Gary Irwin Worden

Obituary of Gary Irwin Worden
Gary Irwin Worden went to be with our Lord on January 4, 2022. A local memorial service will be held at 12pm on January 29, 2022, at Mesa Baptist Church with food to follow and the service will be streamed online for out-of-town guests online on Solomon Worden's Facebook live.
Gary was born on May 23, 1954 in Batavia, New York. He was preceded in death by his father, Frances Worden and his mother, Francis Collins.
Gary lived in Nashville, Tennessee for most of his young adult life. In 1972 he gave his life to Christ. He shortly thereafter became a Pastor and began teaching Bible in the Tennessee School for the Blind. In 1973, along with his wife Linda Coleman (now Linda Tschetter), he founded the "Christian Youth Center, Inc". It was the first of its kind in Tennessee, a large foster home for at-risk teenagers battling through drug addiction. He organized the first ever "Rock of Ages Music Festival", a Christian Rock Outreach event which to our understanding continues to this day in California and other places reaching thousands of people every year for the Glory of God. The couple had two boys together - Joshua & Solomon Worden.
In 1974 Gary was ordained as a minister and in 1975 he founded Antioch Church. He soon thereafter began a weekly radio program and opened up a 24/7 Crisis Intervention Prayer Line where he and others helped hundreds of people struggling with suicidal tendencies, drugs, alcholism and a whole host of other issues.
Gary enjoyed following politics and even ran for office as a Republican Congressman in Tennessee. He continued to support the Republican party his entire life. He was a proud gun owner and enjoyed membership in the National Rifle Association.
He later moved to be near both his sons who married and had children in Arizona. In Arizona, he continued in social work by helping young adults with special needs. He enjoyed being a storyteller, having a kooky sense of humor and was a bright light to all who knew him.
He was a devoted follower of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ and loving father. He was known for always showing love and compassion to the underprivileged, abandoned, struggling, impoverished, and people with special needs. His life was the ultimate example of Matthew 25:40 where Jesus says, "Truly I tell you, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers and sisters of mine, you did for me." Dad devoted his life to loving "the least of these."
He is survived by his sons and daughters-in-law, Joshua & Natalie Worden and Solomon & Nadia Worden, and his grandchildren, Joseph, Noah, Asael, Elijah, Kimberly, and Lani Worden.
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