Like I said in my last post – we had 1,100 people attend The Gathering last week and even though I do my best from the pulpit to let everyone know about the small things I can’t always cover every thing… Our church has been built on the selfless sacrifice of people’s time, talents and treasures.  I want to take a moment and say a huge ‘Thank You’ to the family in our church that realized we needed transportation on our parking lot and went out on a limb to purchase a 6 seater golf cart.  This will greatly help the people in our church that have to walk clear from the back-side of our campus and those that may have difficulty navigating our parking lot. And – while I’m on the subject – although we have stepped up our on campus transportation, we are in desperate need of off campus transportation.  We have had so many families ask us if we could offer them and their children a ride to and from our weekend services.  We have also had several members mention that they would love to participate in the ministry should we ever attain a van.  So my challenge to you is to continue to be in prayer for the van.  We could use it for so many events including Youth and Forever Young.  May we never take for granted that we live in a truly blessed county.  (BTW, see picture of Pastor David getting kicked out by some teenagers …)

When David May, our Senior Saints Pastor, told me in the last service that we had 1100 people this weekend it totally thrilled my soul.  I could not wait to tell Karen.  As soon as I jumped in my car to head home I had to call my dad in Texas.  Every single weekend I ask myself, ” Is this real?” I often wonder why the Lord has chosen me to lead this church.  I heard Max Sherrell say one time that we have a very young pastor.  I went on to say that we also have a very young church.  My deepest prayer is that we would never take for granted what our Great God is doing among us.  May we never get so caught up in what He is doing that we forget our Great God.  May I never allow pride to enter into my life or the life of this church.  May we always be aware that we are doing NOTHING and that He is doing everything.   

    One of the greatest ways the enemy can attack us is by dividing us.  Please be in prayer for our church that we would covet this Divine Unity that we are currently experiencing.  It is not in every church!  One of the best ways to protect it is to pray constantly for it.  I wish I could personally sit down with every single person that attends The Gathering and tell you what an Honor it is to be your Pastor.

I love pastoring you and your family,

Gene

An Unusual Church that’s What We Are!! 

All of my life, for 44 years now, I have always wanted to be a part of something bigger than myself. This past week the Lord began to reveal to me more of the Vision of where He wants our Church to go. I do believe that as Peter did something no other man has ever done or will ever most likely do again. (When He walked on Water) that we as a church are about to get our Water Walking Orders. I know that the Lord has made it so clear to me that we will be a Very Unusual Church in these last days. 

• We live in a Very Unusual County. Because we live in a popular tourist area, we will see more visitors and guests pass by our New Church Campus then most other churches. Most likely, we will see people from over 25 different States pass by our future church home. I can’t put into words just how much influence that the Lord is giving us. In the years to come we could have over 12 to 15 million cars pass our New Campus.

• We Live in a Very Unusual Time. There is no doubt that we are living in the Last Days of the Church Age. We, as Bible Believing Christians, had better understand the times and the seasons in which we live. Every single Bible Prophecy has been fulfilled for our Lord to come back at anytime.

• We are seeing our God gathering a Very Unusual Staff. If we have anything at this Church, we have the single greatest Staff in the entire world. If anybody would ask me why I know we will run 5000 people in attendance very quickly, then I would tell them that it is like Jim Collins said in his book “Good to Great” - When you get the right people on the bus, get ready, you are about to go somewhere.  With that truth in mind – it is important that you know that we already have the right people. But, be in prayer for the next two positions that we will hire because they are very important for our church to go to another level.

• Finally, We are seeing the Lord gather a Very Unusual People. Last week we had over 1000 people again and for those that do not know we are now going to our 4^th service and I believe in the Spring we will be in five. The people that our God is gathering are very special people. They are not scared to serve, give, and grow. They are the best! Why? Because God is hand picking those that He knows are willing to pay the price for Him to build one of the Greatest Churches in the Church age.

Closing Thought: The other night I asked Karen if she thought the Lord was going to allow me, in my lifetime, to pastor one of the Greatest Churches in the History of the Church. I will never forget what she said to me - “Gene, you already do”. Thank you to all the people of the Gathering that believe in what God has called us to do.

P.S. I wish I could tell you all the things that are happening behind the scenes. You would be so proud of where God is Leading Us.

What an incredible week! Words cannot express just how proud I am to be a pastor right now. This week our church proved that The Gathering is not just a church home … we are a church family.We have been preparing, brainstorming, analyzing, donating, sacrificing, organizing, and praying for our Sevier County Days event for the last two months and it came to pass this week.  

The blessings were too many to count: single mothers with 4 children receiving brand new pairs of Nike tennis shoes, a father who had just lost his job with 5 children receiving his choice of food items to fill a walmart shopping cart, a new believer finding out that this thing called life really isn’t all about themself….

Like I said, the blessings were too many to count.I know you’re probably wondering so here are the numbers –

• Over 3000 people in attendance over three days
• 200 haircuts
• 675 total volunteers over three days
• 66,000 pounds of food given away (including 500 gallons of milk and 1,500 loaves of bread)
• 1,075 Back-packs filled with school supplies
• 1,100 Bibles
• 924 Brand new pairs of Nike shoes
• Clothing for over 1,000 Children
• And 1 church that is committed – inside and out – to making a difference in our community

Sevier County Days are here! To think that our church is getting ready to touch the lives of 934 kids that are less fortunate in over 7 different counties. What a priviliege our Great God is giving The Gathering. I have never been more proud of our church than I have been in the last 8 weeks. To think that it has come together that quick, it had to be God.

Let me encourage all of the attenders and members to dive in and get involved in these 5 fantastic days of serving the less fortunate in our area. Karen said it best in our last meeting today with our staff and the other volunteers, “this is what Jesus would be doing this week”. Let me encourage you to give and we still are in need of some more sponsorships and more volunteers. You can go on line and donate or sign up at www.thegatheringfamily.com or contact the office at 865-453-7696 and speak to Pastor David May.

Get Ready to do what Jesus would do!