The Gathering

Gene was born in California during the turbulent sixties, a time when young people challenged the existing social mores and political authority of America. The third of four children born to a Baptist pastor, Gene lived as a child in the Dallas/Fort Worth area in Texas. When his father entered evangelism, the family relocated to the tourist town of Sevierville, where Gene spent his remaining youth in the foothills of East Tennessee.

Despite his being raised in the environment of full-time Christian ministry, however,  Gene's parents divorced when he was a teenager. After the divorce, he was left to grapple with the bitterness of a young world gone awry. Following the footsteps of many preachers' kids, he kicked up his heels in protest and walked a short road of rebellion.  Gene eventually returned to Texas and entered Bible College.

Graduating from Criswell Bible College in Dallas, Texas, he immediately entered evangelism where he served as a full-time minister for twelve years. In 1999, while hosting a student conference in Kansas City, GOD imparted to Gene that he was to return to the Smoky Mountains of his youth and start a non-denominational church called The Gathering. The LORD'S confirmation came through the scripture found in Ezekiel 28:25.

"This is what the Sovereign Lord says: The people of Israel will again live in their own land, the land I gave my servant Jacob. For I will gather them from the distant lands where I have scattered them. I will reveal to the nations of the world my holiness among my people."

~ Ezekiel 28:25 

Gene and Karen will celebrate twenty-five years of marriage in 2010. They have two sons, Corey and Seth.