Gary

I was born in Hackensack, New Jersey in the summer of 68. I was raised a devout Catholic and was in the church choir and an alter boy. Often times I was up early before school even started to serve in the daily morning services. I always had an affinity toward priests which I couldn’t understand until I answered the call of God on my life. My childhood wasn’t easy though. I was born with many physical aliments including an undeveloped immune system. For the first two years of my life the doctors didn’t know what was wrong with me. I coughed constantly--even in my sleep. My mother often fed me spoonfuls of crushed ice just to keep my throat from swelling closed.It turned out that I was allergic to nearly everything. For years, I got up to 16 shots in each arm per week. I used inhalers and was stuck inside a room with air conditioners and humidifiers simply so I could breathe. So most of my childhood I spent alone. I had no siblings or friends to play with or talk to, and as for my father, he wasn’t around much at all.During this time, I also had part of my right inner ear removed because of drainage problems. I also had several other surgeries. However the Lord cured me when I hit puberty.After graduating technical high school with a major in electrical technology, I worked as an electrician. I started smoking marijuana and once while I was high, I almost lost my right thumb and index finger. (It was a miracle they were able to reattach my thumb and finger in a 7-hour surgery.) Shortly afterwards, I went on the road with the Rolling Stones as an entertainment technician.Being in the entertainment industry and working with many famous “stars”, led me down the destructive road of: sex, drugs and rock-n-roll. After touring with the Stones, I returned to New Jersey and started my own DJ company.I moved to Las Vegas to study pre-med, and was planning on becoming a cardiologist. Even at that time I loved the idea of helping people. However, becoming lonely again and not knowing where my daughter was, I slipped back into the party lifestyle. I ran out of student loan funds and my GPA which was a 4.0 starting slipping. With no more money and no more focus, I quit the pre-med program. It was during this time that the Lord stepped in and rescued me from my destiny in hell.While working for a delivery company as I attended college, I worked with a guy named John S. Now I loved rock-n-roll, but John always brought his radio and played “religious” music. I would always tell him to “turn that crap off” but he told me that it was his radio and if I was going to work with him I had no choice but to listen to it. I was forced to listen to that “crap” all day, every day, for months.Little did I know at the time that seeds that were being planted in my heart. Through working with John he found out that I was a DJ and he told me about his “friend” John H. who owned a DJ company, and he was looking to hire a few more DJ’s.As I was interviewing for the job I noticed that John H. had a large cross hanging around his neck. Wanting the job, I asked John if he was a Christian because I was a Christian (I spoke that thing right into existence). Well long story short I got the job, got saved at his church, and not only became one of his top DJ’s (I DJ’d for Celine Dion, opened up for Chuck Berry at the MGM, etc.); I was also instrumental in helping to develop his AV company (especially in the arena of lighting) which is still extremely successful today. Visit www.avvegas.com.After becoming born again Easter of 1996, a year later I went to a Promise Keepers event. The Lord showed me one facet of my calling at the conference--Single Men of God. He also instructed me that I was going to attend Bible College. Little did I know that it would be 10 years later and in Oklahoma? Who knew?I then moved back to Bullhead City, Arizona, and worked for the Golden Nugget as AV coordinator. Looking back, I can see this was of God because it was during that time that I was led to Anointed Word and I received the baptism of the Holy Spirit. I got hooked up and helped that church in any way I could.The senior pastor became my father in the Lord. We then pioneered Anointed Word Las Vegas, where I I served as a deacon, the singles minister, was on the worship team, played drums, bass guitar, built the sound systems, taught children’s church, men’s group, the youth, was the singles minister, and even helped in the build out to our building. This church family is still together today under a new Rhema Pastor (Family Worship Christian Center FWCC at www.forfamilyonle.org).After several years I helped to pioneer and later become vice president of another work in Las Vegas, which was outside of the church. This was an evangelical entertainment company called Ben-hair Productions. We Produced “Jesus the King of Hearts” and many other events including the Las Vegas Day of Prayer monthly meetings which are still taking place today in a casino. We are not the Nevada headquarters for the National Day of Prayer. Visit www.benhair.com.During this time of my walk with the Lord, I had several visions. The Lord also appeared to me while I was on an extended fast. I have seen into the spiritual realm and saw demons on a few occasions. I must express that I by no means advocate seeking visions but they are necessary as the Lord wills.In 2005 I had closed my home remodeling business and was planning on moving to North Carolina to oversee a men’s home and to pioneer/pastor another Anointed Word affiliated church but the Lord checked me and instructed me to attend Rhema Bible Training Center in Broken Arrow, Oklahoma.I fought it… I had other plans… I thought that Rhema was a cult! All my Pastor talked about was “Brother Hagin this…”, and “Brother Hagin that…”, but after attending a meeting with Pasty Camenetti, and then praying and fasting, I knew that I knew that I was to attend Rhema. Thank you Jesus! I will never be the same I graduated exactly 10 years from the time the Lord had told me I was going to be trained as a leader in the Church!I’ll never forget my first year at Rhema when I was sitting in “The Gospel of John” class and the Lord clearly spoke to me and said, “Gary, go and teach my people Love… My Devine Call!”AND NOW MY LIFE BEGINS!!