OUR STORY
there aren’t many stories like this
In November of 1999, Pastor Gene & Karen’s lives would change forever. They would be called by God to start a church called The Gathering in Sevierville, Tennessee where Pastor Gene grew up.
We had church everywhere in the early days from theaters, hotels, and even community centers. Eventually, we found an old fitness center, and we called it “The Gym.” We began to see unusual, numerical growth in the early days, and were quickly in five services in the “The Gym.”
Five services soon became too much for the space we were in. We sought God for a new church home, and He provided fifty acres just miles away from DollyWood. We built a gorgeous facility that would even win a national award.
THE STORY WASN’T OVER
During the recession of 2008 and the financial struggles that would come, we were forced to surrender our building back to the bank. What felt like the end was actually a new beginning for our church family.
This was our test. Would we remain faithful to the promises God had given our house? We went from twelve hundred people in our church community to less than one hundred. We were a family without a home.
TODAY
For the past ten years, we have been in our current church home. From “The Gym” to “The Hill,” now we are “the church next to the bar.”
We were faced with the question “Is Jesus enough?” We promised we wouldn’t give up, and we haven’t. We have been faithful to pray, to fast, and to go deeper in the ways of God. It hasn’t always been easy, but God has been with us through it all.
For those who stayed, God began doing a major work in our hearts. That is where we discovered our true identity as a house of prayer. Jesus Himself calls the church to be a house of prayer (Matthew 21:13).
We are a group of people who are centered in the age to come and desire to see His Kingdom come here on earth. We believe The Holy Spirit desires to live in and through you, and we want to be apart of watching His will manifest in your life. We believe that God wrote our story to be one of the greatest church resurrections in history.