Lewis Installation Completes Historic General Assembly
Indianapolis, IN–Gary J. Lewis was officially elected the new General Overseer for the Church of God following a unanimous voice vote from the General Assembly of the Church of God on Friday afternoon, July 12, 2024. He was formally installed that evening during a closing commissioning service.
Immediate past General Overseer Tim Hill, left, passes a Bible to new General Overseer Gary Lewis during the July 12, 2024 Commissioning Service in Indianapolis, Indiana (click photo to enlarge)
Thousands of delegates were gathered this past week in Indianapolis, Indiana for the 79th International General Assembly, where Lewis and four others were confirmed as members of the Executive Committee. Elected First Assistant General Overseer was Tony Stewart, who was voted to move up from the second assistant post he occupied for the past two years. Receiving confirmation to serve as Second Assistant was Wayne Dority who has led Tennessee as its state overseer for the past six years. Moving in as Third Assistant will be Mark Williams, who from 2012-2016 served as general overseer. Upon completion he assumed the pastorate of the North Cleveland Church of God in Cleveland, Tennessee, where he was senior pastor until resigning due to election back on the Committee. Rounding out the Executive Committee is Thomas Madden, who was elected out of the region of North Georgia where he has been state overseer.
Gary, and his wife Lori Lewis, are primarily known in the Church of God for their prominence in the ministry of youth and discipleship, having served in multiple states and regions as youth leaders and Gary’s eight years as assistant and director of youth ministries for the Church of God from 2008-2016. Before being elected as secretary general two years ago, they served as administrative bishop in South Georgia for six years.
Gary and Lori met while attending East Coast Bible College in Charlotte, North Carolina, a school operated by the Church of God until it closed a few years ago. Gary came from his hometown of Bethalto, Illinois, where he attended the Bethalto Church of God after being saved in a revival at 13. While Gary is first generation Church of God, Lori’s heritage in the Church stretches four generations.
East Coast was closer to home for Lori and she transferred there after earning an associate’s degree. Married following graduation, the newlyweds have shared nearly 40 years together in ministry partnership.
Their ministry began right out of college in 1987, where they followed a path as youth leaders and small church pastors. Their first interview came with the Louden Ave. (now Man-o-War) Church of God in Lexington, Kentucky.
After two years Gary followed his calling to be a pastor and they accepted a church in remote Fairbanks, Alaska where most of the members were military. They counted Fairbanks as a growing and maturing experience.
After two years they accepted a church in Illinois with a troubled past and a string a short-term pastors.
“The first question the clerk asked us when we walked in the door was, ‘You’re not going to leave, are you?’” Lori said. “As young pastors we had a lot of personality and financial issues and other dynamics to deal with there. But we also saw miraculous things. God proved to us that if you serve Him and be obedient, God will take care of you.”
In 1994 the Lewis’ received a call inquiring if they would consider an appointment as state youth directors. Accepting the challenge, they began their journey in the Midlands Region, living in Iowa. From there they migrated to the Pacific Northwest in 1996, and then to Eastern North Carolina for four years. Their final two assignments as state youth directors were in South Georgia and South Carolina before Gary was elected to the Youth and Discipleship Department at the International Offices in Cleveland. Over a period of 14 years, the Lewis’ crisscrossed the country five times. Both Gary and Lori cherish this period of transitions as a time to be mentored and learn leadership from the multiple overseers they worked under.
Outside of ministry, for fitness Gary has enjoyed the challenges of running and biking. He has run 89 marathons over the years, and Lori has joined him on close to 30 half marathons. Three years ago, Gary was training for an event, riding his bicycle on a back country South Georgia road when he was struck by a hit and run driver. His back was broken in three places, he suffered a punctured lung, broken ribs, and a lacerated liver. The hit was so powerful it cracked his helmet.
“Through that journey was the healing on the other side of it,” Gary explained. “The x-ray showed white where my back had been broken and new bone had grown in. As traumatic as the accident was, it required no surgeries, medications, treatments…nothing!”
Both will be quick to point out that family is most important. They have three grown children: two sons, Jordan and Jaren, and daughter, Sara. They also have two grandchildren, Elijah and Eden Lewis.
When asked about his plans and vision for the Church of God as its new leader, Dr. Lewis said, “The vision is really going to be reaching the Harvest, the theme of this Assembly…We are going to continue to focus on evangelism, discipleship, preaching the word, care, compassion, and prayer empowered by the Holy Spirit.” That vision was demonstrated in a powerful closing service where tradition was the general overseer deliver the entire message, but Lewis yielded a portion of the service to his four colleagues who expounded on the vision.
“From a spiritual standpoint my commitment is to be found faithful,” Lewis stated in an interview earlier in the week. “I’m a steward, not an owner and am thankful that God has entrusted me to be a steward of our Church.”
