they have successfully raised two grown children. Neither Rick nor Deanne came from a Christian background. However, in search of a better way of life, Deanne started attending a local Southern Baptist church in the 1980s. She faithfully went to church for many years without Rick, who, at the time, didn’t want anything to do with church or religion.
With Deanne’s strong faith, she continued to pray for Rick he one day decided to attend. Together, they stayed there for 10 years while they grew and developed a deeper relationship with God. During those years, Deanne was trained to teach Sunday School for all ages. She later became a Sunday School Superintendent and led New Believers Bible
studies and other courses.
Some years later, Rick became an Adult Sunday school teacher and helped out other ministries in the Church. Then, one day, their Pastor asked him to preach the message. That day was the beginning of a journey that only God could orchestrate. Once he finished preaching, he felt confident about what he had done. However, a couple of days later, God began dealing with his heart. Rick explained, “I sensed God saying to me, ‘How dare you preach my words and cast them behind you?” He felt conflicted that he was a preacher of the Word, but not yet a doer of the Word. He repented of his ways, asking God to change his heart. Soon after, God allowed Rick to see his heart in a vision, and it was as black as coal. Immediately, he surrendered his heart on February 11,1994 and truly became a dedicated follower of Christ, both in word and deed. Soon after, he received his calling to preach.
Apparently, God wanted both Rick and Deanne, as pastors, to be well versed, so he opened up a variety of doors that provided them with intense on-the-job training. God then introduced them to a Spirit-filled church, which was extremely different from the Southern Baptist Church they had attended in their early Christian years. They stayed there for three years, becoming spirit-filled, and took many courses that helped prepare them for the ministry.
In the Sprit-filled Church, Rick became an associate Licensed Minister. Deanne also received her calling to preach in 1996. She became an Associate Minister in the same church. At the time, they didn’t know how God would use them both, but they knew He was preparing them for ministry in a mighty way. Over a 7-year period they served under an exceptionally compassionate Pastor, a Messianic Pastor, a Spirit-filled, black, radical Pastor, and even an Indian Pastor. Rick and Deanne learned a great deal from each, and the various experiences helped them to be diverse in their own pastoral path.
In 2000, they were called to start their own church, which is now known as Last Days Discipleship Church, located in Springfield. The primary calling on their lives is to preach, teach and help others apply the word of God in a practical way. Coming from unsaved families, they have realized the importance of using the word of God in their everyday living. The word of God has truly came to life for them, and their desire is to teach others that Jesus is as real today as He was when He walked the streets of Galilee. This is why they call their talk show program Life Walk. “We are living a Christian life and learning daily how to walk it out.” It is our Life Walk.