Meet Shawn Buckhanan II of Refreshing Church in Central

Thanks for sharing your story with us, Shawn. So, let’s start at the beginning, and we can move on from there.
34 years old born in 1984 in Phoenix, AZ. I grew up in a two-parent household. Mother and father married 37 years. Father is and has been pastoring for 26 years in Sierra Vista, Arizona. One younger brother, age 31, who is married and has two daughters. Started serving in ministry at a young age playing the drums since I was 5/6 years old. Didn’t have an option, the church was it. Graduated high school, moved to Phoenix from Sierra Vista in 2003 and played college basketball. Left in 2005 and moved to Georgia I hopes of pursuing an NBA career. When that dream didn’t come true, I moved back to Arizona in 2008. That’s when life took a turn. I was convicted of check fraud and theft and sentenced to 1 year in prison and 2.5 years of probation. After completing my time of incarceration, I quickly was back involved in a lifestyle of fast money. I began to ship drugs across state lines with my younger brother. Eventually, in Nov 2011, I was detained on transportation for sale charges along with my brother. After being sentenced to 3.5 years in prison, I quickly found myself in a cycle. A state of being and searching for who I was and couldn’t seem to find it. It wasn’t until about a year into my sentence that I was sitting at Florence Complex, North Unit, and came to my senses. I asked God to forgive me and repented and stopped blaming others for the choices I had made that landed me where I was. While in prison, I got married in February of 2013 to the woman I had been with and had been there for me through it all. After that confession to myself and to God. Soon after I was transported to Kingman Complex, Cerberus Unit. I was upset and wondering why I was going so far from my home and close to comfort. While in Kingman serving the remaining sentence. I became the worship leader of the prisons Christian services. Leading men in worship every week helped me to stay close to God and to begin finding purpose. While there I facilitated for the first time in a state prison in Arizona 72 men getting baptized. It was, to say the least life-changing for not only those men but for myself. After being released in 2014, I was determined not to repeat that same path. I gained employment working for Turning Point Youth facilities picking up grocery to feed the hungry and create food boxes on a weekly basis making $8 an hour.

I was also attending church regularly and striving to do better. As a pastors son, you always have a stigma over you that relates to your actions and how you are to be. I was not that typical “PK” as they call us. I soon found myself working in Nightlife again, not fulfilling the purpose, and really just trying to navigate again who I was. I’ve always known I couldn’t escape ministry and the call on my life, but I tried so many times. In 2015 I landed a position at a prominent church here in the valley. While attending there, I was making strides but also still on the fence about who Shawn was. My marriage had begun to fall apart and ended up divorcing in Oct of 2016. While still on staff at that church, I dated the pastor’s daughter. I felt like “this is the one.” I soon found myself in the middle of a scandal that was almost too much to handle. I soon found myself fired from that church for drug use. While myself and the pastor’s daughter were both guilty of sinful pleasures. I found myself on the outside looking in. While trying to make that relationship work, she ended up pregnant, with my now beautiful twin daughters. I did not see the birth of my twins born January 16, 2018, because of circumstances beyond my control. I will say it is something a father should never have to go through. I got to hold my baby girls in April of 2018 and have not let them go since then. My daughters were not given my last name at birth, and my rights, I had to fight for and also prove DNA after it was well known relationship. I say all this to say after fighting I gained custody of my daughters, they now carry my last name, and I have joint legal custody of Savannah Grave and Sierrah Mercy Buckhanan. No matter what the circumstance presented fight for what is right. In April of 2017, I joined a church called generation church in Mesa, Arizona. They loved on me through my circumstance, pushed me to higher calling and helped me navigate life. Pastor Ryan Visconti and that church family played a huge roll in where I am today. In Dec of 2018, God told me to leave generation not knowing what the next plan was and not having a backup plan. In Jan of 2019, three days in. God said it was time. Having had three dreams prior to pastoring, I kind of figured what He was telling me to do. So I took that leap of faith. Out of obedience, Refreshing Church was birth. I started the church with zero dollars and a vision. I knew I wanted to make an impact and create a safe place where people can come worship, lives can be transformed, and people could experience a Refreshing encounter in Christ. I soon became Pastor Shawn to many, and today Refreshing Church is making an impact and name for itself across the state and country. After just 90 days of launching, we are helping in our community in ways we can change lives. We have created a space where people can come be saved and transformed in Christ. No matter what walk of life you come from; it’s my mission to make sure the gospel is preached with no condemnation.

Although my life doesn’t look cookie-cutter, I preach from a transparency sheet; I believe God can grasp the heart; it’s just my job to present it in a way people can receive. I now father Jaylyn 14 years old have had her since she was 3, And Savannah and Sierrah. This was a quick bio lol but details I can provide if so wish.

Has it been a smooth road?
Definitely has not been a smooth road. I preached a message, and in that, I stated: “the pathway to purpose, is paved with pain.” From divorcing, to torn acl, to being fired from a church, to feeling like not living up to a pastors kid lifestyle, to kids out of wedlock, to being a 2 Time felon, to just not fulfilling purpose. It’s been a challenge to get where I am today. I remember applying at Walmart not getting the job, and other places not understanding God had more.

Some struggles were of being transparent also wanting to live a lifestyle my soul couldn’t maintain. Trying to fit in a place I don’t belong.

So let’s switch gears a bit and go into the Refreshing Church story. Tell us more.
I am the lead pastor of Refreshing Church. I lead people to purpose and lead them to a pathway of righteousness. I love Refreshing Church because we are restoring, renewing, reviving, and refreshing those in our homes, our church, and our community. We are making an impact for the kingdom of God. What sets us apart, I believe is our multicultural and generational atmosphere. We have intentionally created a worship atmosphere for all. You look at some churches that claim they’re a church for everyone but have not one white person on staff, not one black person, not one Hispanic. Church wasn’t designed to be that way. Heaven is not that way. We should represent that on all levels not just on a Sunday morning but throughout the week. We are REFRESHERS we bring hope that people of all color can get along and work together for the greater good.

Is there a specific memory from when you were younger that you really miss?
Favorite childhood memory which I don’t really remember personally BUT my parents always told me a story of when they were on the beach in Los Angels, and they had me in a stroller, and I fell out the stroller into the sand gave down, and they didn’t even notice I had fallen out. I just think it’s funny and they said sand was all in my face and nose etc. so that explains why I’m off a little lol.