Our Story
After years of being a stay-at-home mom, God called Karen Johnson into ministry through Fellowship of Christian Athletes. She began her ministry on the campus of Lenoir-Rhyne University in 2010, and loved her ministry with FCA. She felt like her heart found a home ministering to college students at LR. Six years later, God called Karen to lay down this fruitful ministry, which led to a season of waiting and watching with God. During that difficult season He rekindled a dream Karen had while she was with FCA--to have a ministry house beside campus.
That time of waiting was challenging indeed, but God was doing something new...
“Do not call to mind the former things,
Or ponder things of the past.
“Behold, I will do something new..." ~Isaiah 43:18
" And no one pours new wine into old wineskins.
Otherwise, the wine will burst the skins, and both the wine and the wineskins will be ruined.
No, they pour new wine into new wineskins.” ~Mark 2:22
In January 2017, the dream became a real vision. Karen shared that vision with a group of LRU graduates and students in February and it started becoming a reality. Two LR graduates, Isaiah and KC Whitaker, were at the meeting and felt called to be a part of this new ministry God was forming. From that point the reality started unfolding as they prayed and planned.
The ministry needed a location, preferably beside campus. As the group began frequent prayer walks around campus, they noticed the last residential house in a row of sorority houses had been for sale off and on for three years. God in His sovereignty lead them to this home in the MIDDLE of campus! They met with the owners of that amazing house and worked out a plan for the ministry to begin there. It was the Miller family home for more than 63 years and they were gracious enough to share it with the Gathering House so the ministry could offer a “home” to LR college students!
God used Karen's previous home and ministry through FCA to create an atmosphere conducive to life change in students. He taught her the effectiveness of building Christian community for college students in a home setting. That is the desire with the Gathering House: to create a healthy atmosphere where students can find Jesus and grow in Him.
The next part of the story is yet to be lived.
The ministry hopes to purchase a warehouse to extend the ministry from the Gathering House. For now, the Gathering House is for Christian leaders who want to affect their campus for Christ; a place they can come find rest, community, sharpening in God’s Word, then head back over across the street to feed sheep.
Gathering House Ministries is only at the beginning stage. As time passes, there is a desire for it to grow into the full ministry God intends. The prayer is that the ministry moves in step with Him in order for it to be all He intends it to be for His children and for His glory!